Merlin Car Auctions

roosterman71

Has anyone any dealing with this crowd?
Is there any way of getting the €1000 deposit back if you decide to pull out of a sale?

I ask as I bought a something from them this week, and have since been told stories that i shouldn't have. It was a repossessed item I bought (for 33k). A friend of mine told me about a farmer who bought a repossessed tractor that worked for a while, before breaking down. It was due to the previous owner (not proven, but highly suspect) putting ball bearings into the back-end of it and it made mince out of the internal bits.

Are manufacturer warranties still valid on items bought there (its a 08), even if they were on HP?

I don't want to end up paying 33k for something, only for to have been vandalised and no warranty to get it fixed.

robtri

Hi Roosterman, not 100% sure but I belive that its 1000E down the drain if you want to pull out....

Manufacturers warranties still hold as per there terms and conditions...
At auction its buy as is.... buyer beware....
And I wouldn't believe all the stories you here...... especially ones of a friend who knows another guy type of story....

I.S.T.

roosterman71 wrote: »

A friend of mine told me about a farmer who bought a repossessed tractor that worked for a while, before breaking down. It was due to the previous owner (not proven, but highly suspect) putting ball bearings into the back-end of it and it made mince out of the internal bits.

How is this linked to the car being bought in an auction? The same thing could happen if you bought from a car dealer.

roosterman71

Its just a story I heard. Never said it was linked. But you'd suspect a car dealer would have given the car a once over. At an auction, you don't get that. Also, with a car dealer you'd get a test drive at least. Auction, you don't get that. You can't even sit into the car, hear it start. Taking it for a spin is a fantasy.

-Chris-

robtri wrote: »

And I wouldn't believe all the stories you here...... especially ones of a friend who knows another guy type of story....

+1, a friend of a friend knows of a farmer who put ball bearings in the internals is not a representative story really.

A '08 repo is still under warranty and is probably repossessed by a finance company for non payment, or more likely it's a car that was handed back by the driver because they couldn't afford it.

fm

arent you buying a car as "sold as seen" if buying at an auction?

roosterman71

Agreed to the sold as seen - but wouldn't it be nice if I am going to spend a fortune on something that I could sit into it?

Regarding the warranty, it was a private sale. No HP. So how do I go about getting the manufacturers warranty transferred to me?

I understand I walked into this kinda blind. I'm asking for advice as to what to do next. I'm sure no one here would fancy being out of pocket by so much.

PirateShampoo

manufacturers warranty is for the car not the person

roosterman71

Yep I know. How do I get the paperwork (if any), etc etc?

robtri

no offense, but judging by your knowledge of how things work here, it was very foolish to go out and spend 33k at an auction......

there is no paperwork, for warranty items you can bring the car into any main dealer(for your car) and they will sort you out if warranty...

Seth Brundle

I find this hard to believe. You went to an auction, saw a car, bid 33k on it and won and now you aren't sure if you should take it because you couldn't test drive it and because of silly rumours? Why on earth did you bid on it then?
Anyhow, you can be fairly sure that you entered into a contract and should you pull out, you lose your deposit!

Zube

Around 2000, I was driving a 96 Alfa 155, and a mate went up to a car auction to buy a similar one for his Dad. At the auction they heard (unofficially) that the car had engine damage, so they didn't bid. Car went for half nothing, and the guy who bought it laughed at them afterwards, since he started the rumour on the day about the engine.

Moral: don't believe rumours about auctions.

CountingCrows

roosterman71 wrote: »

Also, with a car dealer you'd get a test drive at least. Auction, you don't get that. You can't even sit into the car, hear it start. Taking it for a spin is a fantasy.

I've gone down before an auction and got to sit into a few cars that I was interested in and start the engine.

roosterman71

I just said I walked into it blind. If I want abuse about it, I'll go talk to my gf

Anywhoo, thanks for the advice and stories

Seth Brundle

roosterman71 wrote: »

If I want abuse about it, I'll go talk to my gf

Thankfully nobody abused you and just responded to your query!

Matt Simis

roosterman71 wrote: »

I just said I walked into it blind. If I want abuse about it, I'll go talk to my gf

Anywhoo, thanks for the advice and stories

Serious question... are you Peter Griffen?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGgcfQ_1lw4

-Chris-

After reading all this, my advice now is cancel the deal and forfit the deposit.

I'd rather spend €1k learning how an auction works (and save the same or more next time I buy a car at auction) than be €33k in the hole for a car that was an impulse purchase and that I'll not be comfortable trusting...

bazz26

AudiChris wrote: »

After reading all this, my advice now is cancel the deal and forfit the deposit.

I'd rather spend €1k learning how an auction works (and save the same or more next time I buy a car at auction) than be €33k in the hole for a car that was an impulse purchase and that I'll not be comfortable trusting...

+1

Best advice you will get here all day.

Zube

bazz26 wrote: »

Best advice you will get here all day.

I disagree. Maybe he bought a bargain - the whole "my bruvver says" rumour is just a rumour, and you're advising him to write off a grand to experience? What has he learned, exactly?

C'mon, roosterman, what did you buy? What's the cheapest similar car on carzone going for? If you lashed out 33K on impulse, it must be something nice!

Del2005

AudiChris wrote: »

After reading all this, my advice now is cancel the deal and forfit the deposit.

I'd rather spend €1k learning how an auction works (and save the same or more next time I buy a car at auction) than be €33k in the hole for a car that was an impulse purchase and that I'll not be comfortable trusting...

Has the OP not already bought the car? I though that's how auctions work, you bid highest you own it. They've already bought it and have a few days to collect. AFAIK once the hammer goes down it's yours and you can't take it back unless there is a major issue, which is the insurance part of the fee.

old boy

i am just trying to figure out how a person who starts a thread like this has 33k put togeather

-Chris-

Maybe someone can clarify the OP's legal obligations, I'm not too informed about auction specifics. OP referred to it as a deposit and wondered if it was refundable. If yes, then I'd advise getting it back, if not then he's gotta look at his other options.

@Zube, you might be right, it might be an absolute bargain, but based on the amount of research done (does warranty void if a car's on HP etc.) I'd be afraid that OP got caught up in the moment, as people often do at auctions, and is now having proper buyer's remorse.
My thinking would be to pause/cancel the process and slow the whole purchasing thing down. Buyer's remorse on a €33k purchase can be pretty stress inducing, no matter how good a bargain it is...

HashSlinging

old boy wrote: »

i am just trying to figure out how a person who starts a thread like this has 33k put togeather

Maybe he stayed in scho.....Yeah you've got a point..

roosterman71

OK. I'll answer some questions.

Firstly, it ain't a car. Its a camper van. And equivalent makes and models from the same year are being sold for around €65000. I seen some in a place outside Birdhill after Christmas.

It wasn't an impulse buy, its something I've been trying to do for some time. And this is the best value one I've seen, so I bid and won the auction.

I have 5 days to pay up. The €1000 mentioned is a bidding deposit paid prior to the auction so I could get a bidding number. This is refundable (by cheque) if I bought nothing. It seems though that if I don't pay the rest within the 5 days, I lose that 1k.

I don't want to back out of the deal (its a good deal I think). I just want to know has anyone had any bad experiences from buying repossessed stuff. I was happy until I heard the 'scary' stories, and this got me worries. I just want to have things clear prior to spending all the cash.

If I'm going to write this off as experience, I'd like to get some of my €1000 back. Experience isn't worth lining others pockets for them.

Where did I get the money? Save save save.

Jack Bauer999

roosterman71 wrote: »

OK. I'll answer some questions.

Firstly, it ain't a car. Its a camper van. And equivalent makes and models from the same year are being sold for around €65000. I seen some in a place outside Birdhill after Christmas.

It wasn't an impulse buy, its something I've been trying to do for some time. And this is the best value one I've seen, so I bid and won the auction.

I have 5 days to pay up. The €1000 mentioned is a bidding deposit paid prior to the auction so I could get a bidding number. This is refundable (by cheque) if I bought nothing. It seems though that if I don't pay the rest within the 5 days, I lose that 1k.

I don't want to back out of the deal (its a good deal I think). I just want to know has anyone had any bad experiences from buying repossessed stuff. I was happy until I heard the 'scary' stories, and this got me worries. I just want to have things clear prior to spending all the cash.

If I'm going to write this off as experience, I'd like to get some of my €1000 back. Experience isn't worth lining others pockets for them.

Where did I get the money? Save save save.

there's always going to be scary stories,
the whole point of an auction is your taking a chance that what you buy is in perfect nick, some are, some are not.
best case seanario you get what you want for well below the normal price and its in good nick.
worst case seanario its a pile of crap and you lose all your money.

if it was that easy everyone would be buying at auctions instead of going to dealers, its up to each person to decide if they are willing/can afford to take the risk.

-Chris-

With all that being said, my next move would be to do full HPI/Cartell checks on the camper while contacting Merlin and asking if you can have access to view the camper with your mechanic.

If you really want the vehicle and the only thing that's holding you back is worries about the vehicle's history, then the next step you need to take must be towards verifying the vehicle's history.

lafors

OP I've read your initial posts a few times now.
To me your main worry seems to be that as its repossesed, the original owner could have done it some damage or may find it after you've bought it and do damage to it. Would that be a correct assessment??

If it is, I think Chris is giving you the best advice, i.e. get the car checked asap (i.e within the 5 days). I have a feeling Merlin may not let you do this as if you find anything wrong you'll back out of the deal and they'll have to try to sell it again.

Here's Merlin's T&C's easily forund on thier site, dunno why you've not looked for it
Merlin T&C's

Note the part in red. Though in your case I'd say you'll lose the 1k if it was 1k deposit.
A €500 deposit is required on the day for each vehicle purchased, and the full amount must be paid within 48hrs. Payment is accepted by banker’s draft, all major credit cards (2% credit card charge) or electronic transfer.
Please note that at the fall of the hammer title changes. Any vehicle cancelled will be subject to a cancellation fee of €500.

I personally think you're worrying too much about those "stories", I've a feeling you'll be laughing about how silly you were about this in a few weeks time.

Best of luck with whatever you decide

conlonbmw

You have 1 hour after an auction to check your vehicle out. you can return it anytime to the auction during the hour.

lifer_sean

You say that this camper is worth of the order of 65,000 based on asking price at a dealer ? Let's call it 50,000 to allow for depressed economic conditions. (This is a pure guess based of the numbers you provided. You did not provide enough info to put an accurate valuation on it.) So you bought it for 33,000. Let's say the engine gives up (very unlikely?) and it costs you say 7000 euro to fix. Now the camper is costing you 40,000 - it's still 10,000 less than what it is worth. No problem !!!

kazul

AudiChris wrote: »

With all that being said, my next move would be to do full HPI/Cartell checks on the camper while contacting Merlin and asking if you can have access to view the camper with your mechanic.

If you really want the vehicle and the only thing that's holding you back is worries about the vehicle's history, then the next step you need to take must be towards verifying the vehicle's history.

AudiChris,

It's his camper now if the hammer fell and he was the highest bidder, himself and his mechanic can look at it for as long as they like, nothing to do with Merlin any more.
The HPI point is moot if it was a repo, think about it, the bank were selling it, of course it's HPI clear.
OP, owners sometimes sabotage repos. We once got one in that was soaked in petrol on the interior, guy was gonna torch it when "the lads" arrived to take it. But think about the ball bearings story, seriously, what exactly do you think happened - that the previous owner stuffed ball bearings up the exhaust and ruined the car Pure BS.

unkel

kazul wrote: »

AudiChris,

It's his camper now if the hammer fell and he was the highest bidder, himself and his mechanic can look at it for as long as they like, nothing to do with Merlin any more.

I think AudiChris' point was that if the mechanic says it's ok, to go ahead with the sale and if the mechanic says it's fooked, to pull out of the deal and accept the loss of the €1k deposit

badboyblast

OP let us know how you get on, jaysus I`d love one of them Hymer campers, they look the dogs!

seclachi

I could tell you a scary story about just about anything you`d do a in a normal day, but i bet you still get out of bed and go to work in the morning. Dont be daft, the only reason you should consider not taking the camper is if you dont want it. You obviously want it however. You could just as easily buy the camper from a garage and the engine could fall out the day after your warrenty expires, or you could forget to renew the insure and somebody nicks it that day.

Now if that 30k was going to put you in the red it might be a different story, but if you planned and can afford it then take it. If soembody put ball bearings in it or sugar in the petrol tank then how did they drive it to the auction ?

Churchy

You now own a camper. Pay for it and stop pissing about.

roosterman71

Churchy wrote: »

You now own a camper. Pay for it and stop pissing about.

Never did something without fully realising all the pitfalls? And I own sweet FA till I pay for it.

Thanks for the support

dudara

Get yourself a mechanic or someone who specialises in campervans (google Irish campervan clubs and they may be able to put you in touch with someone) and get them to check it out with you. Campervans need to be stored properly when not in use (i.e. over the winter months) to stop damp etc getting in. Someone who is knowledgeable on all this would be a great help to you.

I'd recommend my father but he's based in Cork and unlikely to travel to Dublin.

roosterman71

Just an update here.

I've got the camper checked by the guards. It has a clean history. However, the guards say the owner has a bit of of a criminal record. Dunno for what though or what difference it makes. Also, the warranty issue is sorted. Its covered for 3 years - so up till July 2011.

So I'm still in 2 minds. I've sourced one in Antrim for 22k. But the VRT will be 13% of what the revenue value it at. So that could be anything up to 50k. I'm thinking of forfeiting the 1k deposit and putting it down to experience (an expensive lesson)

I'll post further updates when I have them.

lifer_sean

If you pull out of the deal you can expect to be banned from future bidding by Merlin. Probably not a big deal for you ? They would certainly close the account permanently for any dealer who would do this.

Essentially you have entered into a contract with them, and you are legally obliged to buy the vehicle. However the only sanction they can easily impose on you is non return of deposit. You should check their terms and conditions. Some auctions can chase you for the difference if they subsequently have to sell the vehicle at a lower amount. Auction rules are fairly strict to avoid "false" bids.

At the end of the day you will be breaking a contract that is legally binding if you pull out of the deal. You might get away with it, you might not.

There have been times I have regretted buying at auction (and have almost wanted to puke when I looked at the vehicle a second time !) but the commitment has been made and you have to take it on the chin.

TBH it's most likely the camper will be absolutely fine, so you are probably worrying about nothing.

roosterman71

Final update on this camper I got.

I ended up forfeiting the €1000 to Merlin and I pulled out of the deal. I am happy I did this.

I ended up buying one in Antrim on Tuesday. Paid €20100 for it. Still gotta pay the VRT which will be around €4800. Its a 06 Fiat camper. Took it for a spin and it is a flyer. I got it up to 80mph. Don't think there was much left in it at that stage. It was everything in it that you could think of so I'm very happy.

Here is a pic. Isn't she a beauty!!

The go to guy

To be fair, this is something you must take into account when your buying at auctions. Buying a car without a warranty and at an auction is a risk. To weigh up the risk you have to say to yourself 'am i getting value if the engine blows up' if the the vehicle you were buying was 5-6k below retail after fees etc, it would be fair to say your in a nice position.

If its a finance repo the chances are its probably good to go howver, when somebody gets a car repo'd it would lead me to believe if they couldnt keep up the payments they probably skimped on service requirements.

Also there are a lot of vindictive people out there that would (and i have seen this many times) sabotage certain parts of the car as a 2 fingers to the bank. sad but true

roosterman71

One final update on this.

Merlin rang me a couple of weeks ago wondering when I was gonna take the camper. I told them I couldn't afford it and was going to sacrifice the €1000. They then said, as a previous poster mentioned, that they were going to re-auction the camper and I'd be liable for the price difference. I was a bit shocked by this. I read through the papers I had received from them and found no mention of this in any T&Cs or anything.

I went to my solicitor then to find out what the legal story was, and I was told they were bluffing. He wrote them a letter then. I'm not 100% sure what was in that though cos I haven't seen it yet. A few days later I got a call from the solicitor saying they had replied and sent a cheque for €1000 . I'm well impressed by getting this back cos that wasn't expected.

So for anyone in the same boat, it seems they try a little scam to get you to pay the difference in auction prices if you pull out of a deal. And this isn't allowed apparently. Getting the €1000 back is a bonus.

HashSlinging

HAPPY DAYS ALL ROUND.!

Seth Brundle

roosterman71 wrote: »

One final update on this.

Merlin rang me a couple of weeks ago wondering when I was gonna take the camper. I told them I couldn't afford it and was going to sacrifice the €1000. They then said, as a previous poster mentioned, that they were going to re-auction the camper and I'd be liable for the price difference. I was a bit shocked by this. I read through the papers I had received from them and found no mention of this in any T&Cs or anything.

I went to my solicitor then to find out what the legal story was, and I was told they were bluffing. He wrote them a letter then. I'm not 100% sure what was in that though cos I haven't seen it yet. A few days later I got a call from the solicitor saying they had replied and sent a cheque for €1000 . I'm well impressed by getting this back cos that wasn't expected.

So for anyone in the same boat, it seems they try a little scam to get you to pay the difference in auction prices if you pull out of a deal. And this isn't allowed apparently. Getting the €1000 back is a bonus.

Nice result!
Expect a bill from the solicitor for €1,001 though

roosterman71

kbannon wrote: »

Nice result!
Expect a bill from the solicitor for €1,001 though

Hadn't thought of that. Bandits!!

Tea drinker

Fair play roosterman - you certainly turned that around.
Hope you knock great fun out of the camper! You can put some of the money you saved towards keeping her in tip top condition...

Ciao