Category: | Auto Auction |
Address: | 566 Delong St, Salt Lake City, UT 84104, USA |
Phone: | +1 801-956-2886 |
Site: | utahpublicautoauction.com |
Rating: | 3.7 |
Working: | 9AM–6PM 9AM–6PM 9AM–6PM 9AM–6PM 9AM–6PM 9AM–5PM Closed |
CA
Cameron Kelson
Ive had a couple experiences with buying cars, and while my experience with UPAA wasnt terrible, it wasnt great either. Mostly I didnt like the lack of honesty. I guess this is to be expected and is pretty common with a used car dealership or salesperson, but it is still disappointing. They did have quite a large selection of vehicles at reasonable prices, but they wont let you test drive it outside of their "lot", so you really cant take the vehicle above about 20 mph. I did actually get to take mine outside after some persistence, but it wasnt easy. Then theres the question of their offer system. They give you a price, and state that this is the price that the "owner" of the vehicle is asking, as if all of their cars belong to other people, and they just help to sell them. They say that they are open to offers, but that the "owner" has to approve your offer in order for you to purchase a vehicle. They will then speaker phone the "owner" who will tell you that your offer is too low, and that you need to go up. If you go up, he states that you need to go up more, and more and more. Basically I think that whoever they call is just a stage act to try and squeeze as much money out of you as possible. I had seen this, so I told them I was firm on my price and that I wasnt going to offer more and started to walk out. Only then when they saw that they were about to lose a sale did they call the "owner" and all of a sudden my offer was fine. So be careful, theyre pretty sneaky about it. I bet 90% of their customers wont catch on. When you get the title to the vehicle, it is in UPAAs name, so they are obviously the owners and dont have to get approval from anyone else in order to sell the car. Its just a gimmick. Also, the main lady there (I never knew her name) was so insanely and annoyingly persistent that I was tempted not to buy the car just because of her. But again, I couldnt find a better deal anywhere else, and the car has been great. Thats really the only source of the stars Im giving them. They charge you dealership fees but then dont do any of the registration, so thats stupid too. Put simply, it wouldnt be my first option for buying a used car, but it still might be a reasonable way to get a set of wheels if youre in a pinch.
MR
Mr. Man
I have been going to car auctions for 20 years and the post below is hard to read for me. taking used cars in trade for a dealership is some times a necessary evil for dealerships and provides a valuable service for their customers. example: the prius you mentioned was likely owned by a customer ,and faced with mechanical issues and a large bill to fix it ,traded it in for reliable transportation. Toyota Bountiful obviously tried to do the right thing by disposing of the vehicle at auction,instead of trying to pawn the vehicle off on a unsuspecting customer. most cars like this at these auctions are purchased by smaller independant lots that will fix the car and resell it. everyone knows at the auction if you are the last bidder ,you own the car AS-IS..WHERE-IS...with ANY and ALL problems or issues. the auction guarantees NOTHING other than you will get a title. they make it VERY CLEAR by announcing all cars are sold as-is before the bidding starts..and you signed the paperwork saying so. yet somehow you feel like that didnt apply to you or your car ? you are not partially at fault .you are fully at fault. and should take responsibility for your actions, and publicly apologize and retract your statements to the dealership and the auction. you are an adult and you should act like one. these people did nothing unethical as you stated.they did what any reputable firm would do..the dealership decided not to re-sell the car to their customers..and the auction offered the vehicle for sale with FULL DISCLOSURE that you buy it AS-IS with all its problems , but you chose not to listen,and ignore all of their warnings and disclamers . people have the notion watching reality TV that they can go to an auction and get a great deal. they have no idea the risk these people are making trying to make a living by buying and selling vehicles at very small margins .dealers get stuck with cars just like you did. they suck it up,take their lumps and hopfully be a little smarter on the next purchase . what they dont do is bad mouth others for a decision they made with their eyes wide open, and with full knowlege of what the risks are.
SK
skboo palms
People at this place are nice and pleasant but their practice or car is questionable. Bought a 2002 Toyota Prius from this place and the hybrid warning light came on within a few miles of driving from their lot. Consequently the car failed state emission test. Found out later from Toyota service history that Toyota Bountiful is fully aware of a leaked hybrid battery issue with this car and disposed it off at the auction. We managed to get the car passed the emission tests after a lot of efforts. A worse issue came up less than 2 weeks having the car, high coolant temperature warning light came on and the hybrid system went on limp mode while I was driving on Bangerter highway. This is so dangerous that the car just limped/stalled and you cant drive it out of danger. We had the car towed to a workshop but we couldnt get the car to throw a high coolant temperature warning light again. We couldnt take the chance with unpreditability of this car and decided to cut losses and trade it in for a new Nissan. I admit am partly at fault for being naive or ignorant but Utah Public Auto Auction and more so Toyota Bountiful is really unethical to sell a car far above KBB recommended value while they fully aware that it would not pass state emission test and the hybrid battery has leakaged issue and also issues with hybrid engine control unit and the inverter.
CH
Chris R
A couple years ago I went in to look at a beautiful a bright red 1993 Nissan 300zx. It had about 93k miles and the car was in pretty good shape aside from a front bumper that had been replaced and poorly repainted. As I made an offer on the car, the lady I had been dealing with decided to call her boss and make a "deal". I was repeatedly told how cool the car was and how it had JUST had a new clutch and timing belt installed. GREAT RIGHT? I proceeded to purchase the car for about $5,700, not an awful deal at this point. I take the car home, show some friends... BAM, the starter literally comes off the car. Two bolts were suppose to be holding this thing in but there was just one hanging on with a couple threads. No problem though, my neighbor had a car lift and we were able to sort that out in a few minutes. The next day I found a brand new timing belt still in its package in the rear of the car, hiding from view. NICE!!!! Good to know they hadnt actually installed the timing belt that they were talking about! Just a few days later the clutch gives out and I am without a car. DANG!!! I thought there was a new clutch in this thing!!? Anyway, dont believe the BS stories these guys tell about a car. They move inventory pretty quickly and its likely that whatever they are telling you is a lie. Dont get taken advantage of with a lie like I was.