• Free no obligation valuation service for south coast based used car and van sellers
• Motorists can save £60 and have their money within five working days
• Shoreham Vehicle Auctions works hard to sell every vehicle to its strong base of over 1,200 trade and private buyers

At a time when motorists need cash quickly, Shoreham Vehicle Auctions, based on Chartwell Road, Shoreham has launched a free no obligation valuation service until the end of April to ensure they get the best price for their used car or van in the current tough economic conditions.

In times of recession motorists often rush to sell their vehicle in a bid to free up cash, but end up sacrificing valuable time and losing money on the market value of their car or van. At auction, Shoreham will not only work hard to get the best possible price for every vehicle, but will handle everything from valuation to auctioning to filling in tedious paperwork.

The offer will help motorists get the right price for their vehicle and when they accept Shoreham’s reserve price, it allows them to sell their vehicle for FREE through the Chartwell Road auction, saving £60 and ensuring they get their money within five working days! Should the vehicle sell, the only cost to the seller will be the commission of 7.5% of the selling price (minimum £50). There is no charge if the bid price does not reach the reserve.

When deciding which route to use to sell a vehicle, there are several things to take into consideration:

1- Audience: Selling at auction exposes vehicles to a much wider audience than trying to sell independently or to a local garage, and ultimately achieves a higher price, because a single buyer will try to buy a vehicle as cheaply as possible, in order to then sell the vehicle on at as high a profit as possible. With Shoreham’s strong buyer base of over 1,200 regular trade and private buyers, as well as its strong online presence, motorists can be sure Shoreham will work hard on their behalf, offering their vehicle to a wide audience to get the highest bid.
2- Security: Selling a vehicle at auction means sellers will avoid strangers visiting their home to view their used car or van and also offers peace of mind that payment will be received within the week. When selling a vehicle independently, there is no guarantee that the buyer will pay on time.
3- Additional costs: When selling a vehicle at auction, the costs are immediately clear. The only cost, should the seller accept Shoreham’s reserve price, is the commission of 7.5% of the price the vehicle is sold for – so it is in Shoreham’s interest to sell every vehicle for as much as possible. It’s simple – if a vehicle does not sell, there are no costs. There are, however, often hidden costs when selling a vehicle independently, and no guarantee the seller will actually sell the vehicle.

Shoreham’s experts will use their top ten check list to value every vehicle, checking whether the car has a full service history, whether it is in possession of a V5 registration document, as well as small details like the presence of a spare key, in order to ensure it is valued as accurately as possible.

Shoreham celebrated 50 years of trading last year, and with over 7,500 vehicles passing through its halls each year, it knows exactly what influences the price of any car or van. The company has valued just about every make and model of vehicle in varying states of condition, with anything from ten miles to 950 thousand miles on the clock.

Alan Agate, operations director at Shoreham said, “There has been a sharp increase in vendors taking up this service. At Shoreham we value and sell 1000s of cars and vans every year, so we pride ourselves on the accuracy of our valuation. In the case of us overvaluing a vehicle, the seller can always take the car or van away with no charge, and if we undervalue it is always a delight to see the vehicles make more than the reserve price. We encourage sellers to remember the reserve is the safety net, it is the minimum figure an auctioneer will bring down the hammer on. And if the bid is lower than the reserve they will phone it through to you to give you the choice of selling it or not. You can then pick your vehicle up the next day and not pay a penny.”

For your free valuation service, visit www.shorehamvehicleauctions.com and follow the instructions, or call 01903 851 200 for more information.

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• Buyers clamour for high mileage, high damage vans to beat the LEZ regulations
• Prices of high mileage and/or high damage vans appreciate by up to 50%
• Buyer behaviour causes U turn in vehicle stocking strategy

Used van buyers in the London area looking to meet the new London Low Emission Zone regulations set for introduction in early 2012 are not behaving as the market thought they would.

Instead of buying four to six year old ex-fleet vans in good condition, they are instead purchasing 56-plate and younger vans with high mileage or in poor condition.

Basically anything that is cheap and that enables them to adhere to the new standards that apply to Euro 4 vehicles registered after 1 October 2006.

The result has been a major increase in residuals of high mileage vans in poor condition to such an extent that some have appreciated in value by as much as 50% in just the last few months.

This leaves used van traders and franchised dealers who have stocked up on four to six year old vans in anticipation of the change in regulations rethinking their strategy by introducing lower price vehicles to their forecourts.

Those used van retailers already stocking sub three year, low price product in the London area are enjoying an upturn in business.

“We have seen buyers at Shoreham competing to buy low price post 1 October registered vans with damage and or high mileage, which has in turn increased prices quite dramatically. A 56-plate Transit Connect or Vauxhall Combo that would have been worth £1,000 five months ago is now selling for £1,500,” explained Alex Wright, Shoreham Vehicle Auction’s managing director.

“These buyers coming out of a 9-15 year old van are small businesses who aren’t high mileage users and who can’t or don’t want to get finance. The result is them turning their attention to the cheapest vehicle possible to avoid being penalised which is a complete U-turn in their buying patterns predicted by the industry,” he added.

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