Title shows sale at auction. Problem??

The only thing I can recommend is that I would take the VIN number and ask at your local DMV to make sure the title is good.

I don't see an auction sale as a red flag. I a large proportion of trade-ins go through auction to get from a dealer that doesn't want it to a dealer that thinks he can sell it, as do almost all loan defaults and repossessions.

I don't understand a bank buying it at auction, but depending on the state, if a dealer buys it and finances his floorplan, the financing bank could be the owner on the title, rather than the dealer.

FWIW, most rental cars are disposed of at auction, with the rental company never holding title, rather leasing from the factory, which will be the seller at the auction. I doubt that rental RVs are handled that way, they have to stay in service too long to make money, so have to be titled.

camperforlife wrote:
Repo'd by bank and sent to auction. Probably at one that did not allow a reserve. Highest bidder was well below value so bank bid to keep it. All the bank is out is the sales commission. Happens all the time.

X2

I'd have a mechanic check it out, but don't think that title issue is a worry. I bought my Lance at an auction (sorta, a dealer repo sale) - and it had never been sold at retail ... but it showed dealer and auction company on the original COO ... no sweat, and Lance honored the warranty.

The bank may have run a repossessed vehicle through an auction to establish a legitimate valuation so they could begin the process of suing the original owner for a deficiency balance. Federal credit laws require that all repossessed merchandise be sold at "fair market value". This is to protect the person who had the item repossessed since they would be entitled to any monies collected over what was owed (including repossession, attorney, and disposal fees). It also prevents them from owing a deficiency balance larger than it should be.
It is entirely possible (and quite likely) the bank had no idea what the vehicle was worth until it ran through the auction. They probably decided to "no sale" the unit because the bids were too low and had the vehicle titled to them so they could attempt to get a higher retail value for it, thus cutting the losses.

Several times a year here in Florida we hold auctions that are only for RVs .Same for boats , farm equip . Most if not all vehicles will go thru an auction sometime during their life . I am an auctioneer and have sold thousands of RVs and hundreds of thousands of autos .

One of our cars was repoed and sold at auction. It was a good deal and only 6 months old, we didn't hesitate.
The "first" owner appeared to have been a service man that got in over his head

I would be more concerned if they are going to provide you with a registrable clean title.

I would research the clean title part of it before plunking down any money. I heard horror stories of people trying to register vehicles with the DMV in some states that were salvage titles etc.

camperforlife wrote:
Repo'd by bank and sent to auction. Probably at one that did not allow a reserve. Highest bidder was well below value so bank bid to keep it. All the bank is out is the sales commission. Happens all the time.

I agree. Auctions are the way MANY dealers (cars in particular) get their used vehicles. Since a bank is normally not set up to show and sell an RV, they routinely run repos through auctions. Just use due diligence, that's all.

I should add that IMO, most "auctions" are actually car auctions - so it wouldn't be unheard-of for an RV to not sell; or to sell too low. Has nothing to do with "quality" - more like "takes up too much space on a car lot".

I am pretty sure its not flooded. Floor is solid, no dirt in unexpected places, and not much rust on the undercarriage. Only significant rust is the above mentioned two screws and two bolts. The two under the slides are just a bit rusted. The bolts are more, but they have no paint on them.

IMHO if the bank bought it back at auction it has no flood or other serious damage. Otherwise they would have let it go at the auction.