Cars bought at car auctions

[waterbottle]

Does anyone know if Carfax will show if a vehicle has been through a car auction? I generally associate Car auctions as a dumping ground and try to avoid when possible.

Thanks in advance.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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Does anyone know if Carfax will show if a vehicle has been through a car auction? I generally associate Car auctions as a dumping ground and try to avoid when possible.

Thanks in advance.

I am not sure, but I don't think so. Back in BC they declared on the registration of it had been Leased/Rental but I don't think Carfax tracks auction sales.

[shakalaka]

Some do and some don't. I have seen 'leased vehicle', 'salvage vehicle, 'auction vehicle', 'rental vehicle' etc. over the years. I think it depends on how it was reported.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

“Sold At Auction” is commonly found on Carfax. Not all are reported but many large dealer auctions do report.

[arcticcat522]

Is that the majority of people's opinion? I typically think that. I'm sure some reasonable stuff run through auctions, no?

[shakalaka]

I'd say depends on type of auction. If something like Barret Jackson then deff. not crappy units, but perhaps your everyday, dealer auction, like the quality isn't there or caveat emptor.

[ThePenIsMightier]

I would guess it's a negative indicator about 65% of the time.
Dealers that have taken a trade-in that doesn't fit the motif of their lot either because of price or mileage or brand will send a perfectly reasonable vehicle to auction and that's the majority of the other cases.

[ExtraSlow]

A huge volume of cars dealers sell come to them from auction too. Ex-rental "certified pre-owned" go though auction too.

[spike98]

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Dealers that have taken a trade-in that doesn't fit the motif of their lot either because of price or mileage or brand will send a perfectly reasonable vehicle to auction and that's the majority of the other cases.

Any dealer I have dealt with, automatically assumes its going to a wholesaler when offering a trade. It sits on the lot for a week or so then its off to auction if its not sold. Its only when they are same brand lease returns that they end up back on the lot as CPO. So there is definitely some great stuff that can be had, but its certainly buyer beware as some can just be polished turds.

[ExtraSlow]

A car that ends up at a dealer after being through an auction doesn't make the car any better or worse than cars the dealer acquires through trade-in. Certain low-end consumer auctions like Regal etc do attract cars that are difficult to sell through another method.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Hell I’ve seen brand new cars with the windows stickers at Adesa.

[mr2mike]

You're worried about auction cars but no issues with a gig economy taxi?
Normally would be obvious but I bet more than a few hybrid RAV4's are poorly maintained super taxis.

[corsvette]

With auctions bringing more money than retail sales can for many dealers, it’s not a dumping ground more of another channel to sell perfectly good inventory. Many don’t even move the units from their lot, auction right from their location. If it’s an auction slut (been to a sale every few months) then yeah, stay away. There’s a reason for that.

[waterbottle]

Huge thanks for all the input. I've called Carfax and they've confirmed there are fields within their report for auctions however she wasn't sure of the mechanism to trigger that entry. Thanks again for everyone's input.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Carfax seems to suck bag outside of its main swim lane. Their repair reports are either half detailed or "service performed" which is predominantly useless.