disco1942 replied:

Pitfalls – a friend got a Cruiser from one of these and it came with only one key. The missing one was the one that was considered the master code transmitter. To get a second key with remote did not leave much change out of $2K.

PeterD

Scrubcat replied:

From my experience, vehicles I have bought from auto auctions have been about $4,500 > $5,000 cheaper than comparable vehicle in car yards.
BUT you have to pay Registration and Insurance plus they require a deposit on knockdown and full payment by cash or bank cheque on the day. And of course there is no warranty.

Check this site there is a heep of Govt. vehicles ,I think it`s next Wednesday 5th July.
Site Link

I have no interest in this mob other than having been a buyer in the past.

Cheers S.Cat

tojo replied:

Gday Paul,
I have bought at fowles twice and have saved between 20 -25% off dealer prices .
Make sure you view the books as this will tell you what area the cars have spent there life in , anything from around the coast generally show signs of corrosion somewhere on the car.
The biggest thing to look for is regular servicing as to not void any warranty issues and make sure you get a ute that is still covered by the factory warranty.
I found most prados and landcruisers were only getting serviced every 20,000 to 25,000 kms, so l had to attend several auctions to find a good one .
Good luck and be patient and the right ute will pop up .
regards tojo

Member - Rotord replied:

Hello Paul

I bought an ex government car at a NSW auction some years ago and did very well having the following ' trade ' advice ;

1 Different gov departments have different requirements , some can look after their vehicles , some thrash them . Find out which departments have lightly used vehicles .

2 Some departments have good 'in house' maintenance , some have external maintenance . The ones with 'in house' maintenance have maintenance managers who attend the auction and are normally happy to point out which of their vehicles are the good ones . They will give advice to private buyers because the dealers sometimes are perceived to be colluding to keep prices low .

3 The good vehicle is sometimes known to other bidders and may be sabotaged to run rough or look dirty or defective .

4 Lastly , brush up on your auction technique and especially dont get involved in a bidding duel and exceed your price .

Member - Phil G (SA) replied:

I've helped friends buy from SA Govt Auctions .

With the 79series, they will mostly be in reasonable nick, be up to 3 years old and have 40-100,000km. Most accessories have been removed and put onto the next vehicle. Beware of the odd vehicle that has seen salt or has had a hard life in the far north. Most will have had 10,000k servicing. Most have remainder of factory warranty. They all get a reasonably comprehensive inspection.

The HDJ79 factory TDs will go for about $38-40k, or $41-48k for the RV. IMO, there is not much money to be saved, as these vehicle sell like hotcakes and are not often found in dealers. Often get a bidding war between private buyers. The HZJ79 normally-aspirated diesels sell for $32-35k.

Transfer fee in SA will cost a fortune (about $1500), and all are unregistered.

Motherhen replied:

We have purchased a Landcruiser Ute and a Falcon sedan through WA Govt auctions (both some years ago), maybe more purchases than that too. No problems at all with the vehicles. The car yards were buying, but they can only go to a certain value - just go one bid above them and you have got a fair price. They have to have room for their mark up and still be competitive. You can see the ones that have had a flogging. You of course need to have finance organised - although the last couple of times i went looking, they seem to have a finance booth on site.

Our Patrol is ex Govt also, but it was traded through a dealer, so we paid dealer price.

100 Series replied:

I bought my 100 series std diesel cruiser wagon through pickles. At the time it was 12 months old 60k on the clock, had all services completed and was in good nic. It had a bull bar, scrub bars, spotties, towbar, window tint, UHF etc with it.

I paid 33k, and at the time a similar truck that was 2years old were listed at 43k in the yards with no extras.

So I went and put a turbo on and a heap of other extras on it and still came out better off than buying at a dealers.

If possible make sure you get one that is still under new car warranty, it adds to a bit of peace of mind. D

on't be scared to crawl up under it and give it a good once over, pull the carpet/vinyl up and see whats under it (if theres beach sand steer clear. I used to pull the sill trims off and have a good look under these areas) as a lot of places just vacumm the thing out, check the log books, ring the dept that used it, check the magrins between the panels/doors and make sure thay are even, check for overspray/signs of repair, check the bolts on the panels and bonett and look for signs of damage to the paint(could indicate repairs). Also check the wear on the steering wheel/pedals/gear knob and make sure thay are not excessively worn ot for the km's indicated in the odometer/booksand check when the services were carried out and look for inconsistancies(spelling??).

Member - Bradley replied:

gday Paul, having bought many vehicles from the fowles govt auctions i can tell you that if you stick to the govt only lane then you will generally do ok. Make sure you go along on tuesday arvo and have a good look at them, the buyers development centre has all the books and will give you the ballpark figure wanted for each lot. Then on wed, morning hang around outside to watch them start em up and get a good look at them as its pretty hectic and noisy inside. A lot of vehicles are still under warranty and some are even still registered.

Thats the good news, a lot of departments run all sorts of utes, rodeos, couriers hilux etc. The main user of cruiser utes is the DSE. Theirs have ally trays with red/white reflective stripes down the sides and strange angled in lights at the rear. AND they all have had the absolute bejeesus caned out of them, and have done a lot of heavy work carrying slide on fire tank&pump outfits.

AND these cruiser utes are possibly the most over-valued used vehicles around, the prices some people go to is absurd, they are that popular.

So yes you can save heaps on the right vehicle, but factor in rego / roadies etc. and make sure you go along for a few weeks ahead of time and get a good feel for the place.

Last one i got was in december, 09/03 jackaroo SE , 41,000 ks bar / warn winch / plasma rope / aux fuel tank / tow bar / cargo barrier . in good nick ex vic police. $ 19000. cost me a grand on top of that for roadie rego and years insurance.

If you want to know anything else. feel free to ask, cheers Brad.