Buy at auction

["Andrew Buc" <abuc@ibm.net>]

I decided that I'd go to this past Saturday's auction, just to see what
how it works,  but I wouldn't bid, no matter what. They require at
least a $50 cash holding deposit from a winning bidder, so I made a
point of not having even $20 on me.

Of 5 or so Audis on sale, only a '79 5k looked good even superficially.
Two early-80s 4k's looked tatty. An '86 4k had the kind of debris that
a car accumulates when it sits under the same tree for weeks or months
on end. The '88 90q (the car I would have bid on if it had been in good
shape and I'd been ready to go for it) had clearly been hit and was
undriveable but might have been OK as a parts car.

One lister suggested that I try the handbrake on the 90q to see if the
rear calipers were frozen. Turns out that many of the cars are locked.
There's an on-site locksmith, but you have to have bought a car b4
he'll make you a key for it. Even with the unlocked cars, you're not
supposed to get inside them. Several people broke this rule and were
chewed out pretty good. Another reason not to bid too high if I bid on
a car in the future.

None of this means that an Audi in good shape couldn't turn up in the
future. But this wasn't the day.