Why do people sell cars at auction?
Discussion
LotusOmega375D said:
I must be in a minority, but buying an expensive car at auction goes against all of my instincts. It just seems to be a ridiculous risk.
Agreed! I think one of the experiences of buying an expensive car is smiling on the way to pick it up! Not waking up 6am freezing and drinking tea that burns your tongue. I'd be interested to know how much these cars end up costing the buyer (winning bid plus buyer's premium). I know my favourite '80s supercars have softened a little in recent times, in terms of what comparable examples are advertised for in the classifieds, but I'd be interested to know what they actually change hands for.
MitchT said:
I'd be interested to know how much these cars end up costing the buyer (winning bid plus buyer's premium). I know my favourite '80s supercars have softened a little in recent times, in terms of what comparable examples are advertised for in the classifieds, but I'd be interested to know what they actually change hands for.
The Carrera GT sold at £605K, so add Buyers Premium of 15%, + VAT.I think a lot fo the specialist dealers work on 20 pct margins if you want them to write you a cheque (if they will). Mate of mine bought a Conti GT about four years ago with the intention of running it for two years....when it came to the two year mark I think cars were on the likes of Romans website for £120k or £130k.....he had a friggin nightmare getting a bid/couldn’t get anything close. Was told by all (Romans/Top555/Bradley etc)“we work on 20 pct” Eventually got a half decent big in P/X for a FFRR....as soon as they put the price on it he drove it to them and delivered it!
That’s on a car that’s a relatively easy to shift commodity....a LHD 599....Christ knows what dealers would offer!
That’s on a car that’s a relatively easy to shift commodity....a LHD 599....Christ knows what dealers would offer!
Bispal said:
I sold my F355 at auction in December. I tried for 4 months to sell my low miles, FSH, LHD, Manual F355 privately. Each time a 'time waster' came to view I lost half a day in cleaning, test drives and even arranging inspections. I wasn't being greedy I only wanted £53k and the car had just had £7k spent on bringing it up to really nice condition. I was losing a lot of time & that was costing my business with 'supposed' buyers. The couple of offers I had were so cheeky it was a joke.
The auction house contacted me and said they would sell it consignment for a reduced fee. I agreed and took the car to them. 2 months later it wasn't sold so it went to auction in early December. Almost 3 months later I still don't have my money. Every day I have been leaving messages & emails. I get the same excuse every time, cheques in the post, only the MD can sign and he's out of the country, we are busy preparing the next auction, cheques in the post and round and round in circles it goes.
Selling older exotic or niche cars is exceedingly difficult and time consuming. There comes a point where the time I was spending was costing me more than the auctioneers fee and I was losing faith in the human race with the contemptible time wasting. However as I still haven't had my money its a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. I have now heard this from numerous other people who have sold at auction, the money is almost always late!
I won't buy another classic car ever again after this experience, and what makes me sick is that the car was for sale for almost 6 months at a reasonable price and someone paid more, with the buyers premium, than I was selling it for but I still got less than I wanted by quite some margin. At least the car is sold and I will hopefully get my money soon but this has been a dreadful experience. What is strange is the amount of people who rant & rave about the F355 and how great it is and its their dream car, but no-one is buying them, even when they are a bargain!
£53k for low mileage manual? —- where were you when I bought my 355 in November, on the face of it sounds very reasonable! Though to be fair the combo of LHD and possibly an “undesirable” colour probably make things considerably harder (bought RHD manual red/cream in the end).The auction house contacted me and said they would sell it consignment for a reduced fee. I agreed and took the car to them. 2 months later it wasn't sold so it went to auction in early December. Almost 3 months later I still don't have my money. Every day I have been leaving messages & emails. I get the same excuse every time, cheques in the post, only the MD can sign and he's out of the country, we are busy preparing the next auction, cheques in the post and round and round in circles it goes.
Selling older exotic or niche cars is exceedingly difficult and time consuming. There comes a point where the time I was spending was costing me more than the auctioneers fee and I was losing faith in the human race with the contemptible time wasting. However as I still haven't had my money its a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. I have now heard this from numerous other people who have sold at auction, the money is almost always late!
I won't buy another classic car ever again after this experience, and what makes me sick is that the car was for sale for almost 6 months at a reasonable price and someone paid more, with the buyers premium, than I was selling it for but I still got less than I wanted by quite some margin. At least the car is sold and I will hopefully get my money soon but this has been a dreadful experience. What is strange is the amount of people who rant & rave about the F355 and how great it is and its their dream car, but no-one is buying them, even when they are a bargain!
Seemed to me like people were buying at the time - I actually got gazumped *twice* before landing one, and for figures considerably above 53k.
Perhaps one moral of all this is that in this market small “compromises” on spec can make a car extremely difficult to shift. As people are saying above, why would you really buy an LHD 599 unless it was an absolute steal? So people may well be buying 355s for example, but not ones of a certain spec whilst there’s decent choice about.
Under such circumstances I can see how an auction would appeal —> the options are very limited so you don’t suffer the comparative disadvantage.
Cheib said:
I think a lot fo the specialist dealers work on 20 pct margins if you want them to write you a cheque (if they will). Mate of mine bought a Conti GT about four years ago with the intention of running it for two years....when it came to the two year mark I think cars were on the likes of Romans website for £120k or £130k.....he had a friggin nightmare getting a bid/couldn’t get anything close. Was told by all (Romans/Top555/Bradley etc)“we work on 20 pct” Eventually got a half decent big in P/X for a FFRR....as soon as they put the price on it he drove it to them and delivered it!
That’s on a car that’s a relatively easy to shift commodity....a LHD 599....Christ knows what dealers would offer!
Given that person is going for new cars I wonder if contract lease hire or PcP would be vastly cheaper + certainly hassle free in offloading. That’s on a car that’s a relatively easy to shift commodity....a LHD 599....Christ knows what dealers would offer!
Drclarke said:
fesuvious said:
Reading with interest as am in dialogue with Silverstone Auctions withvregard to two of my cars possibly going in the May auction.
Your even considering it still from what’s been stated here?!Welshbeef said:
The problem is used buyers really don’t like handing over mega £ to joe Bloggs with zero safety net/scam etc. The auction house / dealer option + no doubt some will want to dealer finance mean private sales must be minuscule - and kind of verified by some posters here
I understand, but from FIRST HAND experiences on here, when your buying at auction your handing money over to a third party who takes weeks to actually pay the owner and with a lot of chasing.Something else that not all buyers know (this might not apply to all classic auction houses) is the description is often written by the seller and not checked the auction house. If anything I was encouraged to mis represent a vehicle that we entered as we had a slight grey area over who did some modifications where the auction house more or less picked the better name of the two and stated they did it.
Welshbeef said:
Cheib said:
I think a lot fo the specialist dealers work on 20 pct margins if you want them to write you a cheque (if they will). Mate of mine bought a Conti GT about four years ago with the intention of running it for two years....when it came to the two year mark I think cars were on the likes of Romans website for £120k or £130k.....he had a friggin nightmare getting a bid/couldn’t get anything close. Was told by all (Romans/Top555/Bradley etc)“we work on 20 pct” Eventually got a half decent big in P/X for a FFRR....as soon as they put the price on it he drove it to them and delivered it!
That’s on a car that’s a relatively easy to shift commodity....a LHD 599....Christ knows what dealers would offer!
Given that person is going for new cars I wonder if contract lease hire or PcP would be vastly cheaper + certainly hassle free in offloading. That’s on a car that’s a relatively easy to shift commodity....a LHD 599....Christ knows what dealers would offer!
Big boys game buying a £170k Bentley new!
I've sold through RMSotheby's and Silverstone, and had no problem with either.
You should be paid quickly, but bear in mind that they have to wait for buyer to pay them. (Read the small print...I made sure I had some input into the legal expenses if buyer defaulted, otherwise Auction house chase on your nickel).
I don't think i could ever have got more money than RMS did for my car, or the advertising exposure, and I had a good weekend out at Villa d'Este thrown in. It's a good way of getting a car sold, if you pick the right auction, and are sensible with pricing.
Seller's fees are negotiable if they want to sell your car.
Having said all that, I would also be wary of buying a car with question marks at an auction - have seen some which are a long way from the catalogue description, and they are all used car dealers at the end of the day.
You should be paid quickly, but bear in mind that they have to wait for buyer to pay them. (Read the small print...I made sure I had some input into the legal expenses if buyer defaulted, otherwise Auction house chase on your nickel).
I don't think i could ever have got more money than RMS did for my car, or the advertising exposure, and I had a good weekend out at Villa d'Este thrown in. It's a good way of getting a car sold, if you pick the right auction, and are sensible with pricing.
Seller's fees are negotiable if they want to sell your car.
Having said all that, I would also be wary of buying a car with question marks at an auction - have seen some which are a long way from the catalogue description, and they are all used car dealers at the end of the day.
Edited by footsoldier on Monday 25th February 10:40
Silverstone/CCA are a client of mine and they seem a very decent company. They have always paid our invoices for work we have done for them on time. I have been at a number of their auctions and they are very professional.
I find it interesting how many people buy these big ticket items and then go skint and/or need the money quickly. That's usually the reason for auction, they need the money quickly and dealers make the best offers in part ex rather than straight buys. There is then the other camp who are so rich they just want rid quickly to make some space in their garage.
At auctions I have seen buys because people have had a few too many and they want to show off in front of their pals. Mainly rich guys with more money than sense. Having said that I have seen some much crazier things in the same context with investments and sponsorship.
I find it interesting how many people buy these big ticket items and then go skint and/or need the money quickly. That's usually the reason for auction, they need the money quickly and dealers make the best offers in part ex rather than straight buys. There is then the other camp who are so rich they just want rid quickly to make some space in their garage.
At auctions I have seen buys because people have had a few too many and they want to show off in front of their pals. Mainly rich guys with more money than sense. Having said that I have seen some much crazier things in the same context with investments and sponsorship.
Happy to share my real life experience,not a supercar but specialist sale I guess, just sold my 1 owner 205 gti via historics, had it for sale on here.
Had loads of time wasters wanting to offer between £8k and £12k and part exchance all kind of over priced stuff.
So dropped it off at historics, sold on the day and mobney paid exactly when they said it would be, whats not to like.
Am also selling my 993 on here and sof far had 1 genuine buyer, 1 dealer, 2 no shows, 4 timewasters, all time wasters couldnt fault the car or price and couldnt explain why they didnt want to buy.
Hence why some of us go via auctions
https://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2019-0...
Had loads of time wasters wanting to offer between £8k and £12k and part exchance all kind of over priced stuff.
So dropped it off at historics, sold on the day and mobney paid exactly when they said it would be, whats not to like.
Am also selling my 993 on here and sof far had 1 genuine buyer, 1 dealer, 2 no shows, 4 timewasters, all time wasters couldnt fault the car or price and couldnt explain why they didnt want to buy.
Hence why some of us go via auctions
https://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2019-0...
Edited by phib on Friday 15th March 09:10
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