superpop

I hear that you get a much better deal buying an S550 at auction. How does a private party do this, can anyone go to the auction and pay the bid price for a car or do you have to be a dealer. Happy with my current S but thinking about next time I buy.

DaveW68

Cars sold to the general public via public auctions are usually high mileage garbage that should be avoided, especially with high end luxury cars. Dealer auctions are where the better cars are bought and sold. Only car dealers can get into them, so you'd have to have somebody you know that owns a dealership and has credentials to get into them do the bidding for you. The only problem with buying a car that way is that you wouldn't know if there are hidden problems with the car since the dealer is not allowed to drive them or do a full inspection. They are all risky. New car dealers who buy at dealer auctions (most of them do) take that risk and then put whatever needed into the car to make them marketable, such as tires, brakes, tune-ups, etc. Those costs are built into the final price, and part of the reason that there is such a large price disparity between wholesale and retail. Oftentimes, a dealer will sell a used car at a loss because they sunk more money into the car than expected and their auction buyer paid too much to start with.

GPrime2

Like Dave said, the public auctions are usually trash with super high miles. Dealer auctions can net you some huge savings but it's a gamble. Usually you're covered for huge stuff within a certain time period (if you discover the frame is damaged within a day or two, etc.) but if you get it on the road and the suspension is shot or the trans is allergic to 4th gear, that's your problem.

There are some dealer auctions that you can use a 3rd party broker to bid in, Copart is a good example. You get in touch with a broker, tell them what you want, how much you want to spend, and they bid on it for a fee.

Nuru

I actually got a dealer to buy an E-class car offered at auction and then sold it to me for a good price - they checked it out and it did not need any work as-sold, but the suspension got damaged during transport, so they fixed that issue. Eventually I raded the car in on my current car. The dealers can get the list of what is being offered and can show you that list so you can pick out a car for them to purchase. They charged me $1200 upfront, fully refundable if they got the car and I did not buy it, and if I did, the $1200 went into the purchase of the car, so I thought it was a good deal.

ClasseMiaMadra

I actually did. I found a 2012 S550 that looked good.

Step 1. Found and bid on the car at Copart through a broker. The specifics were handled on my behalf by a friend who is a dealer and only buys from Copart. Caveat reader: there may have been procedures I was not made aware of, that are part of the overall process, meaning, I cannot speak expertly on the broker involvement process.

Step 2. After securing the car (highest bid) I was required to wire the funds within 2 days (the bid plus broker fee) to the broker. The wire had to originate from the vehicle's owner.

Step 3. Had the car transported to the body shop, in my case through my dealer friend.

Step 4. Had the car and the damage assessed. Car appeared to be in excellent mechanical and overall condition. The damage was confined to the driver side rear lower quarter panel and the repair required replacement of the spare wheel well too. The rear bumper shell needed to be acquired but the parking sensors were in the car so that was a big help $ wise.

Step 5. Post repair, the car had to be inspected (additional application requirements vary by state) which required
- transferring the title to the new owner (me) and paying appropriate taxes
- obtaining insurance
- obtaining a 5-day temporary registration
- scheduling the inspection - appointment was one and a half months out
- getting it inspected (pending, see below)
- permanent registration.

Sounds pretty straight forward.... except for the gremlins...!

Per my direction (driven by the quite considerable difference in associated costs), the repair shop obtained a second hand, albeit original rear bumper shell. During the inspection the bumper shell donor VIN (inspection process requires receipts, donor VINs, etc) was flagged stolen in the national database. The body shop was able to provide me with the part's provenance which showed the VIN having in fact been reported stolen but also having been subsequently recovered and auctioned off. However the VIN status was never changed in the database. Releasing it required that the NYPD makes the correction which I managed through some incredible stokes of luck to turn around quickly. Alas, the part could still not be released because the database now allegedly showed that another state needed to also make a similar correction. With some creative sleuthing, I found out that the second requested correction was baseless. Nevertheless, it took quite the effort to get the holding PD to acknowledge and agree to release. Now I have to get an additional temp registration, get the bumper shell properly assembled and mounted and then once again go to the inspection station. Luckily, there is no appointment required for the followup inspection.

The idea was conceived sometime in September. The winning bid was submitted on Oct 22. The overall process is still ongoing, looking to put an end to it this week, God willing. Important to disclose that the above recount does not include the stress associated with being treated as a potential auto theft criminal or accomplice. That is hardly quantifiable. Neither is the epic runaround by the inept, drunk-with-attitude members of the PD that holds the property and are unable to process or convey information accurately, or to stand behind the misinformation the dispense, nor to be cognizant or respectful of other's time.

Would I do it again? Provided I have my dealer friend's backing, maybe. Having a better understanding of the process and time frames involved I would in all likelihood be much better prepared and would be definitely able to plan better, especially with timing-dependent aspects. Also, if all parts can be had new from a reputable source with valid receipts without breaking the bank I would go that route also.

I hope my tale is helpful to you and to whomever else is considering this.

Mike5215

So, all in, how much did going the auction route save you vs private sale or dealer lot?

ClasseMiaMadra

Actual total for me is just shy of $28k provided I will be able to recover the bumper cap and not have to shell out for another one. Also, this is not factoring in the rental I have been keeping since end of October, when I turned in my lease. Identical or similarly optioned comps with web-available pricing from MB dealers nationally start at high thirties before taxes and fees. Depending on how much your time costs or is worth to you that may be revised way upwards.
Important to keep in mind
- This was a gamble and I walked into it with full knowledge of that.
- Though money-wise I set a hard stop at $30k total, I was prepared for the possibility of having to let go if close inspection did not match expectations.
- I had an out in having the dealer take charge if things did not pan out by reselling it or worse case put it back up for auction (yes, I would have incurred a cost with nothing to show for it)

1bad540

here is my take on auction cars, being someone who buys fairly highend stuff frequently. I average something cool every 1-2 yrs. Also have friends in the business. buy it cpo and stfu!! Serious.
High end stuff... is there a cost savings? yes and no.
Lets say you want an in demand car in an in demand color, lets say a Diamond white s550 w black int amg and pana roof. you can find the car in a high end auction but may need some little stuff to make it perfect, say the bumpers need to be redone due to a few little nicks, prb needs tires,brakes rims may need to be touched up and a general service. The 3-4k you are going to save will wind up costing you the same after you do the little details. was the case when i bought mine.

ClasseMiaMadra

UPDATE:
Recovered the bumper cap after tons of runarounds. As expected, there was damage. First off, the bumper cap was apparently folded to fit wherever it was placed so it developed a tear and paint cracks on one of the corners. In addition, many clips, mounts, etc were actually broken or missing, attributable to the "mechanic" that performed the removal hack job. Most important of those is some unspecified damage to one of the parktronic sensors, either cabling or the sensor itself.
Have logged about 3k miles on the car so far, including a 500 mile trip. Excluding the rear parktronic, everything else in the car works perfectly! *(see exception at the end). Getting any further troubleshooting for the rear sensor does require to take apart the cap etc. I may end up tacking on to the next service. Another item that I expect to have to address before too long is the ball joint replacement, per my estimated diagnosis: when coasting, and at that optimal speed slot where noise is low but rolling speed is high enough, I can perceive a very slight grind whose intensity / loudness is a direct function of speed. As the car is at 74k miles at this point, I do think this is expected and normal.

To revisit the decision to buy salvage, I think that this is the one exception among many many many instances that form the rule. Depending on the circumstances, I may even attempt to do it again. I know it will take time, patience and friends in the business.

Another not so pleasant discovery, was that MBUSA is blacklisting all salvage VINs. The practical aspect of this is that no MB dealer will touch the car for any type of work, not even an oil change. Reasoning is that all work performed at the dealer is supposedly guaranteed for one year and unlimited miles and having all warranties on a salvage vehicle revoked, raises the dealer / MB risks. I found that out when I went to order a second key. A director's approval was required, since the new part is also warranted normally.

Yet another drawback is that an aftermarket exclusionary warranty is not available for salvage title cars. An available option covers only "high value components" but I was not able to get a comfortable sense of coverage or claim reimbursement process and likelihood so I skipped that too.

Since the car appears to have been garage parked and well maintained and treated, I see myself running it well in to the 200k miles, basically to the ground. I just have to revert back to my good upkeep and long term ownership oriented treatment, as opposed to more relaxed lease-use-return attitude of recent years. I know that this board and its members have my back and I am very happy and grateful about that.

* A truly minor annoyance is that the polar white ambient light option is not working on one of the rear doors. Per the board, opening the door's interior is fairly easy but I would like to know what is the LED or LEDs part numbers and if they are soldered on or even replaceable. Any input will be appreciated, as it may make for a good weekend project and an easy first venture to help get my DIY sea legs back.