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Is a 12 month old sourced at auction by a car supermarket anything to worry about?

I'm thinking of buying a one-year-old BMW 118i from a car supermarket with 10k miles on the clock. The car supermarket says the car was bought at auction. I was surprised that such a new car would have arrived via auction - is that anything to worry about?

Asked on 4 February 2020 by Simon Goddard

Answered by Andrew Brady
It's quite normal for car supermarkets (and, indeed, any car dealer) to source cars from auction. As with any year-old car, I'd be a little concerned about what it's been used for. It's unlikely to have been owned by a private owner for a year, so is likely to have been a fleet or even a hire car. It might even have been used by a driving school, although the mileage doesn't sound particularly high. That said, if it's been serviced correctly this might not be an issue - and you'll be making a big saving over a new car.
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