Sold to the shyest bidder

摘要

Car auctions are cleaning up their act - so much so that one company is running a course for novices. Don't panic. Even if you do absent-mindedly scratch your nose, you won't end up owning a 160,000-mile ex-minicab Ford Mondeo. I know this because I've been on an auction awareness course. It sounds all very touchy-feely, but actually it amounted to a relaxed chat with tea, coffee and handouts with Manheim Auctions Birmingham centre manager Steve Hanna. Not only that, but there's a proper auction to top off the day. "Stand where the auctioneer can see you," says Hanna. "It sounds obvious, but lots of people loiter around the entrance or the exit when what you must do is stand right in front of the rostrum and clearly indicate that you are bidding." Hanna is amusing as he fields questions quickly from the dozen or so interested members of the bidding public. Last year we casually mentioned that there was a bit more that the auction industry could do to help the interested but understandably nervous private buyer. Manheim, the world's largest auction company, selling 500,000 vehicles annually, responded quickly and took the matter seriously enough to initiate a trial of these workshops nationwide.