Online auctions are a good way to buy a car and an unforgiving way to make a mistake. A winning bid is generally binding, and there is no walking it back once the hammer falls.
Booking starts with the ZIP the vehicle is in, so you know whether we can cover it before you fill in anything else.
Auction listings are usually detailed and often honest, but every photograph in them was taken and chosen by the person selling the car. What is missing from a set of sixty beautiful photos is not necessarily hidden — it may simply not have occurred to the seller to look under the sills.
The other pressure is the clock. Auctions end at a fixed time, which is precisely when a buyer is least inclined to arrange an inspection and most inclined to talk themselves into bidding anyway.
Every inspection also covers the full checklist — engine, transmission, brakes, suspension, tires, body and interior — with a diagnostic scan and a road test where the seller permits one.
Most auction platforms encourage it and many sellers expect it. Ask early — the closer to the deadline, the harder it is to arrange.
Tell us the deadline when you book and use the rush add-on. We would rather decline than promise something we cannot deliver in time.
Then it is worth knowing what you have bid on. But an inspection is far more useful before the bid than after it.