Buying a Car from GraysOnline? Experience? Worth It?

hasher22 on 22/01/2020 - 22:18
Last edited 23/01/2020 - 12:52

Hey Sexy People

My mate was shopping for a 370Z and carsales is usually the goto website right? Upon googling other places other than gumtree or ebay, graysonline popped up. So I decided to check them out. They posted quite honestly from what I see as they have assessed the car themselves and put all the faults online.

Though it was a bid and not buy now purchase. 1 hour left and the car is at 16,000 but similar cars on carsales going for around 25,000. I was just wondering why there is such a massive price gap but similar specs such as year, transmission, km etc…..

Pick up is quite far though from Sydney, it's like north NSW but I was happy to have a little road trip if he did get it, but unfortunately he didnt get it because he wasn't 100% confident and he usually hires mobile mechanics before hand to inspect cars.

Anyone have any experience with Graysonline cars?

Edit: Thanks guys! I will tell him to stick with carsales. I myself only stick to carsales if shopping online :)

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Comments

  • oscargamer on 22/01/2020 - 22:21
    +1

    Only buy from auction if you know what you are buying and have seen it yourself (and you know about cars) or you have someone else look at it, that know about cars.

  • roastchook on 22/01/2020 - 22:57

    "a massive price gap" for a product that could have any unknown defects/faults would be a warning for me. Grey's online are not motor mechanics, just resellers, as far as I know.

  • crentist on 22/01/2020 - 23:07

    From grays

    The data form (If attached below the description in the lot) is a guide only. The vehicles are not driven or tested and is based on a engine start-up only, there may be other damages, mechanical issues or body blemishes that have not been sighted or contained in the description, at time of arrival or booking in, Therefore a full inspection is highly recommended prior to bidding.

    Their inspection will basically tell you that it's not obviously smashed, but they'd barely look at it beyond that.

    I've bought an auction car from Pickles, probably a similar situation. You can walk in and look at the cars, turn on the engine, but not drive them. There is more risk than a regular car, and I'd be cautious enough of a used sports car outside of auction.
    That said, they do get some unique and interesting cars, and if you're lucky they came from a responsible driver who just leased/defaulted/upgraded from something interesting, and a quick sale is now more valuable than max returns.
    Worst case would be a dealer dumping a lemon they can't sell on the lot, or a racer who thrashed it before got it confiscated

    I ended up buying a Golf, sight unseen, because the masses of other ex-government Golfs I had seen made me comfortable with the likely history of the car, which is harder to ascertain with the more unique cars. But a rego history check might give some clues

    btw you can observe live auctions online with Pickles, to see how much people will actually pay. I found that basic cars are very predictable (matches redbook) while unique cars can vary heaps but seem to be based on demand more than anything. eg an 86 would probably go for a premium.
    I once saw a Golf convertible and an EOS go for almost the same price, Golf at premium & EOS at discount, which could have been reflective of condition, or more likely because no one had head of the EOS, despite being a better VW

  • justaperson on 22/01/2020 - 23:45
    +3

    They posted quite honestly from what I see as they have assessed the car themselves and put all the faults online.

    Oh dear…

    I have used graysonline as both a customer and a vendor and can tell you 100% they are nowhere near what one would call honest in their descriptions. This isn't like the auction houses in Japan that list every little minor fault and imperfection with the car. GraysOnline frequently omits information and has plenty of shill bidders. I've bought plenty of cars there and the ones I haven't seen in person are the ones that had the faults/omissions, namely a car having a huge scrape down the side which couldn't be seen due to the angle they took the photo at, but was clear as day when you see the car and could not be missed by any inspector. Every other car I purchased or looked at through there were far off descriptions which I was only able to see once I was there.

  • kenzstar on 22/01/2020 - 23:51
    +3

    I wouldn't buy a car from graysonline, i've seen a episode from A Current Affair that a owner bought a lemon from them. Here is the video.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSjMkRAt1-Y

  • Forskin on 23/01/2020 - 06:28
    +1

    We've bought 3 cars from there. All 3 needed a new transmission within 6 months. (Different drivers). YMMV
    Buy private.

  • Ryanek on 23/01/2020 - 08:37

    Usually when it comes to auctions, you get what you pay for. Others have done their due diligence and have not made an offer.

  • Bid Sniper on 23/01/2020 - 08:45

    Yep, My advice see the car in person, buying sight unseen is a HUGE risk. If you dont see it, then dont bid.

    Pictures tell half the story, a lot of times pics looked great then went out and it was in terrible shape or had other major issues. My favorite was a nice Forester, bit old but thought it be good for my dad. Interior super clean, under-body and all chassis rusted out like it was on American salt roads, every single bolt was rusted, obviously pulled from the ocean. Car should be a statutory write-off being sold to unsuspecting buyers.

    Generally I found Greys cars more trash than treasure over other auction houses. Some real $#!tboxes being sold there

    EDIT: Assume this is the car, looks good but go see. My guess its passed in because its was under reserve thats why its up again. Auto sports car pfffttt GTFO

    https://www.graysonline.com/lot/0001-10041569/motor-vehicles…

  • wiipantz on 23/01/2020 - 09:06

    Do it and report back! I've done it twice and am still driving both of the cars 3 years later, your experience may vary. The car in question is questionable though, as I type this I saw an article recently about Nissan dealers fed up with Nissan and that car in particular was mentioned. Good luck though

  • oscargamer on 23/01/2020 - 09:21

    There is a reason the sports car is at auction and it's not going to be a good one.

  • xeion on 23/01/2020 - 09:38

    I don't think it's been mentioned yet, just be mindful they will have a 7-15% (Edit: just noticed one with 30%!) Buyers premium.
    It probably isn't an issue on cars <10K, in some cases it brings the price closer to the second hand market.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 23/01/2020 - 10:38
    +1

    Lol, can't even trust GraysOnline to accurately describe a refurbished laptop, let alone test it. Sure, I've bought some bargain gear but also bought several DOA or faulty laptops that have obviously never been turned on or tested.

    I'd never trust buying a car via them.

  • Candour on 23/01/2020 - 11:57

    manheim also see cars with a buy now as well as auction. check their website. a guard there told me it would be better to buy the buy now cars as you don't go through auction and pay a bidder's fee then, and you get a 3 mth warranty like any dealer.
    get it tested by nrma etc. and get the defects fixed before warranty expires.
    their uy now cars have no visible defects but their reports were very extensive and picked up minor ones I could not see. worth a look. they are in brisbane as well.

  • Mechz on 23/01/2020 - 13:54

    I've inspected a few cars at Grays and the difference between the ad and the reality was staggering. Unless you are a mechanic or dealer with industry ties you're going to have a bad time.

  • SirFaffer on 10/04/2024 - 14:02

    Bit of an old thread, but I just took a gamble on a car from grays.. the exact car I wanted in a colour that I couldn't find anywhere else. 2010 FG XR50 in viper purple. Passed road worthy fine. Did come with a 1000km stat warranty which I'm leaning on to get a couple of issues fixed (brakes have the characteristically falcon warp and I think the drive shaft centre bearing is worn (confirming today) and it needed new tyres, but all in all I'm so far happy with it. I'm guessing I paid roughly in the middle of what it should have gone for at auction and what a private sale would have cost, courtesy of a guy from bundaberg pushing the bidding up by 2k only to lose to me anyway, but was within my budget (just). That said, similar condition XR50s with 2/3 the KM have been popping up for over double what I paid of late, so maybe I did alright.

    If I had to pick one thing, it has been in a minor accident at some point on the front left 1/4 panel, though a long time ago judging by the paint (good, but not new good) and the touch ups that it has had, so I'm not worried. All of the suspension on that corner is straight and looks as old as every other corner, the chassis is straight and has no signs of repair… if it's been driven for years after that with no issues and it drives fine now I don't give a shit. Cost of getting the car I wanted, in the colour I wanted for a budget that shouldn't have been high enough to allow for it. The only thing that gave it away was some damage to the plastic 'liner' on the inside of the wheel well. Once I saw that I was able to find more subtle clues, but you'd have no idea if you weren't looking for it.

    For peace of mind I'm taking care of some servicing items. Oil and oil filter, transmission service and transmission cooler, diff fluid, spark plugs, battery, new tyres, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid/bleed, new front rotors and pads (if for some reason stat warranty doesnt work out, but it will).

    One of the reasons I wanted a falcon XR is because they're simple enough for me to do a lot of the work on them myself, unlike my outgoing 2011 diesel vw passat. Not to mention the cost of parts are extremely cheap in comparison.

    I did factor in having to swap in a second hand transmission if it was cactus, but the existing one seems fine. :D

    edit: doesnt look like the centre bearing, so im not sure.. oh well, thats what statutory warranty is for :D

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