A Capital Idea: The Best Value Auction Action
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday August 1, 1996
Drive three hours south and save thousands of dollars on your next car. James Cleary cracks a Federal secret - Canberra's Dasfleet clearances.
The auctioneer's rapid-fire patter flows almost constantly as a fawn metallic Ford Fairmont slides quietly under the hot lights. It's a current EF model, late '94, six-cylinder - and loaded with all the usual Fairmont niceties such as air-conditioning, anti-lock brakes, driver's airbag and cruise control. There's three months' registration left on the windscreen and just over 43,000 km on the clock, bang on average for its age.
The panels are straight as a die, the paintwork unblemished and the interior immaculate. Wrap some plastic over the door trims and it could masquerade as a new car. If this was a Ford dealership, the new asking price would be just under $39,000. Add on-road costs and you're looking at well over $40K.
But the only car dealers here have a bidding number in hand and a glint in the eye as a procession of late model cars rolls up for auction. This is the Pickles Canberra auction, run every second Saturday in conjunction with Dasfleet, the Federal Government's supplier and manager of passenger cars and commercials.
From a nation-wide fleet of 18,000 vehicles, Dasfleet disposes of about 8,000 a year at regular auctions, turning them over at roughly two years old.
As a rule Canberra's vehicles are the best. Wide roads and smooth traffic flow mean relatively few crashes and less wear and tear on brakes and engines. And with Canberra about 100 km from the salty coastal air, paint and rust problems are few and far between.
Dasfleet vehicles are also maintained strictly by the manufacturer's book, with details like tyre pressures and wiper rubbers regularly checked.
Despite Canberra's typical winter chill, about 350 people have navigated their way past Fyshwick's "adult" retailers for the 11am kick-off. Bid-ding has started on the Fairmont. Hard sell is kept to a minimum and the auctioneer's three spotters bark out bids. In the low '20s, bidding is brisk - by $23,000 the car is "on the market".
The gavel hovers over the block for an agonising few seconds, then it's all over at $23,800. The auctioneer fare-wells the gleaming Ford with "that was a good buy". On a dealer's forecourt it would be at least $5,000 dearer.
It's a similar story for most of the 130 lots. About 90 are Dasfleet, the rest coming from surrounding councils, mostly late model Commodores, Falcons, Magnas and Camrys with a sprinkling of Lasers and Corollas, and even a Tarago or Vitara. After some heated bidding a very happy new owner whoops with joy at securing lot No 99: a bargain two-year-old VR Commodore wagon, Masai Red with air-conditioning, six months' registration and less than 40,000 km on the clock for $19,600, a saving of, say, $5,000 on a typical dealer price.
The crowd are about 70 per cent private buyers, including families with a full complement of kids. Overall the atmosphere is bright and friendly.
"It matches your jacket," says the auctioneer, enticing a bidder to raise his hand for a bright green Falcon. Later he's relieved when a woman at the front secures a car "if only to stop your friend elbowing you in the ribs".
Bidding rules are simple: $500 cash or a bank cheque required on fall of hammer. The vehicles can be inspected on-site on the Friday before and from 8.30-10.45 am on auction day. A full list of cars for auction, and averaged prices from the previous auction, is available via an Info-Fax service (019 725 394); a comprehensive auction book on the day lists each car's make, model, age, specification, mil-age, equipment and engine size.
As with any auction, there's no warranty and no refund so what you get is what you're stuck with. If a car is sold without registration, usually ex-Z plate Commonwealth cars, a roadworthiness certificate (for Canberra) is included. Interim permits available on-site for $14 allow an unregistered vehicle to be driven from Canberra to a specified destination within three days.
It may be cold but the auctioneer has long since doffed his jacket. Bidding hots up on an 18-month-old Magna V6 with air-conditioning, nine months' registration and 39,000 km on the clock. Dealers are interested but a private buyer steals it at just $19,200, about $4,000 below regular retail.
Many are waiting for lot 110, a maroon 1994 Suzuki Vitara Estate with 50,000 km on the clock, air-con, alloy wheels and six months' rego. Two hard-core types circle the pocket-size 4WD, nodding their bids in turn.
At $18,000, it stretches beyond the reach of many and the gavel cracks the block. Punters in the timber grandstand groan and make for the door. You'll pay at least $23,000 for a similar car - maybe even this one - from a dealer.
The Motor Trades Association of Australia (representing dealers) has long been a critic of Dasfleet, contending that government vehicles, bought tax-free, undercut dealer retail prices on the second-hand market. Dealers, however, are regulars at the auctions.
Dasfleet's stance is that "prices ... at auctions are completely independent of any government buying arrangements". In short, an open auction ensures that once the reserve is passed, the market alone determines the price. Dasfleet adds that its business essentially revolves around leasing, "not the single dimension of used car sales".
By mid-afternoon, it's all done, all finished. Already some are leaving in their cut-price pride and joy. There's nothing quite like bagging a bargain.
Buy a gem, save a bomb
Auction* Glass's
HOLDEN $ $
Commodore VR sedan 19,900 22,500
Commodore VS sedan 22,200 25,000
Commodore VR
Acclaim sedan 22,725 25,500
Commodore VS
Acclaim sedan 25,350 28,750
Commodore VR wagon 20,900 23,300
Commodore VS wagon 23,100 26,000
Nova hatch LF 12,200 14,000
FORD
Falcon GLi sedan ED 17,350 21,000
Falcon GLi sedan EF 19,980 25,000
Falcon GLi wagon ED 19,250 21,800
Falcon GLi wagon EF 21,325 25,800
Futura sedan ED 19,100 23,500
Futura sedan EF 23,980 26,500
Futura wagon ED 21,400 24,300
Futura wagon EF 22,800 27,300
Fairmont sedan EF 25,433 30,000
LTD sedan DC2 28,500 36,250
Laser hatch KH 1.8 15,750 17,000
Laser sedan KH 14,600 15,300
TOYOTA
Corolla Seca AE92 16,250 16,300
Corolla RV Seca AE93 19,400 20,200
Camry sedan SDV 20,167 23,800
Camry wagon SDV 18,800 23,200
Camry CSX sedan SDV 21,200 25,500
Vienta sedan VDV V6 20,800 26,500
MITSUBISHI
Magna sedan TS 15,800 21,600
Magna sedan TS V6 19,400 24,100
Magna SE sedan TS 18,917 24,000
Magna SE sedan TS V6 20,000 25,500
Magna SE wagon TS 19,600 23,600
SUZUKI
Vitara GLX 4WD wagon 18,000 22,800
* Dasfleet figure is an average of the prices realised by models at Canberra
auction on July 13. Glass's Guide figure is an average of all retail prices.
© 1996 Sydney Morning Herald