Carwale Auctions

I have been watching the auctions of cars on carwale for some time now and I have a few questions. A lot of the cars that have been sold in an earlier auction are being listed again and again. There are a few cars that have been sold atleast a couple of times and still being put up for auction again. I guessed that in the odd case it could be because of the buyer refusing to accept the car and forgoing his deposit however, this seems to be occuring too regularly to justify that explanantion. So, just wanted to know from the guys at Carwale why is this happening ?

Also, how does carwale ensure that the auctions are fair and prices are not being driven up. Infact, how can the buyer be sure that the prices are not being driven up people associated with Carwale or the Bank/institution that repossesed the car.

Dear Gaurav,

Would like to know a couple of examples wherein the car was sold in auctions but was put up for auction again. There might be a one-off case, but since you have been observing this so closely, some examples will help. I am unaware of this and your help will help me finding out the details faster.

On your apprehension of the prices being skewed, I don't know whether my mere assurance will be of any help. Since you have been noticing the auctions closely, you would have figured out by now that most of the cars go way below the market price. If the prices were being skewed, it wouldn't have been the case.

See buddy, it's an upcoming and very challenging business for us. We wish to go a long way and only consumer trust can take us there. If we screw up on such minor things at this stage, we will be putting our future in danger. We won't make that mistake! Prices are not skewed.

I have been noticing all the Auctions closely too and my observations are that in a particular auction all the cars does not get sold and those unsold cars are listed again in the next or may be next to next auctions.

Once, the auction gets completed the details of that auctions can be checked in the Auctions section with the date of Auction and here you will notice that if there were 10 cars for auction only 2 or 3 got sold. (that means you will get to see the other 7 cars in the next auction)

Well, thats my observation-Banwari may be able to explain it better and regarding the Prices - i feel the cost of most of the cars were pretty low & i guess the cost of the car is decided on the basis of loan factor and its nowhere close to the actual used car market price.Which i feel is a +ve here otherewise no one would be interested in such kind of auctions.

http://www.carwale.com/auction/cardetails.aspx?acid=388 this car was sold earlier for a tad below 7 lakhs (the auction said sold).

http://www.carwale.com/auction/cardetails.aspx?acid=393 This car was sold in an earlier auction for 2,17,000 I think (I bid on that one myself).

http://www.carwale.com/auction/cardetails.aspx?acid=394 this one was sold earlier as well.

Of the current cars on auction, I know for sure that http://www.carwale.com/auction/cardetails.aspx?acid=443 had been sold earlier. There are others as well. As I said its been happening regularly and thats why I asked.

Regarding the price, I don't think that all the cars are really cheap (some might have been but, most weren't). And the reason being that, even though most of the cars are being advertised as being in good condition in reality, that's not the case. Most of the cars have been rougly used, have been lying in the banks yard for sometime (years maybe). I'm saying this because I had gone to the yard and inspected a few cars myself. I saw the laura that was sold for 7 lakhs, the driver side leather seats were torn, there rear view mirrors were broken and to top it all the car didn't start. They tried to jack the car and get it to start but, that didn't happen. You can't test drive any car so beyond what you can see it's hard to tell if there were any more problems. Buing a used car without test driving it is like buying stuff with your eyes closed, you don't have a clue what your getting.

And even though I would like to trust you about the prices not being rigged but, carwale really needs to do more to inspire confidence in the buyers. Just assurances aren't enough. The banks and carwale have a vested interest in the cars selling for a higher price (even though I believe carwale has a fixed margin but, the higher you sell the cars for the happier the banks would be to come to carwale again with their cars).

And regarding Varun's observation, your right. They do relist cars that were unsold in earlier auctions, nothing unusual about that.

heres an example of what I'm saying.

http://www.carwale.com/auction/cardetails.aspx?acid=447


http://www.carwale.com/auction/cardetails.aspx?acid=357

The same car was sold for 3,02,000 on 23rd Feb and now its on auction again. Can't figure out why it's happening so often.

Another one:

http://www.carwale.com/auction/cardetails.aspx?acid=402

http://www.carwale.com/auction/cardetails.aspx?acid=446

Sold for 2,28,000 with 95 bids and now on auction again.

Oh... okay! All  three cars mentioned are taxis (yellow-board or T-permit). All the taxis are auctions on the reserve price auction basis. Researve Price auction means the aution will start at a fairly low price (Rs.10,000 in our case), whether the car will be given to the highest bidder or not depends on the fact whether the reserve price is met or not. If the reserve price is met, the car is sold to the top bidder instantly but if the reserve price is not met, the highest bid is sent to the seller for approval. If it feels like selling the car at that price, it sells it otherwise the car sale is declined and the car is listed for sale. All the cars mentioned by you never reached the reserve price and hence the seller declined.

Since the taxi permit cars were intended for only dealers (our taxi cars auctions clearly say this e.g. Used car auction for Dealers) and they know what reserve price auctions are. It's a fair business, right?

And regarding the private cars you mentioned, the Optra was sold under Dealers auction and again had a reserve price. The Octavia, I'm told was bought by someone who put bid on it in enthusiasm (RS, 150bhp etc) but later backed off because the fear of mileage, maintenance cost etc. It's not our fault, right?

Well, I can't say much. I as a buyer feel that most of the cars are rightly priced or are priced below the market rate. Again, CarWale doesn't have a say in pricing. The seller decides after all.

And I don't think the Laura was advertised as an excellent condition car. In fact even if it was, it's a taxi permit car and was intended for only dealers. For them the condition was really great. Otherwise when did you last come across a 2008 Laura which was sold for 7.3 lacs? In most likely chances, you won't find a Laura 2008 Diesel car for under 10L!

For other cars regarding condition, we encourage prople to come see the car first before bidding. You get what you pay. Those who mind roughly used cars buy cars at premium prices. And the Dec-2007 Fiesta 1.4 you bid on went for 2.3L. Can you get me a similar specs Fiesta for even 30k more?

I agree. We are working on as how can we inspire more trust in buyers. Thanks for the suggestion.

well I'm not saying that the cars are expensive but, for the condition they are in, they are about fairly priced. about the fiesta, on carwale itself there are a few fistas listed by someone from hyderabad for 2.65 - 2.75 (though those ones are 06 but then a lot of the cars sold on auction had their music systems taken out so I think it comes to about the same). On another webiste (cartradeindia) there was a fista listed for 2.25 (sold now, 06 or 07 I can't remember). anyway thats besides my point, now I know why the cars were relisted so, thanks for the reply.

I'm not trying to convince you, but again the prices are decided by sellers and not CarWale. Sometimes we do influence them to lower the prices but they too have certain parameters to arrive to those prices and they may be right at that.

We have also started stocking our own used cars (bought from individuals with proper documents, refurbished etc). Also, we are working really hard in terms of improving auction processes, condition of the cars etc. We hope your next visit to the yard would give you much better experience.

Does carwale have any plans to expand 'carwale used car auctions' to other major cities in India?

Bingo! i was also thinking of the same. Lets wait for Banwari to reply on this.