I wouldn't hesitate to buy a car at auction, as long as the bidder's pass entitled me to full access to the cars in the holding area for inspection. When I went to B-J, that privilege came with the bidder's pass and I was able to examine the upcoming cars with the proverbial fine-tooth comb. Although obviously they couldn't be driven, you could do just about everything else with them, including going through them with a Spot-Rot or a magnet, taking detailed pictures and even starting them up. When you have that kind of access, it's pretty easy to rule out the ones that are slap-dash low-budget restos with shoddy workmanship, latent rust and possible mechanical problems just by looking carefully. All you need is a little common sense, knowledge of the marque you're dealing with. and the ability to tell a good car from a heap. Workmanship will tell -- if a car is clean and sports a meticulously-detailed engine bay and undercarriage and all the mechanical bits are sound and where they should be, it's a good car. Oh, it may need a little attention and some tweaking if it's been sitting for awhile, but in 99% of cases it'll be a sound purchase.

As long as you don't overpay, I mean. You have to know the market too and know when to walk away. Don't let the ring people bully you into bidding if you believe the price has exceeded the car's value,

Of course, my experience is now a dozen years old and some things may have changed, especially with this pandemic, but as long as I could get a really good look, I'd feel confident about buying at auction.

 

I'm currently working on (unfahking) a B-J car, a 75 T/A, converted from A/C auto to heat only 4 speed. Luckily, the owner got some nice, used wiring harnesses for the firewall forward. It' was a full-on Rustoleum resto= all hacked up. He went nutso on a RA IV with Edelbrock heads and intake, Butter roller, and full Holley Sniper backed by an AutoGear M23. It should be worth double what he's got in when done.