How do you decide On which car to buy when you can only see a picture at Online auction 
Do you just add in a grand or two in your price to couple any repairs ?
They have many pictures inside and out, plus pics of any damage. Auctions grade from 1-5, 5 being brand new. So if used vehicle is graded a 3.0 its in pretty decent condition. The dealer auction does a pretty good job on condition reports. As far as mechanical goes it depends on what "light" the vehicle is sold under. Red light is as-is, anything and everything can be wrong with the unit, most things worth buying don't sell under red light. Green light is a vehicle that has either been inspected prior to the sale or will get one after you buy. The auction has a huge mechanical shop, they check all major components, frame and structural, and then a test drive, if any one problem that would cost over $750 to fix you can either refuse the sale or re negotiate with the seller. Yellow light has seller declared issues or is out of province/rebuilt/etc.
The only vehicles that I've been stuck with major issues bought as-is are diesel trucks or really cheap beater type vehicles.
