I took a gamble.
I got a good one.
Ok, it had a couple of small leaks in the cooling system, worn tie rod ends, non functional heater fan, leaking roof and needed the wiper blades replaced. Not a deal breaker.
GG, however, bid just on what he saw on line.
What he got, however, was a gem. Bugger all to get a roadworthy, a number of major components were new, it had overseas deployment history, in service pics and interesting in service modifications. All for a relatively reasonable auction bid.
Bastard!
I hear more good stories than bad when buying from the auctions. Just don't get caught up with auction fever.