Any opinions as to why certain cars are sold at auction vs. just through a dealer? Curious what causes a car to go to auction (after a lease) rather than traditional sales methods. Any risks this would come with? I'm looking at a low mileage turbo with 2 previous owners, and the first time it was sold used it was sold via Auction. thanks...

 

if its leased via a third party and not the dealer or manufacturers finance arm then it may end up at auction vs. dealer lot...the dealer does not own the car.

It could also be the dealer not wanted to saturate the lot with lease turn ins etc. when he has perfectly nice new ones waiting for a buyer. Lets face it, plenty of inventory out there and not much room on the lots!

 

Many off lease cars are sold at auction

 

thanks guys. yeah this one looks like it was off a lease. makes sense now.

 

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The process of vehicles going to auction, even higher end models, is normal. Too many scenarios to list them all. It’s very common for vehicles to go directly to auction after coming off lease. Doesn’t mean these are bad/neglected vehicles. Your risk in purchasing will more likely be decided by your own due diligence to ensure you know the history (maintenance, etc.) and status of the vehicle. You’ll want to/need to have the vehicle inspected at a Porsche dealer. I believe the PPI inspection runs 2-3 hundred. Minimal investment to ensure you know what you’re getting into. Good luck and enjoy the search.

 

Becareful at auctions. Try to find out about the whole history of the car before buying. When I worked for an auction, they knew almost nothing about the cars the sold.

Of course most of you know this already...

 

car auctions provide no history of a car and it is very difficult to get that info before the car reaches the block.

 

I can understand the desire to save money, but I like the comfort of a CPO warranty.

From watching the auction prices posted on this board and comparing it to the cars I see listed on the Porsche website, I'd imagine the delta might be $5,000 between an auction price and a CPO price on the dealer's lot - but considering the price of a major repair on these cars, if you're going to drive the thing for 2-3 years, the CPO will pay for that difference, in my experience.

On my 996, I went through 2 A/C compressors, a coil pack and an 02 sensor and cat in 2 years and 27,000 miles. All fixed at no cost - with a loaner car.

 

I couldn't agree more. I was tempted to get a friend of mine with dealer license to pick up one at auction but risk simply didn't offset the savings. I tend to think the delta is probably more than 5K depending on quality of car but I'd gladly pay 10K more for CPO'ed car vs. one at auction.

Again, this is just a guess but I presume 07 Turbo with 15k miles at auction may fetch 60-70k but that same car at dealer CPO'ed will prob be around $80k+.

 

My car listed at $156K when new (no kidding) and it has an AWE exhaust ($12K when new). 12K miles. I got it for $87400. Not a great deal, but the car is very clean, the dealership provides outstanding service and I use the car for a DD, which means I need that service.

 

AWE exhaust do not cost $12K.

 

You're right, that includes the turbos (which were not replaced). $3795 for just the exhaust.

 

If the delta is $10k-$20k (as in your example) just buy an extended warranty. The CPO is worth maybe $2k on the price of a car, not $10k+. Dealers have us all fooled with how much the CPO adds to the value - if you really think about it, the manufacturers (and dealers) are making a ton of $$ on the CPO warranty or they wouldn't still offer it. I like to have that peace of mind too, but not at a cost of 10-25% more than a comparable vehicle.

 

I guess there's so little about owning one of these that is financially prudent, I just don't care: I only want the minimum amount of hassles.

 

Being in the business for over 15 years i never seen a high dollar car i would buy for myself, 99% of the time a good combination color car or extra low mile extra clean car will stay at the retail store where the leasee turned it into. If you work the dealer correctly most of the time you would get a better deal at the dealer than at the auction.