Does anyone know how public auctions work?
Like, will it say what the minimum bid is?
What's the norm for placing on a bid based on it's KBB value?

There's a 5spd Maxima that I'm interested in but wanted to find out more about public auctions before I stepped in.

Any information is welcomed.

 

Don't be stupid and overbid. I guess its similar to ebay. Try to check the engine oil and coolant if you can. If engine oil is light amber colored its good, therwise its bad.

 

good used cars never place via auction....

 

do you mean that the cars sold in auctions are not good?

 

"Because dealers offer warranties and service programs, the used cars they sell must be carefully refurbished to meet warranty standards. If they receive a car from trade-in that doesn't measure up, they will typically sell that car at auction. "

 

So this means that every time I change my engine oil, and it's dirty, I have a bad motor?

 

Auctions are not always bad. The dealer I bought my max from buys the vast majority of his cars from auction in a different state. That's just how he gets them. 2.5 years later, still no problems - and it was under nissan warranty when I bought it (my 00 max).

 

I bought my max on ebay, off of a dealership that bought it from an auction. Had it almost a year now, and I've run into some problems here and there, but nothing that isn't to be expected from 100K on the clock.

 

Dealers don't buy from public auctions. They go to auctions where you need a dealer licence to get in. Thats where you can get alot of good cars for way below blue book. The trick is to know someone that can get you into a dealer auction. Thats how my family has bought several cars. An example is my dad just bought a suburban this winter from a dealer auction and got it for several thousand dollars less than he would have paid if he bought it private party or a dealer.