Obvious place for me to start lookin for my next project - TJ 155kw mtr sedan - just want the basics to which I'll modify wheels, filter & exhaust, suspension, stereo, etc etc.

Can any share their experience/tips for Magna auction buying? For $1-3k saving no test drive which worked fine for my Falcon EL a couple years ago but maybe I just got lucky 1st time around.

i think pickels gets all there cars RAA tested. it would be good to see why it was up for auction. eg. if it was stolen i wouldnt get it as its possible it was thrashed HARD and crashed.

mate of mine bought a th i think (could be wrong) a few years ago and its still running quite well . his was a repo and still had some kids homework in the back so id say it was a mums taxi. he got it for 10 grand and it was almost new at the time.

more often then not they just want to get the cash the company lost on the car back after that they dont care of the price .

go over the car carefully , i do think they let you start it up.

yeh i think its a great place to start. just go in, know wat your looking for, set up a check list of some sort and just ask questions.

good luck

Trav

That is where I got My TH Sports from (In Brisbane)
I paid about $7500 for it but had to do a fair bit to fix it up.... it was an economic writeoff.
I looked at a couple of "normall" cars but people were paying WAY TO MUCH for what they were...
On the same day as the damaged auction there was an Auto TE with electrics.. it had been mis treated inside and was scratched outside on most panels.. no dinting or rust .. the interior was peeling and stined.
They got $8500 for it + commission
Ok so mine was more expensive but heck for the $4000 or so I spent putting it back to stock that is only $3000 more for a TH Sports...
Just my 2 cents..

Haydn

where r u located lowdat?

i went to the auctions in newcastle not long ago, one magna went for $17000 it was a 2000 executive auto with 40000kms! :S i thought that was expensive

the thing about the auctions is you can never predict the price, doesn't matter where they are!! today (yeah, i just got back) a 99 TH 3.0 auto went for $7200 with 115K on it...
a TH 3.5 wagon, 70K, $7800..... cheap

- the best idea is to work out exactly what you want, auto/manual, sedan/wagon, etc etc... do research (i.e. you want a manual exec, they're light and go like a bat outta hell!)

- find a good sample of it (or various it's), if private, ring the owners and ask them for a history (ask for the truth cause it will give you more reason to bid higher!!!). Go for cars still in New car warranty, as it is passed on and you can get shit fixed easily!! New cars with minor scratches (not like TButchers 8) ) are always good buys as the used car dealers don't want the trouble! it just depends if you want the hassle as well..... :?

- set (write down) a max price for each sample, and then take the first one that goes under your price! :p

- don't rush!! only bid just when they are going to close the sale, like on the second hit ("going twice")... :badgrin:

don't panic into paying more! :x if you dont get the ones you want at the right price one day, wait for the next (most bigger cities have several auctions a week!) :D

where r u located lowdat?

i went to the auctions in newcastle not long ago, one magna went for $17000 it was a 2000 executive auto with 40000kms! :S i thought that was expensive

Canberra - that would be $15.1k with late '01 Advance around $17-18k.

Back when falcon EL's were auctioned you'd find leaking p/s switches under the car ($45 part) and noone who looked underneath would bid on it - saved me $3k! but I don;t know enough magnas...to do the same!

I can't stress how good Auctions are. Providing you are patient and wait for the right car to come along. Auctions are the place to go to save money and you won't get a lesser quality car for it I can assure you.

There are some crazy bargains to be had at auctions. But just remember that the once in a life time deal will come around every 3 weeks.

I have purchased my last 2 magna from Aberdeen Auto auctions in Northbridge. My current 96 TE i purchased for 9500 back a year and a half ago with 80,000kms and PERFECT paint, and when i say perfect i mean perfect. Not a scratch, not a dent. I then took my car to a dealer to get a price on a trade in 3 months later and they offered me 11000 for it. Not bad i thought but definatly worth checking out the auctions.

yer, but its automatic and 2.4L :lol: :lol:

yer, but its automatic and 2.4L :lol: :lol:

Tis still a very nice car buddy,so don't be mean [-X
:D

2.4 auto or not i made the mistake of being impatient and jumped at the first one i saw. But still thats not the point. the point is I made a big saving and got a very very very sexy car at the same time :D

Remember chris the 2.4 doesn't have a higher output and better economy than the 2.6 :D

Remember chris the 2.4 doesn't have a higher output and better economy than the 2.6 :D

I think you mean it does ;)

Auctions are great. Since it sounds like you know what you are looking for, it's not too risky if you do your research.

I did some price research on the TJ's and went to the Ex-Goverment and Pickles auctions. I used redbook.com.au to compare current market price and average km's for the models i was interested in.

I found that EX-G's had better quality but it was slightly higher prices. Pickles however had less range and some were dodgy, but prices were lower.

3 months ago I picked up a `01 TJ VR-X SA for $18K with only 38000km at Pickles. Very happy with it :D :D :D :D :D

My general advice on bidding is don't bid early... know your limit and come in when the bidding slows down.

Good luck.

i did a similar thing, not at pickles but at a whole saler

got my 98 Tf 5speed for $7000 had a screw driver hole in the door and a ding in the back

u should just go lok at the auctions may find something u like

no harm in looking

There are some shit buys there - but also a lot of goodies.

We bought a falcon there in '95 - and it ran all the way till last month (wrote it off)

Anyway - at the moment AutoGroup not far from Pickles have a fleet of at least 30 Magna Exec's there. The oldest I saw was a 2001. Most have done around the 30 thousand mark, and the most expensive I saw was 20 thousand, the rest were around the 18 and 19 thousand mark.

Most of which are in absolutely immaculate condition. So yea - its a great place to find a bargain.

Btw - that's in Sydney

Btw - that's in Sydney

Where's a good place for us Mexicans?

[quote:fcc70a17d7="XinuS"]
Btw - that's in Sydney

Where's a good place for us Mexicans?[/quote:fcc70a17d7]

HA! they finally admit it :D


You could always drive here