When buying a car at any of the several Brisbane car auctions available, it pays to remember the following 5 tips, which have been proved again and again. These tips have not just been proved in Brisbane but on the Gold Coast, in Sydney and all over Australia!
Be honest about your handiness with tools. Can you change a tyre? Of course you can. But can you change more complex components of a car? Can you clean out the cylinders? Can you recognise what’s wrong with a car before a massive disaster occurs? If you’re a mechanical novice, sometimes it’s best to avoid auctions as you don’t have the safety blanket of an RACQ inspection or statutory cooling off period. You will own any pre-existing faults with the car you buy. This isn’t such a big deal with ex government cars such as Q Fleet but still, consider this aspect.
You aren’t guaranteed to get a bargain, but it is likely. Competition these days for second hand cars is fierce, with car rental companies and taxi companies all competing for great deals on cars, particularly ex government vehicles, so it is possible the end result of the car auction will be somebody paying a price above retail. It’s funny what happens when you get fifty or so testosterone pumped car buying males in a room who start competing with each other!
Don’t judge a book by its cover. And don’t judge a car by its polish! Some of the worst cars I’ve ever seen have been spectacular to look at and have the best labels in history (Mercedes, Jaguar etc). Since you can’t test drive the car, you’re going to have to have some background knowledge of what mileage tends to do to certain brands. For example, don’t buy a highly electronic Honda if it has 400,000km on the clock, as electrical components tend to deteriorate quite swiftly.
Critique your mechanical skills. Since you don’t know what you’re buying in as great detail as you may with a private or dealership sale, you don’t know if you’re buying a lemon or a top of the line mango. If you get the car home and find that it, well, doesn’t have oil in it and has permanent engine damage, there’s not much you can do about it. So you better be handy with a hoist and spanners or you’ll be up for some hefty mechanic’s bills. It’s all about risk, but more often than not with auctions the risk pays off.
Listen, listen, listen to the auctioneer! If you miss the auctioneer’s warning that the car is hail damaged or flood damaged and you buy it anyway, guess what? The car is yours. If you don’t hear that the car has 1 million miles on the clock and you buy it, you can’t take it back to the owner or auctioneer and demand a refund. Keep your ears open for the duration of the auction and do your research.
There are other things you can do to make your vehicle experience more pleasurable and to find out what they are, simply repeat over and over again that the reason you’re likely to get a good deal is because risk is being passed from the seller to you (remember, no cooling off period or other protections you may get from a dealership… and on test drive!). Nothing in life comes free, but sometimes the extra risk amounts to naught and in those cases you will win at the auction game.
The reason you are likely to get a reduced price at a vehicle auction is because much of the risk has been shifted from the seller / auctioneer to you, the buyer. As mentioned above you don’t get the protections that private and dealership buyers get, but you do get lower prices. Make sure you recognise the situation you are in, play by the rules and keep your eyes open.
Learn more about Brisbane car auctions. Stop by Jack Smith’s site where you can find out all about car auctions and ex government cars and their pro’s and con’s.
Filed under Motoring by 
If you don’t ride in the winter, you’ve probably spent the winter months on the couch eating chips and watching television. Before you know it, spring will be here and a new season of mountain biking will begin. Your body may not be in shape, but at least these tips will ensure your bike is.
Before you take your bike out, check the wear and tear on your components and adjust them if its necessary. Start off with your chain. If it’s not been replaced in a year or more, then it’s time to do so. Over time, the effective length will increase when the individual parts in the chain gets worn out.
No longer able to conform to the cog and the teeth of the chain ring is the chain and because of this, those teeth wears out to fit the chain’s profile. If you can replace the chain before it stretches too much you’ll save yourself from having to replace high priced cogs and chain rings.
Then the bearing surfaces should be checked. Included in these are hubs, your bottom bracket, and headset. They should turn without any trouble with no play in the system. Before you check the bottom bracket, you first need to make sure that each cranking arm is tightly snug. Next, hold on to the crank arm (not the pedal) and wobble it back and forth. The bottom bracket needs to be adjusted if you hear any clicking or if the crank arm binds.
The exact same thing should be done with your hubs. Take the wheels off the bike, spin the hub axles, then feel for any free play or binding. If you feel binding or play, then adjustments should be made. Put the newly adjusted wheels back on the bike to check the headset.
Pull and push the handlebars back and forth once you’ve grabbed the front brake. Make sure there’s no play. If the front end is lifted off the ground, the fork should turn smoothly. If it feels rough, it needs to be either adjusted or replaced.
Check the condition of your housing and cables while you’re looking. The housing shouldn’t be cracked or kinked and the cables are rust free. If you see any of this you should replace the offending device, as if you don’t your shifting and braking will be sluggish.
Last, you should inspect your brake pads. Ridges or indicator marks are found in most pads and these will tell you if you need to replace the pads. Brake pads that are worn out will compromise both safety and braking efficiency.
Once you’ve got the tune ups out of the way, it’s time to go for a ride. With your mountain bike running better than ever, all you have to do now is have fun!
When you’re looking for cheap mechanics Apex NC, try Vital Automotive. We offer the best in automotive repair and diagnostics. Our rates are competitive, with no hidden fees.
Filed under Cars by
Are you on the look out for a cheap car? Finding a great “cheap” car can be tricky because there are many things you must check out before making your purchase. If you are buying through an individual or car charity, it is even more important to be aware of issues that may arise and how to protect yourself.
Finding a great used car is often a matter of knowing where to look. There are a variety of used car sites like AutoTrader.com and CarSoup.com. These focus on offering cars directly from the seller to the buyer. You should also look in your local newspaper for any interesting deals. Car charities – like Blok Charity Auto Clearance – can provide excellent cars at a great price as well. Because many people are not aware of charities as a great place to buy a car, the following paragraphs will focus on how to acquire a great car through a charity.
The following advice is based on our experience with Blok Charity Auto Clearance in Gardena, California.
The first thing you want to do when working with a charity is to review their documentation, policies and contracts. Charities operate differently than car dealerships. Buying from a charity is like buying from a private party – The customers do not pay the sales tax, transfer fees or registration fees (if due) with the charity; they pay them at the DMV. Good charities, like Blok, will provide a smog certificate with each vehicle as well as a safety inspection with each vehicle.
It is typical for a charity not to let you test drive the vehicles (this has to do with difficulty obtaining insurance for too many cars on a lot). For this reason, it is always a good idea to check into the charity’s guarantees or return policies. If you must buy a policy that allows you to return a car that stops working after a day or two, it is usually worth the expense.
Every charity operates differently, at Blok Charity Auto Clearance, you can either go straight to their lot or acquire a car through an auction. They receive many donations every week. In order to move inventory, they have auctions to liquidate the old cars and make room for newly donated cars. This can be an excellent way to buy a car for a great price. In fact, many car dealers will do just that – go to charity auctions, buy cars for pennies on the dollar and then sell them for a nice markup. These auctions are open to the public and you need no license to attend.
Our experience with Blok Charity Auto Clearance has shown that the right charity is an excellent way to find a car at a great value. It is recommended that you bring a mechanic or someone who knows a lot about cars with you. They have hundreds of vehicles on their lots and new cars are continuously being donated. If you would like to find an inexpensive car, a charity is definitely worth your time.
Learn more about Blok Charity Auto Clearance. Stop by their review site where you can find out all about how Blok works and how you can find a great car at an excellent price.
Filed under Cars by
