Wholesale Purchasing Opportunity

[cmcollar]

Hi Everyone,

I've recently been authoring some threads regarding LC's as I've got the itch for a used one. Thank you again for all the input you've given me over the past several days!!

Anyway, I've recently contacted a good friend of mine who owns car dealerships in north central Ohio (Ford and GM). I happened to ask him if he ever comes across LC's at the auctions. His response to me was that he will get me whatever I want at wholesale. That actually surprised me as I never, never, never try to seek any type of leverage through him. We are good friends because we (and our wives) hit it off well and we enjoy each other's company.

So here is where I am going with this...

- I believe the major auctions he or his people attend are in the Chicago or Detroit areas. Won't I be in the same predicament (rust) with LC's going to auction in those cities? (My reference to being in the same predicament pertains to my recent thread showing the underside of a 2008 LC for sale in Florida which has lived most of its life in Pennsylvania).

- It's difficult if not impossible for the "average" person to know what LC's of various ages go for at auction. Where do you feel the best "value" would be in terms of model year to be having him look at? (I'm trying to stay in the $25,000 - $35,000 range. I could go higher if it made sense.) I think that age also plays a factor if the LC has been a northern car its whole life (rust).

- Do the inherent risks of purchasing a car at auction knowing little about its previous history outweigh the financial benefit one can gain?

- I wonder if he can bid by proxy at auctions in other locations which may be better environments for the LC (southwest or southeast). I've recently read a thread regarding the Lexus / Toyota auction in Las Vegas for its lease returns. Thoughts?

- Given that he can get me nearly anything at wholesale, should I also be looking at the LX 570? Or other options?

- What am I missing here???

Thank you again for your thoughts on this.....

 

[Weedhopper]

He’s a car guy. He will sell you anything. Things move fast at auctions. I went to one with a friend who was a dealer and my head was spinning when I left.

 

[fjcruising]

It’s risky for an individual unless you are willing to invest in fixing some things to buy a car at an auction. Most dealers will send their trades in to auction if they are unwilling to address or deal with any of the issues the car currently has. If it was a good trade, they would likely sell it in their inventory. All that said... my fear would be rust for any of the examples at an auction because that is where a dealer would choose to send something to auction rather than have their shop fix little things or deferred maintenance.

is it possible to get a good car on auction, absolutely, however, how much are you willing to risk?

 

[lasalsa]

I also have a Dealer's License and buy on order for my friends/family. For the last year I've been doing it as a hobby/extra income from referrals.

If a premium vehicle like the LC is at Wholesale Auction, it's either a lemon with issues that the selling dealer doesn't want to fix, or it's a local trade into a Franchise that doesn't sell those units. I've been lucky and only buy from reputable sellers. You can get deals.

I used to work for the Corporate Office of the Biggest Wholesale Auction in the USA. Learned a lot, still have friends in there. Sometimes I'm able to dig a little deeper than what's face value to the regular Dealers.

If anyone need "help" finding that LC/LX, let me know. If it's made, I can find it right from my phone. I make sure we have some sort of Purchase Protection on all of my Sales since I mostly buy based on Auction Description, etc..

Good luck!

 

[lasalsa]

P.S. I live in the hotbed of Toyota/Lexus Offlease here in ATL with sales monthly. My Team can inspect them directly.