Auction Car Inspection Before You Bid
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.
The photos are supplied by the seller
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.
On this kind of purchase
- ✓The vehicle assessed independently of anything in the listing
- ✓The underside and structure, rarely well covered in listing photos
- ✓Whether the described history matches what the car physically shows
- ✓A written recommendation before you commit to a bid
Every inspection also covers the full checklist — engine, transmission, brakes, suspension, tires, body and interior — with a road test where the seller permits one.
Worth knowing first
Will the seller allow an inspection before the auction ends?
Most auction platforms encourage it and many sellers expect it. Ask early — the closer to the deadline, the harder it is to arrange.
How quickly can you do it?
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.
What if I have already bid?
Then it is worth knowing what you have bid on. But an inspection is far more useful before the bid than after it.
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Prices and coverage on this page are read live from the platform.