Auctions have always been a tough place to buy older cars. I seem to have spent half my life going to car auctions and even now I still buy the odd lemon! It is all part of the job.

You need to do the research. You need to open a trade buyers account. This will reduce your commission. All auctions offer this. You will need to produce proof of trading, usually by showing your trade insurance. This will enable you to purchase cars and keep the V5.

But, I think your time would be better spent researching your local area. Finding out who is selling what and for how much. You can stick you postcode on Autotrader website and search for cars under £1000. See who and what pops up. This will become part of your regular weekly chore. As traders we all use the internet to see how our stock falls in comparison to others close by. You will be amazed at how much info you can dig up from a couple of hours on the internet