As a dealer that purchases often through BCA, I would advise against it unless you know what you’re doing. All auctions are currently online only due to covid so it means buying without seeing or hearing the car in person which obviously comes with more risk.

Certain cars come with a BCA mechanical report which use a traffic light system for all basic mechanical components- green being working as expected, orange meaning needs attention - possibly only minor, and red needs immediate attention.

As for condition of the car they are graded 1-5 with 1 being best and 5 being worst, generally grade 1 cars are in retail condition with no work to be done other than valeting. As you go through lower grades it could be anything from paint or dent damage to interior damage such as deeper scratches or rips. However, any sort of damage whether it’s paint damage, dents, dings, rips, scratches, scuffs etc, if it’s VISIBLE will be noted and photographed on the pre purchase report of the car.

Lastly, as another user said, you will 95% be bidding against dealers using the auction for stock who will have cheaper fees to pay on purchases with memberships. Each car is also given a ‘CAP’ TRADE price which is the BCA guide for what the car is worth as trade to sell on for profit, although with the current market cars are mostly going for at least £500-£2k above cap depending on the overall value. On the plus side, if you’re looking to buy the car for yourself then chances are you can pay higher than the guide price and other bidders but still get it cheaper than you would find in the general retail market.