Not only find someone you can trust to do this -- but verify after the sale as well. The public does not have access to the auction results and you will likely not be allowed to witness it. I would highly suggest cross checking the sale price with another dealer who performs the same service by posing as a potential customer and asking for comps.

How long does it take to get a title for cars sold in auctions?

icygual said:The title usually comes after 2-3 days in our experience. The post inspection option at the Manheim options are a good way to go. We had a truck that was bought for a friend that did not pass muster. There was undisclosed frame damage so Manheim sent us our money back and the car never shipped to us.

One of the things we have set up is a huge plasma where we bid online for the call. Its pretty cool and we all sit around and watch.

In regards to finding a good dealership the rule of thumb is if the salesperson is a pain then the whole dealership will be. The business culture of the dealership will dictate their M.O. and if you feel uncomfortable just leave. Your money...your time...and it should be done on your terms.

icygual, can you please describe how the post inspection option works at the manheim auctions? Also, are these absolute or reserve auctions? thanks!

Baltiomre has a similiar program to the one in Philadelphia. I found a link to a PDF file with a list of cars being auctioned off. I wonder if there is a way to put in the VIN to get the model car though.

zzyzzx said:Baltiomre has a similiar program to the one in Philadelphia. I found a link to a PDF file with a list of cars being auctioned off. I wonder if there is a way to put in the VIN to get the model car though.

Autocheck Throw in the VIN number and you will know what car it is and what yr..

timothy86 said:I hate to tell you but the fact the BMW was selling the car auction means that it couldn't be certified.

Be careful of future problems.

Your absolutely right. I worked for several car dealerships and you don't send a quality car to the auction that you can easily sell yourself unless there is a problem. Unless it was a from a rental fleet such as Avis,Hertz who do turn cars over for auction that have no problems except for the fact 500 people beat the crepes out of it.

dk240t said:timothytuxedo said:magicboy2 said:The city of philadelphia confiscates a lot of cars due to unpaid tickets and the like every year, and these are sold at auctions put on by the city every few weeks. While you do not need a dealer license to bid on them, you are not allowed to drive the vehicles away from the auction as they are unregistered, hence you need to have a tow truck standing by to remove them from the lot that day. This alone makes it out of a lot of people's reach, hence you can pick up cars for fairly cheap at them. I doubt there'd be any late model BMWs, though. Do you have any personal experience with this? I've thought about it and been meaning to go just to check it out.

Some thoughts:
(1)They don't have keys for these cars. So you can't even open them up to see what the interiour smells like, engine condition, etc. When you do win an auction, you have to hire a locksmith to make you a key.

(2)It goes without saying you never get to see it run. Many of these cars were impounded for parking tickets or no registration. Why? In some cases because the owner decided 'this car doesn't run anymore, it's not worth it for me to pay the tix/renew registration.

(3)You have to get the car towed off the lot. (AFAIK, it must be a properly licensed tow operator...no dragging it off on a dolly.)

(4)You can't register it until you get the title (a couple weeks at least). You can't park an unregistered vehicle on the roadway. So obviously this is not workable unless you don't need the car right away and have off street parking.

Like I said I've been meaning to go check it out. But I suspect used car dealers may go there and snap up the "good" ones.These are not necessarily the case for these types of auctions, although I have no direct experience with Philly auctions. I have been to an auction at a tow lot in Atlanta, where they auctioned cars that had been towed and never picked up. (This may be different from an auction actually run by a city.) The information in your post should not be construed as general information related to these types of auctions.

Here are some comments related to my observations:
1. No keys isn't going to keep tow-truck/tow-lot operators out of a car. They have equipment to enter the car. All the cars were unlocked on the lot.

2. At the auction, they either had a locksmith on hand to make keys for the cars purchased or had already had the locksmith make keys. I do not remember exactly because I did not end up purchasing, but it was not a problem to get keys.

3. They also had titles on hand. They had gone through whatever procedure necessary to claim ownership which got titles issued to the tow lot.

4. I heard of no requirement to have a tow license to remove the car from the lot. Besides, it is a tow lot. If you are willing to pay for storage, they'll keep it on hand. If you are willing to pay them to tow it out, they'll deliver. Getting tow truck drivers to tow a car off the lot seems not to be a complication.I bought a car from a municipal auction in Maryland. I agree with dk's observation that while the general circumstances are the same, many things vary. In my case:

1) My car had a key. Some of the vehicles that were sold had been left at repair facilities too long and eventually turned over to the county. I think mine came this route. Some of them might have been impounded DUI cars and the like as well.

2) Correct, in my case, the keys were kept in the office and you were not able to start the engine or otherwise confirm that the vehicle ran. I took comfort in some recent gas receipts that I found on the floorboard and a couple of other items in the vehicle that at least told me that the vehicle had been running recently.

3) Yes, I had to get the car towed, but there was no restriction on who did the towing. I ran around the corner to a service station and paid a guy fifty bucks to tow the car to my driveway.

4) Yes, registration and titling was a PITA. You had to get a temporary registration to be able to drive the vehicle to an inspection facility and then take it to the state police to get it inspected again at which point you would be issued a salvage title.

It wasn't an easy process, but hey, we're only talking about a $600 vehicle here. It was purely a beater.

dk240t said: These are not necessarily the case for these types of auctions, although I have no direct experience with Philly auctions.

You're right. I should have been more clear that I was only talking about Philadelphia. And I think that this particular auction is remarkable because it is such a big PITA. That's why I want to go to see what prices the cars are going for. I'm hopeful (but doubtful) that better deals can be had because of the risks and hurdles.

quikie said:many times an manheim cars are sold that are ex-rentals. My family did the same few years ago at the PA manheim. Dealer we went with asked for $500 and included all the reg fees. Interesting thing he mentioned is you have to be very careful with manheim cars. He(and others) sell many after accident cars there with rolled back milage and he spent the whole day explaining which cars he knew for sure were with rolled back milages, just from experience.

For whatever strange reason the guy was bs'ing you and your family. It is a FELONY to roll back odometers. The guy had to be a complete MORON to bragg about committing felony in front of some random people. All ex-rentals cars can be tracked easily, they go off corporate lease and NOBODY will mess with the odometers.

rebatemachine said:timothy86 said:I hate to tell you but the fact the BMW was selling the car auction means that it couldn't be certified.

Be careful of future problems.

Your absolutely right. I worked for several car dealerships and you don't send a quality car to the auction that you can easily sell yourself unless there is a problem. Unless it was a from a rental fleet such as Avis,Hertz who do turn cars over for auction that have no problems except for the fact 500 people beat the crepes out of it.
I don't think it's that black and white -- especially not since many of the cars have several years left on the warranty. It's unlikely that a 2-3 year old car (that in my case was maintained by BMW themselves) is going to have problems preventing it from being a CPO vehicle. More likely they are just burning off excess inventory.

I was able to take mine back to the closest dealership and continue with the free maintenance program (including oil change, brake pads, warranty repair of a few minor cosmetic items, a loaner car and everything) even though I never spent a single dollar with them. That part alone should make a Manheim purchase fairly risk free from a “time-bomb” perspective (assuming I can find the bomb before the warranty runs out).