In order to secure your dream car, it takes more than just showing up for an auction. You also need to know how to effectively bid on each vehicle. If you go into an auction without a bidding strategy, it is very easy to get swept up in the action and severely overpaying for your car. Here are some simple auction bidding tips to help you secure your dream car.
Eye Contact
The first auction bidding tip is to maintain eye contact with the auctioneer whenever you are bidding. If you drop his eye contact, there is a high likelihood that he will assume that you have dropped out of the bidding.
Set Budget
The second bidding tip is creating a maximum bid – your absolute budget. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement and just keep bidding. Before the auction begins, it is important to look around to spot the vehicles that you may want to purchase. Then set a maximum amount that you are willing to pay for it, and stick to it. The best way to do this is to write everything down. That way you will have a visual reminder of what you were willing to pay for it before the bidding started. It is easy to convince yourself to bid higher, especially if a few of your prospective vehicles have already been sold. If you let your emotions take over, you will always overpay for your dream car.
Patience
The third auction bidding tip is to play the waiting game. The auctioneer will start of with an opening number, however if no one bids, the auctioneer will lower it until there is a bid. It is always a good idea to never be the first bidder. That way, the initial bid will be as low as possible before you enter into the bidding war. However, it is important to keep a sharp ear out to make sure that the auctioneer doesn’t close an item without any bidders, which will happen if there are no bids at the minimum reserve price.
Know Your Competition
The fourth auction bidding tip to secure your dream car is to know whom you are bidding against. You can usually get a sense of why other people are at the auction. If you notice some people buying multiple vehicles, it is a safe bet that they are with a dealership of some sort. Normally, they will not bid more than 50%-60% of what they expect to sell the vehicle for. That means that you could get your dream car at 65% of what they would sell it on the lot for. Additionally, if you are in a bidding war and notice that both of the people bidding against you are dealers, there is a chance that their egos will get in the way and the vehicle will go for much more than it should. For some reason, car dealers want to show other dealers that they have more money to spent, and end up wasting it. Don’t get caught in the middle of a bidding war that is based on egos not on the value of the vehicle.
Using these four fundamental auction bidding tips, you should have no problem securing your dream car.
