Buying at auction

[Nordic]

CSL

Has anyone brought a car at a classic auction, I am quite tempted with this csl ( not sure the wife will approve, but I can work on that)
what are the pitfalls?

[garcon]

One pitfall I do know of - a friend's dad had a 3.0CSL (lovely car by the way ) and had to write it off after a relatively minor accident... parts to replace a wing and other bits just weren't available. And that was about eighteen years ago!

And definitely one lesson to learn from that story - even if you do persuade the wife, whatever you do don't let her drive it!

[Truckosaurus]

Originally posted by garcon
...and had to write it off after a relatively minor accident...

Apologies for moving away from the original topic, but does anyone know if insuring your car on a 'classic car' policy would provide a more lenient view of repairing the vehicle as opposed to writing the vehicle off?

[josvandeperre]

I bought my Iso at auction - it was very exciting as the car had no MOT even - but the engine worked and so did the electric windows & wipers so we guessed it was relatively ok - I was lucky - there are stories about certain houses and the provenence of their vehicles - you need to know what you are after and the pitfalls - check out the paperwork and generally do as much research as you can before the big day - I note their site does not claim the car has an MOT - why not ? And check out similar cars being sold elsewhere - not only how much but also how easily they have sold - eg there's one on the BMW Club site for 7 1/2 and another at 13 - good luck

[TimD]

I'd be cautious about bidding at classic car auctions - if only for no reason than you seldom get to hear the machine running. On the plus side though, you frequently get to prod and poke the weak spots of your chosen car on a dry floor with no owner close at hand hurrying you up or accusing you of timewasting.

You won't be able to get a test drive, but looking under the carpets and in the rust holes can be done at leisure, and if you've done your homework you can decide how much the car will be worth after an unexpected engine overhaul and that'll give you an idea where to pitch your bidding.

I've been looking lately at Astons at auction and so far chickened out before they got into serious money. They've ranged from a £20,000 concours queen to a sadly neglected barn find which some brave soul took to £6000 in the knowledge it needed a complete in and out restoration.

One thing that auctions are really good for right now is bread and butter fifties machinery. It may not be fast, but as James Hunt used to say about his Austin A35 on crossply tyres, even the most ordinary roundabout in the wet can be FUN!! Cambridges, Humbers, Wolseleys are struggling at the moment and can be really good everyday pootlers for not more than pennies.

Guy, regarding classic car insurance - get an agreed value on it. That's the key thing. Then if the worst comes to the worst they won't be trying to pay old nail money for your freshly restored pride and joy. If it really does look economically unviable, classic car insurance is more likely to have wreck buy-back clauses in place so you can rebuild it yourself after the pay-out.