Online car auctions move fast. You get a reminder, you get busy, and suddenly the lot you were watching is about to close. That is how one buyer ended up owning a Volkswagen Golf he never meant to bid on.
The British car rebuilder behind @SavingSalvage had been watching a Volkswagen Golf at BCA, a UK car auction. He says he was not planning to bid. He only wanted to see what it sold for.
That Golf was special to him. It was a fourth-generation Golf GT with the 1.9-liter diesel, which he considers the best version. It had one owner from new, 22 main-dealer services and 107,000 miles.
The Panic Bid
The auction site sent him an alert that the car was coming up soon. He was busy, and he forgot. About eight minutes later, he remembered and rushed to the live auction. A Golf diesel was about to close, so he put in his bid.
“I very quickly realized that I bid on the complete wrong car,” he says. It was a different Golf, a later sixth-generation GTD. “I stupidly won it, which means I’ve got to go to Bridgewater to pick up that Golf,” he adds.
Since he had to make the trip anyway, he bought the one-owner Golf too. He says he paid just over £3,000 for each car. He thinks the older Golf could be worth around £6,000, since a similar one is advertised for over £8,000.
A Long Day On The Road
Bridgwater was four hours away. He set off with his van and trailer, and he grumbled about the price of fuel along the way.
The GTD he never wanted was 16 years old with 135,000 miles. Its wheels were scuffed, a headlight was peeling and both rear tires were flat. Still, it started right up. A quick scan showed only five fault codes.
Then he walked up to the car he really came for, and his mood dropped. The driver’s door had a big dent, and at first it would not open at all. The idle also rose and fell with a rattly noise. On the plus side, the car came with a thick stack of paperwork.
Loading both cars in wind and rain took a while. In the end, he says, the trip was about a ten-and-a-half-hour round trip.
The Mistake That Turned Out Fine
A few days later, the GTD looked like a different car with its wheels refurbished. He found no real body damage on it, and he says it drove like a much lower-mileage car. “it just proves that mileage is just a number,” he says.
The older Golf won him over too. He says it has every service invoice from 24 years and every paper tax disc from new until the UK went digital in 2015. He expects the idle fix and a new door latch to be cheap.
How To Avoid Bidding On The Wrong Volkswagen Golf
- Check the lot number, not just the model name. Many listings look alike.
- Set a reminder you will actually see, well before the lot closes.
- Never bid in a rush. If you missed your window, let it go.
- Read the damage report before you bid, and compare it with what you see in person.
- Plan the pickup before you win. A long trip adds real cost to a cheap car.
Where Things Stand With The Two Golfs
He says he does not plan to keep the GTD. As for the one-owner Golf, he is torn. He would love to fix the bodywork and the idle and keep it, but he knows he would not drive it often, and he has nowhere to store it indoors. He has asked others what he should do.
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