Buying used cars at auction; Toyota Camry SE

Today I'm writing about a 2003 Toyota Camry SE with 162,775 miles on it that sold at auction for $4,400. *Kelly Blue Book Suggested Retail Value is a whopping $10,042.

In previous articles I wrote about the compact vehicle "class", Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus. In this and the next few articles I'm stepping it up to the sedan vehicle class, profiling of course the Toyota Camry(this article), to be followed up with profiles on a Honda Accord, and a Nissan Altima that are close to the same model year and mileage.

Before I dig into the specific Kelly Blue Book values and whatnot, let me remind you that all the data is based on my zipcode. KBB requires you to enter your zipcode when researching vehicle values, since prices can and will vary from state to state.

So let's take a closer look at the auction and Kelly Blue Book data for this 2003 Toyota Camry SE with 162,775 miles on it. First, since the Camry comes in both 4 and 6 cylinder powertrain options, it should be noted that this particular Camry profile is the 2.4 liter 4 cylinder with an automatic transmission.

So it should be very apparent from the opening sentence, the Toyota Camry, like the Corolla holds it's value very well! The buyer at the auction paid $4,400 for the Camry and *Kelly Blue Book has a suggested retail value on that car of $10,042. A difference of $5,642, which in my book is a large difference and the buyer did well! Especially considering that the 2003 Corrolla LE I profiled just a couple weeks ago sold at auction for $200 more at $4600 and had a KBB suggested retail value of $7,901, giving the auction buyer only $3,301 to work with.

As you can see, the buyer of the Camry has much more room to play with when it comes to maintenance and repairs to make the Camry "used car lot ready", $5,642 worth of play.... I'm assuming the buyer is a used car dealer, and to get full KBB retail of $10,000, the vehicle would have to be in excellent running condition. No issue with the braking system, exhaust system, tires, etc. And certainly no powertrain issues! Whenever you use Kelly Blue Book, and you view the "suggested retail value", the seller is expected to bring the car up to KBB's "Excellent" condition. I have found that most cars, even Toyota, that are approaching 10 years and with the 150,000 and up mileage, will rarely make an "Excellent" condition, so keep that in mind when you see cars on a used car lot!

If you were shopping for that same 2003 Toyota Camry SE privately(not from a dealer) using the newspaper, craigslist or whatever. According to KBB, the private party values* are:
Excellent $8,217
Very Good $7,867
Good $7,642
Fair $6,667

Given that information, even at "Fair" condition you would be pay $6,667 for a 2003 Toyota Camry SE with 162,775 miles on it. Toyota owners are usually people who take pretty good care of their cars, since it's pretty common knowledge that Toyotas' hold their value extremely well. So, there's a petty good chance if you are shopping for a comparable Camry that is being sold by the owner privately, it's going to very likely be in the "Good" to "Very Good" condition price range of $7600-$7800.

Given all that information, if the auction buyer was not a used car dealer and just a private buyer, $4,400 is looking pretty sweet!

Here are the Kelly Blue Book Trade-In Values*:
Excellent $4,232
Very Good $4,107
Good $3,707
Fair $2,832

I really only show the trade-in values to demonstrate just how much a new car dealer may or may not have paid a person trading in their "old" Camry in for a new vehicle.

Remember, do your homework and take advantage of all the online research tools available, CarFax history reports, vehicle price guides like Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds, do comparison shopping online, and even find recall and technical service bulletins (TSB) that are available for all cars today. You may very well do the whole thing from the comfort of your home, research, bid, and have the car delivered. Though personally, I like to see and feel what I'm buying, so it's always a good idea to at least go to the auction "preview" first. Public auctions take place all over the country weekly if not daily. Though some states may require a used car dealer permit or some nonsense, there are some that do not. Most if not all allow you to browse the inventory either the day of the auction or days running up to it, so you'll get the opportunity to touch the car if you want.

There are a lot of good cars at auction regardless of your budget. From $1000 to $10,000 and up, you can find what you are looking for and save a lot of money in the process.

.rd

Article References

Interstate Public Auto Auction, Salem, NH

Kelly Blue Book

* Article publication date 01/30/2012, data collected from Interstate Public Auto Auction of New Hampshire and Kelly Blue Book between Dec 28 2011 and Jan 31, 2012. KBB and other pricing data are based on the author's local zip code and are subject to change.