Selling a car: where to sell my carUsed car auctions

Auctions promise a quick sale, but there are no guarantees

If buyers reach the reserve price, selling a car at auction promises a quick sale. However, there are no guarantees of selling the car at auction and prices tend to be the lowest of any of the sales routes available.

When selling car at auction you enter your car for sale, pay a fee, set a reserve price (below which it cannot be sold) bring it along on the day and watch the bids rise. The winning bidder at the auction gets the car immediately and you get your money from the auction company, minus a commission payment, within a few days. If your car doesn’t sell, you must take it back home or try again in another auction.

This method of selling a car is:

Good for: A quick sale. If your car is a popular model, in good condition and has service history, it should have no difficulty selling. If it does sell, the auction house will pay up quickly and reliably. If the car develops a fault on the drive home, the new owner has no comeback against you.

Bad for: There’s no guarantee of a sale at auction and you won’t get your entry fee refunded if the car doesn’t sell. If your car is bought, the most you should expect is the trade price, which may be hundreds or thousands of pounds below its expected part-exchange value or private sale price.

Always remember - Don’t be tempted to bid for your own car in an attempt to drive up the price. It could backfire, leaving you to pay the auctioneer to ‘buy’ your own vehicle.

Useful contacts

British Car Auctions
Manheim
Scottish Car Auctions 

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