Bawtry Motor Auction - A Smart Way to Buy and Sell Cars

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Consumer Guide

The Role of Auctions
Why Buy from Auction
The Basics
How to Sell a Car

With or Without Warranty
Speedo' Reading
Purchaser Protection
Provisional Bids
How to Pay
VAT
Insurance
Summary of Tips
Customer Charter

The Role of Vehicle Auctions

The auction sector has for many years been a contributory factor to the success of used car trade in the UK. Bawtry Motor Auction has been a part of this success since 1947 and is one of the oldest established motor auctions in the country.

Vehicles are drawn from a wide variety of sources including leasing companies, main dealer part exchanges, traders, local authorities and private individuals. The key to our success is the high percentage of vehicles sold to private purchasers.

If you haven't done it before, don't worry. Everyone's nervous the first time: the preparation, the excitement, the anticipation, culminating in a euphoric climax when you have successfully purchased your first vehicle. If you are an auction virgin, read on, we hope the following information will help you the first time.

Why Buy from Auction

Over the past ten years car auctions have become much more popular with private buyers as organisations such as the Society of Motor Auctions have sought to raise the profile of the sector. There's no better way to save money on the price of a car, and it's great fun and surprisingly simple to take part. Bawtry Motor Auction has a large selection of vehicles each sale and, for your convenience, is segregated into specific types assisted by our catalogue.

It can also be safer than buying privately where the legal redress is minimal. Vehicles over Ł1,000 are data checked to ensure that they are not registered against finance, accident damaged or written off.

The Basics

The process is very straightforward. Cars are available for viewing during office hours and the night of the sale and then driven in front of the rostrum. The auctioneer takes a bid from the hall and the cars are sold to the highest bidder. The sale is complete when the auctioneer announces completion with his hammer. If your bid is successful you need to go to the rostrum immediately to sign and complete your purchase, give your name and address, and lodge a deposit.

How to Sell a Car

You can reserve an entry number for a sale. These can be booked from 6:30pm on the previous sale, for example:

Telephone Monday from 6:30pm for Wednesday's sale
Telephone Wednesday from 6:30pm for Friday's sale
Telephone Friday from 6:30pm for Monday's sale

To enter a vehicle you require:

V5 registration document. If not available then proof of ownership. You can sell without a V5.
MOT where applicable. Again you can sell the car without an MOT.
Any service history if available.
Any additional documentation that may help sell the vehicle.
A completed entry form. You may use the link to download an entry form.
An evening or mobile telephone number on the day of the sale.

When completing an entry form you can specify a reserve price for your vehicle. Should you require any help or guidance, we can value your car for you. If the auctioneer reaches your reserve it will be sold outright, if we achieve a price below your reserve, we will telephone you during the sale to see if the bid is acceptable to you. Please be available to take the call.

Upon the sale of your car, we guarantee to post payment to you four working days after it is sold.

An entry fee is payable at the time of entry and a commission fee is charged upon selling the vehicle. Please contact us for the current charges and any offers we may have.

Click here to download an entry form. PDF

To view and print PDF files you will require Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do
not have this on your computer, simply click on the Adobe Reader link opposite,
then download and install a free copy from Adobe's website.

With or Without Warranty

To help you, cars are described in two ways, either 'sold as seen' or 'with a warranty'.

'Sold as seen' means that the seller may not have sufficient information to make a full declaration of the vehicle's background and does not necessarily mean that there is anything wrong with the car. However, it is important to realise that there is no redress once purchased. Older vehicles and cars with a low value come within this category.

'With a warranty' means there is a trial period extending to midday following the previous night's sale. This is a major mechanical warranty covering drive items such as engine, gearbox and steering. It does not cover exterior bodywork and trim, interior fittings and tyres. Vehicles are sometimes referred to as 'with trial' or 'no major mechanical faults'. If there are specific faults these will be included in the vehicle description and communicated by the auctioneer.

Speedo' Readings

Readings are only warranted as accurate if announced by the auctioneer at the time of the sale or confirmed in the vehicle's windscreen banner. In all other cases, readings are not warranted or incorrect and should not be relied upon.

Purchaser protection

At Bawtry Motor Auction we pride ourselves with our customers' satisfaction. Although the contract is between the buyer and the seller we will do our utmost to protect your purchase against any defect or title.

If you are unhappy with your purchase, we will re-enter the vehicle in the next sale free of charge!

Provisional bids

Most cars are sold with a reserve (minimum) price that the seller is prepared to accept. If your bid is less than reserve, but fairly close, your bid may be accepted provisionally. We will contact the seller to see if your offer is acceptable. It is important not to bid for another vehicle while you are waiting for the seller's decision!

How to pay

Please come prepared with a deposit. Cash, debit card or credit card can be used to pay the balance for a small fee.

VAT

VAT is generally not added to the hammer price. However, there are exceptions and the auctioneer will communicate these. Vehicles referred to as 'VAT qualifying cars' will have VAT accounted for separately within the hammer price to enable a VAT registered company to recover the VAT. Commercial vehicles are subject to VAT on top of the hammer price at the standard rate unless otherwise stated.

Insurance

Once you have purchased the vehicle it becomes your responsibility. Accordingly, you must effect the necessary insurance arrangements to take the vehicle off site.

Summary of Tips

Arrive in good time to allow you to check-out the vehicles to see which meet your requirements. Always try to give yourself a choice.
Go with a friend for support or if you have little knowledge.
Check the terms and conditions as displayed in the auction.
Decide in advance how much you are prepared to pay and remember to account for the buyer's fee.
Never bid over the budgeted amount; there will be plenty of vehicles from which to choose.
You will be able to view the vehicles beforehand but can examine the engine only when a car is started and driven to the rostrum.
Read the banner in the windscreen, as all the relevant information will be on it. Year of manufacture, make, model, MOT, road tax, mileage and warranty details are included.
Buy a vehicle catalogue to monitor the process of the sale and search for any vehicles you may have missed.
Don't forget - if you are still unsure, please visit us at any time and we will guide you through all the details and answer any questions you may have.

Customer Charter

As a member of the Society of Motor Auctions we pledge the following to our customers:

To promote 'Best Practice' in the industry
To be fair to both buyer and seller
To protect the buyer against defect in title
To commit to the Society of Motor Auctions code of practice
To ensure that all staff are familiar with customers rights within the code
To have an easily identifiable procedure fro handling complaints
To provide access to an independent arbitration facility