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Webwise:
profit
from
online
auctions
Auctions
for
cars,
fine
wine or
even
recovered
loot are
now open
to
anyone
with a
computer
and an
eye for
a
bargain
February
24, 2008
by :
Matthew
Wall
TYRE
KICKERS
Car
buyers
like to
examine
the
bodywork
and hear
an
engine
purr
before
bringing
out
their
wallet,
but the
lure of
a
bargain
is
driving
many to
bid for
cars
online.
The
third
most
popular
auction
website
in the
UK is
eBay
Motors (motors.ebay.co.uk)
and it
covers
vehicles
from
classic
cars to
light
aircraft.
A Lotus
Esprit
Turbo
sold on
the site
for just
50p in
June
2005.
Seller
feedback
ratings
help to
weed out
some of
the
dodgy
geezers,
but to
be sure
it is
wise to
invest
in a
vehicle
status
report
from HPI
(www.hpi.co.uk
). This
costs
£6.99,
can be
bought
online
and will
uncover
whether
a used
vehicle
is
stolen,
accident
damaged,
has had
a
registration
transfer
or is
the
subject
of
outstanding
finance.
The RAC
(www.rac.co.uk)
offers a
similar
service
for £5.
Bargains
can also
be had
when
buying a
new car.
To
squeeze
a better
price
from
dealers
why not
get them
to
compete
against
each
other
with
www.autoebid.com
, a
reverse-auction
website?
You must
first
agree to
buy a
specific
model of
car at
Autoebid’s
“target
price”,
then ask
dealers
to bid
the
price
down to
win your
business.
The
final
price
could be
thousands
of
pounds
lower
than the
target
price,
although
you must
add
Autoebid’s
commission
of up to
£295
plus
Vat. If
the
target
price
isn’t
reduced,
there’s
no fee
to pay.
You can
also
part-exchange
your old
car as
part of
the
deal.
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