Turners Auctions

[Colapop]

Can someone tell me all I need to know when buying a vehicle/bike from Turners? Do they sell bikes or just other vehicle types? Are they reliable (Turners) - I would have thought so... As far as the bikes/vehicles they sell go there'd be a buyers beware type clause in the sale agreement? Has anybody purchased from them before?

[MisterD]

I know they sell bikes because someone drew my attention to a Vespa they had up for sale the other day....I've heard that public auctions can be a dumping ground for crap vehicles that dealers can't shift any other way though.

[deathstar]

well the main worry i would have is that i think they only give you a 7 day warrenty so if i screws up after a week then it's your problem but the good thing is that not many people go to the bike auctions so not many people bidding and COULD find a bargain. next one is the 25th i believe

[Motu]

What ever you do don't get their warranty,it means nothing.If you make a claim too soon after purchase they say ''existing fault'' and don't cover it.So you get it checked and make a list of faults and do a claim a week before the warranty expires.If it's a car check for damage underneath - they shift them with a forkhoist,and we had a van a few months ago with a driveshaft ripped out taking the tailshaft housing with it.The forks bent the driveshaft,and the damage was done driving it home - existing fault,not covered....and it was damage done by Turners themselves!

[NotaGoth]

Previous experience. When looking for my first "car" ever, 93' mitsi mirage hatchback caught my dads eye at Turners Auctions in Whangarei. Drove all the way there, to find they had a set up going on down there. False bidders amoungst the crowd, placing false bids to up the unsuspecting victims bids. They do that at quite a few auctions and it was ashame to see that Turners has decided to do the same thing.

Thats only my families experience though. I'm sure others have had their good and bad experiences also. But personally I wouldn't touch anything from Turners Auctions with a barge pole.

And yes, alot of the cars at Turners Auctions are apparently cars that people have traded in at car sales yards. Unable to sell them on the lot they then go and flick them off cheaply, been told that by a friend of a car salesmen when he was trying to help me find another car. :spudwhat:

[vifferman]

You can get some good deals at Turners though. I bought a Telstar there some years back that was some council exec's car, and it was a good buy, and a Subaru that I kept for a year and sold for what I paid for it. Helped a workmate successfully bid for a car too.
The key is to know beforehand what current market prices are (and not at dealers - private sales) for a particular model; to set yourself a limit, and not go above it; be prepared to let a car/bike go, and just walk away; don't get 'emotionally attached'; thoroughly check the vehicle out.
For selling, it's hopeless unless all you're after is a quick sale with no strings attached. I got less for my Pajero at auction than I would have as a trade-in or private sale, but it was a lot less hassle.
Auction is a good place to buy a damaged bike at a good price - Kerryg got my old VFR750 for next to nothing. But once again, you need to do your homework and know how much it'll cost to make the bike roadworthy.

[Motu]

Yep,that's where all those ''$3000 gauranteed trade in'' deal cars end up....some just go in circles,a cheap car being used as a deposit on a flash one on tick.

[R6_kid:Me]

make sure you go to the viewing session the day before. If you see something you like, damaged or otherwise, check it out ask them to fire it up (you probably wont be able to test ride it other than in the carpark) and then go home and cost the repair of the bike, and see what a good condition one goes for.

A lot of bikes go really cheap and it's a good place to find a donor race bike or a cheap track thrash.

Cant remember how the auctioneers commision works but i know that after $500 or so its 10% so keep that in mind (it gets pointed out at time of sale)

[NotaGoth]

Setting a limit is the best thing that you can do. So long as you DO NOT go over it. Which is the mistake people make.
Also a small trick is they will ask you how much you a willing to spend on a car/bike, they say its to give you some sort of idea as to which cars/bikes you can actually look at reserve wise. But they will also use this information to push you to your limit using false bids, because they then know you have the money. So don't give them any idea as to how much money you have to spend. Common sense.

[steved]

A lot of bikes go really cheap and it's a good place to find a donor race bike or a cheap track thrash.

Do you have a link for Turner's motorcycle auctions? I've been having some trouble finding one to get along to, cheers.

[Bartman10]

You can get bargains, but you can also get ripped off.

Ask your self these q's

1. Do I actually know the car market? Auctions are all about knowing what things are 'worth' and bidding accordingly.

2. Do I know a bit about the mechanics of a car? Things to look for include, seats worn more than k's on clock suggest, condition of oil and coolant, gear box feel and noise, brake feel etc. Remember you can't take the thing for a proper test drive, so you need to buy on instinct. From previous experience, has your instinct been good?

3. Am I prepared to throw away the money if it turns out to be a lemon? If not, then stay away.

Personally I think you can do a better deal from the trade and exchange or trademe, because you have a lot more time to make a decision and test drive etc....

[madboy]

Our family hack came from Turners. Auction fees added $600 to the auction price. I didn't pay any attention to warranties or that as I figured they're mostly worthless anyway so didn't bother wasting my time (or money). We did our homework, I'm not completely useless on what to look for in a car, and we narrowed it down to two models and one price range. In the end after attending probably ten auctions (didn't bother attending if there was nothing on the online list that we wanted), bidding on prob 5 cars we got the one we wanted for $600 over what we really wanted to pay (we set $7000 auction price but decided not to be so miserly and went to $7600). In the end, that was still $4k-$6k under what dealers were extorting for them.

But what others have said isn't far wrong, your test drive is literally around the building. It's just like buying privately in that you've got no real comeback if you read the fineprint, and you do an oil change the moment you get it home. You're lucky to find out if all the gears actually work cos you don't get over 30k on the test loop, and you have to try real hard to test the ABS. Also don't expect the vehicle to be groomed or the paint touched up like you'd get at the dealers. Ours came with multiple little nicks and scratches, prob several hundred dollars worth of panelbeating touch ups needed. We were prepared to sacrifice that in return for the price. It's only the family hack after all, and we (and other bastards opening doors into it) have added to the imperfection collection ourselves.

If you're not prepared to risk a lemon, don't buy at auction. Luckily our purchase has proved wonderful so far and I wouldn't hesitate buying there again.

[R6_kid:Me]

i checked for a time on the bike auction but i couldnt find anything. Used to be viewings on tuesday from 10-1 i think, then the auctions run from 4ish on a wednesday. If you go to the damaged vehicle section at the penrose site and ask they should be able to tell you, thats where they normally do it.

[thealmightytaco]

Hmmmm, might have to check that out. We'll be needing a donor bike for a chopper at work sometime this year. Projects ad infinitum.

[pyrocam]

when I was claims handler for AAI we sent all our write-offs to turners. they were good from us and I never heard any complaints from our customers about them (well except the ussual 'omg someone outbid more than I could pay make them give it back')

so yeah I would use em