OCBA - Buying at auction

Buying at auction

Buying a car at auction may be cheaper than buying through a dealer or even buying privately, but it also presents the most risk. For example, many auction houses won't let you test drive the car before auction day, so it's difficult to get a ‘feel' for the vehicle and to listen for any unusual sounds while driving. So, it's important to inspect the vehicle as much as possible without driving it, including starting the engine, because under the Second-hand Vehicle Dealers (Cooling off Rights) Amendment Act there is no cooling off period if you buy at auction.

When a licensed second-hand vehicle dealer sells a vehicle through an auction they must meet the same statutory warranty requirements as if the vehicle were sold from a car yard. When a vehicle is sold at auction on behalf of a person or business that is not a dealer, warranty requirements under the Second-hand Vehicle Dealers Act do not apply.

In either case, any vehicle for sale at an auction house should have a notice displayed in the window giving details such as:

the auctioneer's name
the name and address of the previous owner (which, if not written on the form, must be supplied to you if you request it)
the total distance the vehicle has travelled (odometer reading) and a statement about the accuracy of the odometer reading
whether the vehicle is covered by statutory warranty.

For motor vehicles, this information will be on either a Form 7 (a dealer or auctioneer sale) or a Form 11 (a non-dealer sale). For motorcycles, it is a Form 8 (dealer) or Form 12 (non-dealer). If you decide to buy the vehicle, you must be given a copy of this notice and of the appropriate sale notice.

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