Auction houses, which ones to use

[Catmint]

Morning folks.

A good friend has a pickup to sell (story below) and if it is what it is purported to be we think an auction house would be the best option, but neither of us have been involved in car auctions. Any recomendations and who to avoid ??

The car is an X reg pickup, one owner from new. Continuous mot's until recently, mileage is about 50k and it looks a nice car from the pictures. We have yet to see the car in the flesh. If the milage is correct and it is as good as it looks the we are guessing £15 to £20K.

Bit of a sad one really, the lady owner has had to go into care and the family need to sell the car to help pay for the care. They don't want the hassel of advertising it but need to maximise the price for the care. (and with care at about £1500 quid a week it won't go far)

Pictures to follow if I get permission to use them

Thanks, Gordon

[Pandora]

My friend Edward Bridger-Stille runs Historics. Give him a call and feel free to say Al recommended him.

We met at Coys (a long time ago) and Ed set up Historics very much with the view of how HE wanted to do things differently.

Al

[Catmint]

Thanks Al, will pass it on

some pictures

[beardylonodn]

I can't vouch for them, but why don't you try the bangers and cash guys, Matthewsons. Id say they would be a better bet than some of the bigger names.

[Peter Laidler]

+1 for Mathewsons too. As good as anything in my opinion. No frills and it's said that their coverage is extensive. They're well known too with a reputation to keep hold of too.

I have heard that if you mention to them before the auction the reason for the disposal, they'll look kindly at their commission too.

[mk1]

I have had mixed experiences of Mathewsons. Having sold 5 cars through them over the years, the service & care given is certainly not as good now as it used to be. They are certainly NOT the high end of the market.

Yes, they get good results on some modern classics, particularly fast Fords, but tend to undersell a lot of Minis & particularly, even good pre war stuff. They are a great option for a quick easy sale to get rid of something you aren't too bothered about. Before you go anywhere, look at the prices achieved!

https://www.mathewsons.co.uk/auction/de ... ion/?au=62

If I was looking at maximising profit, I certainly wouldn't be looking at Mathewsons, I'd be looking at one of the higher end auction houses, like Al suggests above. Even better would be a private sale, where chunks of profit aren't eaten up by commission. But there is then the issue of finding the right buyer.

[BigWig]

I sold a car through Mathewson's but among other things, the communication was terrible. Even on the initial phone call they were having conversations with other people in the background. They sat on the car for weeks and tried listing it 48 hours before the auction started, obviously limiting its exposure, so I asked them to pull it and wait until the next date. It had been sat in a garage for decades and was covered in the dust buyers seem to like.

It wasn't photographed in this state, but from a tight corner in their yard after the weather had got to it, and the close proximity of the cars meant it was impossible to get an impression of the car. It took several attempts to get them to add my words for the listing as well. Barely anything on their listings carry decent information, unless it's something they own. One upside was the cheque from the sale, which arrived quickly.

[Catmint]

Thanks for the replies, very interesting. Waiting to go see it.

[woodypup59]

Is the car a goer ?

When was it last used and MOTd.

What is the honest condition of it ?

[Catmint]

Is the car a goer ?

When was it last used and MOTd.

What is the honest condition of it ?

-Yes, apparently
-Until recently
-Waiting to have a look at it

[Brynmor]

Having used several traditional auction houses I wouldn’t go near them anymore. If they’d like to try Collecting Cars I’m more than happy to put a word in (not on commission just happen to know some of the guys there).