AUCTION ESTIMATES
In the first instance, you will want to know what we think your Classic Vehicle could make in auction with Brightwells. We have an extensive knowledge and experience of the Classic Car market and are recognised as one of the top five auction houses in the media in the industry. We have been selling Vintage and Classic Cars & Motorcycles since 2005, with around a thousand vehicles put on sale on a yearly basis during that time. Our ability to estimate an auction value is therefore based on very comprehensive experience.
If you are thinking of consigning into one of our next auctions, you can request an auction estimate for your Classic, by either:
- Completing this online auction estimate request form
- Calling one of our specialists on 01568 611122 (9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday)
We may wish to come and see your vehicle, or there is also the option to arrange an appointment to bring the vehicle to our auction centre at a time to suit you. We are one of the very few Classic Motoring auction houses to own their auction facility, so we are incredibly flexible as to when you would like to arrange an appointment to come to us.
Once our auction specialist has assessed your vehicle, we will discuss with you the appropriate auction for it to be sold in. We will then help you through the process to submit an entry.
VENDOR FEES & MARKETING
Our fee structure is uncomplicated with no additional or hidden charges:
- Vendor Commission: Once sold, we will charge from the proceeds: 5% motorcars, 8% motorcycles 8% cherished registration number of the hammer, price subject to a minimum charge of £150 per lot
- Catalogue and Illustration Charge, known as the Entry Fee: £150 per lot
All of the above charges are subject to VAT.
Our pre-sale marketing encompasses the best descriptions alongside the highest profile promotion in the industry. Your vehicle will be professionally photographed for our catalogue and we will promote videos of the bodywork and it’s running performance, where appropriate.
We promote the auction lots through our web site, which attracts huge numbers of visitors from all over the world for each auction. For media advertising, we place auction notices in international Classic Motoring magazines, UK broadsheet newspapers, across several platforms of social media and on specialist industry web sites.
We have an extensive database of buyers, built over the 15+ years’ experience we have in the Classic Motoring market. Our mailing lists are ever growing and contain a national and international buyer base.
This combination of marketing streams produces a highly successful result, with us achieving a 90%+ success rate of selling for our clients in the last six months, which we believe is unrivalled in the industry.
SUBMIT AN ENTRY
Our Classic Motoring Department will accept most types of Vintage and Classic transportation and cherished number plates. You can submit your entry by:
- Downloading our entry form, printing it out and sending it to us by email or post
- Bringing your vehicle to our site and completing the paperwork with us in person
The entry form is easy to follow, but we would be delighted to help with any questions about completing it. The more information we have, the more of a picture we can build for the buyers.
Once we have received your entry, we will begin the process of a full investigation of its provenance, the paperwork and the story behind it, because these are the selling points which mean so much to collectors and investors in motoring history. PLEASE NOTE: If you are going to retain the cherished number on your vehicle, please arrange for it to be removed and put on retention prior to auction.
The lots which sell best are marketed without a reserve price, but it is not a requirement that we will only accept cars without reserve. The reserve price is the value a seller would like the item to make at the least. For items with a reserve price, we operate a provisional bid system, where we would submit the highest bid if the reserve is not met or exceeded.
VEHICLE DELIVERY
Our auction centre is based at Easters Court, Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 0DE. We own this site, so can accept your vehicle anytime during our normal work hours (9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday), except for Bank Holidays and in between Christmas and New Year.
Our storage buildings are fully alarmed and insured, with 24-hour security monitoring. We are located on the main A49 at Leominster and our ten-acre site has strongly secured access.
No matter where you live or what you want to have transported, we know someone who can do it. Classic car or motorcycle transport is all about timing, safety, storage and price, and we have been involved with companies who have done the job for over thirty years, through various parts of our business. We can arrange delivery for international sellers from most parts of the globe, let alone the UK.
Of course, the alternative is that you are more than welcome to deliver or drive the vehicle to our site yourself. There is a train station conveniently located within a ten-minute walk of our site, with links to the rest of the UK.
Please remember that when the vehicle is brought to Brightwells, we will need all of it’s paperwork and any additional sparts/parts you are offering with it to be sent at the same time. Paperwork includes any historical documents, service records, V5Cs or log books, old MoTs and such like.
AUCTION DAY
All our sales are now conducted in an online format, with buyers submitting their bids through the internet pages we have. Brightwells owns and maintains it’s own auction software, so we do not charge buyers for the privilege of using a 3rd party auction site, which undoubtedly improves sale prices.
In the days before the auction, we will have arranged bespoke appointment viewing for buyers, who have expressed interest in the lots they are after. Where possible, we will have safely introduced them to the lot for viewing, shown them paperwork for the lots and talked them through the bidding process. Other clients who do not come for viewing are often spoken to about how the process works.
We often speak to the sellers on sale day, to discuss the bids that are coming in and what sort of interest we are getting from the buyers. As previously stated, we also may submit a provisional bid on a lot that has a reserve price, either on the day of sale or the next day, if we have not been able to make contact.
POST-SALE PAYMENT & PROCESSES
We pay the proceeds from sale to sellers 14 days after the sale (10 working days), all funds being held in a secure client account during the intervening period.
We can pay by cheque or by bank transfer and we will send to you a full statement of the sale price, our deductions and the proceeds of sale.
Once title has passed to the buyer, we notify DVLA of the change of ownership for UK registered vehicles, on behalf of the seller.
There are other elements to the whole auction process, but these are the main points. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions and see our conditions of sale on our auction pages for full information of our trading terms. We also post some terms in the auction catalogue, which may apply only to the lots being offered in their particular auction.
