Outer Limits 4x4 Board

anyone ever bought a 4x4 from the government auctions? any tips, techniques etc.

am in the market for a GU coil cab. Am going to watch an auction take place this friday.

Yeah i got my rocky from the auction near ashdown.

check it first as much as u can cause my POS cost 4500 and then
cost 2000 to get it roadworthy.

but u should be right with later models.

Watch and learn.
and dont move your hands from ur your shoulder up.. valuable lesson.

#1. Set yourself a price limit and STICK TO IT. Remember there will always be other auction days, and other of same car WILL come up another day.
#2. Know what you want.
#3. It can pay to go to a few auctions before you buy. You can pickup tips and hits just by lookin for regulars. Also you can get a better feel for what is coming up and costs.
#4 Remember there is NO WARRANTY. it may blow up as you drive it up your driveway.
#5. Really sus out the vehicle before you go, and make sure its the one you want. They may have several that look the same.
#6. Know what things cost to repair - if it needs any. Somethings you may think are $400, but end up being $2000.... :(


Mate got a dual cab lux few yrs back, $10k off redbook price, with a smashed door. New door $400 with paint, and drove for 12 mths, sold it and make a tidy profit! Then he bought a disco, and lost out thousands when he sold that.

bundyboy wrote:anyone ever bought a 4x4 from the government auctions? any tips, techniques etc.

am in the market for a GU coil cab. Am going to watch an auction take place this friday.

Hey bundyboy if you get a chance could you find out for friends of mine what the turbo diesel 78-79 series cruisers and the 3 litre turbo diesel hiluxes are going for
Thanx

bogged wrote:#1. Set yourself a price limit and STICK TO IT. Remember there will always be other auction days, and other of same car WILL come up another day.
#2. Know what you want.
#3. It can pay to go to a few auctions before you buy. You can pickup tips and hits just by lookin for regulars. Also you can get a better feel for what is coming up and costs.
#4 Remember there is NO WARRANTY. it may blow up as you drive it up your driveway.
#5. Really sus out the vehicle before you go, and make sure its the one you want. They may have several that look the same.
#6. Know what things cost to repair - if it needs any. Somethings you may think are $400, but end up being $2000.... :(

#7. don't bid until the very last possible second. do not let anyone else in the mob even know you are interested. let the other bidders set the price then move in at the very end. this is of course subject to rule 1.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

bundyboy wrote:
anyone ever bought a 4x4 from the government auctions? any tips, techniques etc.

am in the market for a GU coil cab. Am going to watch an auction take place this friday.


Hey bundyboy if you get a chance could you find out for friends of mine what the turbo diesel 78-79 series cruisers and the 3 litre turbo diesel hiluxes are going for
Thanx

if there is one there on friday i will take note... and let u know.

which auction you going to? Pickles, auto group, etc...

Some friends of mine have bought an EL and later an AU Falcon with no issues. Another friend bought a series 2 VT Commodore from same Government auction with no probs.

Was the Government auction they advertise on radio/tv all the time. Get rego on site. Can't remember the name. Think it is in Zillmere.

Make sure you know the going prices for private sales and dont buy any unless you know that you are getting a bargain.

Working for the government as i do i have to say check it out really well because the cars get the arse flogggged off them, so as everyone else has said go right over it

It's not only Government cars that cop a flogging. Any company car is at risk of that.

It's the risk you take of getting a good deal at an auction.

try and get an optioned up model - low k's on an older model....
these will generally have been the drive to office and back vehicle for some fatcat senior manager.... and being the govt his back stabbing co-workers will bust him the minute they see him using it for private use... so it won't have towed a boat, or been on family holidays, etc.

if it's got high k's and it's relatively young then there's a pretty good chance it was a fleet car - and all good fleet vehicle drivers know that they are michael schumacher with a full team of mechanics backing them.

ymmv

Who's to say a privtaely owned car hasn't copped a flogg'in, I know all the cars i have owned have.

Most fleet & ex gov cars are well serviced at regular intervils so you can't go wrong.

sparky wrote:Who's to say a privtaely owned car hasn't copped a flogg'in, I know all the cars i have owned have.

Most fleet & ex gov cars are well serviced at regular intervils so you can't go wrong.

I know I overloaded and flogged all my work/government cars. I didn't put them in for a service until it suited me. However my own vehicles get treated with care. Even if I give them a hard time off road, they still get fussed over when any noise is made or when it is time for a service. Because I know if something happens to my car it is me who has to cough up for repairs.

The other name for Gov and fleet cars are "Go Fast Cars" because the can go harder and in more places than the identical "family" car

In another life I was a gov driver and would buy an ex gov vehicle but only one I knew. It is not always the best looking low Ks that is the pick of the bunch. For example 2 4x4 were identical but one had less Kms on the clock and paint work was spot-on. This was becuase it was always breaking down. It was just one of those lemons. The other Had higher Kms but was great to drive and never missed a beat. Another work mate had brought the second and never had a problem with it.

Guess when you look at all the replys to this thread the only thing you can say for sure is that without prior knowledge of the vehicle, it is really no more than a lucky dip.

going to the government auctions for Qfleet, have had a look at a few private sales and at the moment just looking to see whether the auctions are worth it... friday will be interesting.

Just have a good look around and see what goes on at them and as others have said stick to your money!
I went to 1 of the auctions out near the airport (that side of the Gateway aterial road) and I could not believe the prices that some of the stuff was going for!!! Things seemed to be fairly expensive to me, cause Ive been to Gov. 1s on the coast and was cheap (if they have what you are after)

At the Brissie 1s there was a VG Commodore ute that went for abot 7K and a week later it was in a caryard in the Trading Post for the same money, and near new pulsars for the same prices as they are on TV!

Bought my lux from the Qfleet auctions 3 and a bit years ago and have been very happy with it saved about $6000 from what car yard had them at the time. That $6000 went on mods on the truck.

Always make sure you know what the vehicle is worth some people bid up to some silly prices there, some of the vehicle that went while I was there you could almost bought a new one for the price they payed.

I will for sure be going getting my next vehicle from there.

Qfleet was what I was trying to think of before.

Even though auction cars don't have warranties and you can't test drive them, they may have some factory warranty left.

I also think Qfleet has some sort of very short warranty. Not too sure on that one.

Like all car yard in QLD they have a compulsory 3 months and then you have what ever is left on the factory warranty if it has any left.

bought my 2k rodeo v6 from the govt. auction in Toowoomba. 2.5 years ago with 49,000 km, tray, glass canopy bull & towbar in good nick except for a little repair work to paint on doors for $24k. Has been a top vehicle so far.

A friend of mine knows a car dealer, he pays the dealer $400 and then afterwards shouts him out to a nice lunch and in return the dealer takes him to the auctions and buys the car my friend is interested in. He reckons that the dealers look after each other to a certain extent and he saves a lot more than the $400 he outlays. The dealer gets a clean tax free $400 and lunch, so he's happy.

How you go about sweet talking a car dealer into this sort of arrangement is a question I cant answer though.

Cheers

Bought my lux from the Qfleet auctions 3 and a bit years ago and have been very happy with it saved about $6000 from what car yard had them at the time. That $6000 went on mods on the truck.

thats how i feel, alot of the patrols i have seen in yards i am sure are ex gov cars with just a profit margin stuck on them to make a quid.

hopefully i will be able to save a bit, and then put it into mods.

according to the listing there is only 1 patrol on sale at the auction on friday at Brisbane

Item 105
http://www.pt.qld.gov.au/pubs/docs/motor/040917zlm.pdf

Just be really careful in checking them out (as others have said). I once saw 2 4x4's (one HJ75 UTE and one Defender 130) at a Govt auction - both were less than 2 years old. Both must have come from an Island (ex QPWS or something similar) and been driven up and down a beach each day for two years. There was no rust visible from outside but underneath both of the chassis were about to fall apart!!!

according to the listing there is only 1 patrol on sale at the auction on friday at Brisbane

Item 105
http://www.pt.qld.gov.au/pubs/docs/motor/040917zlm.pdf

thats right thats the one i am having a look at, i am not buying this time, just want to see how the whole thing works and whether it is worth it.

bundyboy wrote:thats right thats the one i am having a look at, i am not buying this time, just want to see how the whole thing works and whether it is worth it.

also take a magnet with you, a small one, stick it round the corners of the car to see if its been bogged up. I know most cars dont have enough metal in them for a magnet to stick, but worth a try...

never thought of that, have you tried that yourself??? does it work?

bundyboy wrote:
thats right thats the one i am having a look at, i am not buying this time, just want to see how the whole thing works and whether it is worth it.


also take a magnet with you, a small one, stick it round the corners of the car to see if its been bogged up. I know most cars dont have enough metal in them for a magnet to stick, but worth a try...

bundyboy wrote:never thought of that, have you tried that yourself??? does it work?

bundyboy wrote:
thats right thats the one i am having a look at, i am not buying this time, just want to see how the whole thing works and whether it is worth it.


also take a magnet with you, a small one, stick it round the corners of the car to see if its been bogged up. I know most cars dont have enough metal in them for a magnet to stick, but worth a try...

Sure does but like he said a small magnet, too big/strong and it will pickup on the metal (if any) behind the bog.

So how did the auction go bundyboy

Yes you can get some good /excellent bargins but i used to get a new 4x4 ute hilux or radao every 4/6mths they would have about 40000ks on the clock when i worked for the government and feel sorry for the person that bought my utes.
So choose carefully there are worse drivers that me in my department