"taking advantage"? Only if you agree to pay that price.
The price he paid at auction would not typically be that low on an 04 Jeep though, so how do you arrive at that number?
Also, Keep in mind that there are other costs. Lets say he DID buy that Jeep for $3000 (which I highly doubt). Maybe it needed a new engine and/or tranny - thats why it was so cheap. Maybe it was recovered from a theft and had to have the interior and ignition rebuilt - happens all the time.
So I would like to know (a) how you arrived at that auction number, and (b) what other costs were involved in the purchase.
We dastardly evil dealers cant "take advantage" of someone who does not sign a contract. Until you agree to a price, nothing happens.
On a car that is retailed at $14,900, I would expect dealer cost to be $10-12,000