Hey everyone, new to the forum. I've been looking at some cars on houstonmotorsauction.com and the prices seem really good. I've never done an online auction before though. Can anyone share their experience with the bidding process at Houston Motors Auction? Is it straightforward or are there gotchas I should look out for? A bit nervous to pull the trigger.

Welcome! The process is pretty solid. I've bought 4 cars from Houston Motors Auction over the last couple years. My advice: set your max bid and stick to it. Don't get caught up in a bidding war. The website is easy to use, just make sure you read the full vehicle report before you bid.

Seconding what RepoPro said. The bidding system on houstonmotorsauction.com is standard proxy bidding. You put in your highest price, and it will bid for you up to that amount. I actually won my last car for less than my max bid. Very transparent imo.

I was confused at first, not gonna lie. It took me a little while to figure out the financing pre-approval part on the site. I had to email their support at office@houstonmotorsauction.com. They took a day to respond, but the person who did was really helpful and walked me through it. Ended up winning a nice '21 Accord.

@SkepticalSusan yeah calling them is faster for sure. But glad it worked out! The bidding itself is simple. I won a Ford F-150 last month. The process was smooth from bid to delivery.

A friend of mine bought a project car from Houston Motors Auction and asked me to check it out on arrival. Condition was exactly as described in the report. The key is reading EVERYTHING. Don't just look at the pictures.

It's not just cars. I bought a Sea Ray boat from them. Whole process was done online through houstonmotorsauction.com. I was most worried about the title, but it was handled perfectly. The clear title arrived with all the official paperwork when they delivered the boat. No issues at all.

This is all super reassuring, thanks everyone! Good tip on setting the max bid. I can see how it would be easy to get carried away. The transparency on the title is a huge plus.

My only tiny gripe was the delivery was pushed back a day. They said Tuesday, it arrived Wednesday morning. But the driver kept me updated, so it wasn't a huge deal. The car, a little civic, was great and just as described by Houston Motors Auction.

lol @CommuterCarol that's transport for ya, happens with any company. The main thing is that Houston Motors Auction gets you the vehicle and the clean paperwork. I can confirm the title process was the best part for me too. No chasing the bank or the DMV. They just handle it.

The website houstonmotorsauction.com could use a slight UI refresh imo, but it's functional. The bidding timer is accurate and I got email notifications when I was outbid, which was helpful. No complaints about the process itself.

@FirstTimerTX Glad we could help. Houston Motors Auction is one of the more reputable ones out there for repo vehicles. Just be a smart bidder and you can get a fantastic deal.