Dear Matt,
Yet another garage went under in my hometown the other week. As someone who has never owned a car under ten years old, it occurred to me that the receivers must have real trouble selling off the assets of any garage in the current climate. So, the question begs: where do they sell the cars? If I could find the auction or whatever then there is a very real chance I might, just once, be able to afford a nearly new car!
Yours faithfully,
Julian Hamer, Aylesbury, UK
Ahoy there Julian!
I wasn’t aware that Aylesbury was under water; maybe I need to set up usedboatexpert.com?
What’s that, you say? Oh, you meant metaphorically going under. I see.
Unfortunately selling nearly new cars on to other dealers won’t be a problem at the moment. The problem in the current market is selling new, not used, cars.
In used (at least as far as the nearly new cars are concerned) there is more likely to be a supply problem soon.
So, yes those cars will probably go to auction (one of the mid week, major events at BCA or Manheim etc) but dealers are going to snap them up for not that much less than you will pay in the dealership. A £1,000 saving could be had if you fancy having a crack at it. But set a ceiling and stop when bidding reaches it. No matter what. Then, the worst that can happen when buying nearly new at auction is that you get a bit sweaty and nervous. The car should still have warranty.
Happy ‘sailing,’
Matt