Selling used cars too swiftly online improves cashflow but can compromise sale prices says SVA

The speed at which some used cars are coming into the market and being offered for sale online risk compromising sale prices according to Shoreham Vehicle Auctions (SVA).

Some used cars are arriving from vendors and immediately uploaded into the next online auction which compromises the pre-marketing time a used car needs to create attention with buyers.

Whilst this approach can reduce stocking days and speed up sale times, which accountants love, vendors risk achieving under market price for the car by not attracting enough bids.

“It’s the challenge of selling used cars online. If the images of the car are uploaded online it can be added to a sale within a few hours of arriving on site,” explained Alex Wright, SVA’s managing director.

“In our opinion the minimum time needed between uploading a used car for viewing online and going under the gavel is three days.

“That leaves enough time for a cross section of buyers to view the car and we can generate enough competitive bids to ensure the vendor achieves the best price,” he added.

Wright reminds vendors that competitive bidding is the secret to achieving the best prices if they are under pressure from their remarketing provider to focus on speed of sale.

“Months of online selling means some of the industry have forgotten the basics. My team spends hours on the phone and on email talking to physical and online buyers.

“Online also seems to have generated an obsession for speed of sale which the bean counters love. We hope behaviours change when physical bidding comes back to complement online in future months,” said Wright.