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I'd be cautious about bidding at classic car auctions - if only for no reason than you seldom get to hear the machine running. On the plus side though, you frequently get to prod and poke the weak spots of your chosen car on a dry floor with no owner close at hand hurrying you up or accusing you of timewasting.
You won't be able to get a test drive, but looking under the carpets and in the rust holes can be done at leisure, and if you've done your homework you can decide how much the car will be worth after an unexpected engine overhaul and that'll give you an idea where to pitch your bidding.
I've been looking lately at Astons at auction and so far chickened out before they got into serious money. They've ranged from a £20,000 concours queen to a sadly neglected barn find which some brave soul took to £6000 in the knowledge it needed a complete in and out restoration.
One thing that auctions are really good for right now is bread and butter fifties machinery. It may not be fast, but as James Hunt used to say about his Austin A35 on crossply tyres, even the most ordinary roundabout in the wet can be FUN!! Cambridges, Humbers, Wolseleys are struggling at the moment and can be really good everyday pootlers for not more than pennies.
Guy, regarding classic car insurance - get an agreed value on it. That's the key thing. Then if the worst comes to the worst they won't be trying to pay old nail money for your freshly restored pride and joy. If it really does look economically unviable, classic car insurance is more likely to have wreck buy-back clauses in place so you can rebuild it yourself after the pay-out.
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