Morning Gents,
Just wondered if anyone had any recent real world experience of selling a classic car through one of the several specialist Sale or Return outfits that seem to be out there these days....doesn't need to be BMW specific, but some first hand experience(s) would be great to get.
The car is a BMW E30 M3 Evolution II, so I know the marque specialists such as Classic Heroes and Munich Legends (I've had an initial conversation with both - all very slick/professional as you would expect but with neither particularly sounding better/worse than the other) would probably be willing to take it on, and there seem to be several others out there now in the same space...
I've never tried to sell anything of this sort of value before, and having owned the car for 13 odd years, I'm aware it's worth quite a bit more than I paid for it and whilst I could easily just stick an advert on Pistonheads and/or Ebay
I'm hoping and assuming that these sale or return places have a strong network of buyers/collectors that they source for. So whilst the thought of paying someone a few thousand pounds to do something I've always managed to do myself before doesn't sit particularly well with me, if it offers me some security and removes the "hassle" factor then it's probably a fair price to pay overall.....and as I've said already, I've never even attempted selling something of this potential value - so god knows what sorts of scams are cooked up at this level....
Should I be looking UK only on something like this or does anyone know of, or have any decent contacts in the US or Europe I could explore?
So if anyone has any obvious do's/don'ts, places to try, not try etc. it would be appreciated as I need to crack on now and get the old girl sold, or at the very least partially traded to free up some funds and maybe take something cheaper against it to tick another box on the bucket list of cars....
I'll probably put something in SC here just on the off-chance, but in the meantime any sensible input would be really handy even if it helps me rule out or rule in a few options...
Cheers all,
David.
Have you considered auctioning it. I've no personal experience but in a rising market if it's a good example it may well achieve the best possible price.
Again no experience but I'm on H&Hs mailing list and they certainly market their upcoming sales well.
Certainly worth it to avoid all the inevitable test pilots you'll get on a private sale.
A friend of mine runs this place:
http://www.gtacademygroup.co.uk/used-cars-in-watford
No idea what he charges for a SOR car but I know he deals in these kinds of cars and is a straight guy.
The owner is called Grant if you want to phone them up and have a chat.
I had considered auction, but whilst I've not followed the market religiously in recent times, it does seem like a lot of stuff that goes through auctions these days in the "modern classics" bracket is quite often freshly imported stuff from Japan, or cars that have been for sale previously elsewhere, sometimes ex-track cars etc. etc.
Obviously that's a really sweeping comment, but I get the Silverstone Auctions catalogue through as well (is that the H&H one?) and whilst there is always some lovely machinery on offer, I often 'recognise' a few of the cars in there from previous sales attempts, or, as mentioned, they've often just come straight out of the container reading between the lines on the descriptions....
As with anything at auction, if two people want it, then the price can go bonkers, but equally people often are there to buy to make a profit later on themselves it seems, which is fine - no issues with someone making a living, but I guess that the sentimental side of me ideally wants the car to go straight to another long term collector/owner ideally.
I think the fees at these specialist auctions are pretty steep now aren't they? 15/20% of the hammer price plus VAT?
H&H fees: http://www.handh.co.uk/sell/charges/
I seem to recall they sell themselves on low sellers fees although there are some upfront charges.
I've been up to see these guys recently and they run a very professional operation. Whilst not BMW specific they do sell a broad range of cars.
http://www.cheshireclassiccars.co.uk
I've no idea what their mark up is but it may be worth a phone call. I know one guy that works up there and another who has a car with them at the moment.
A lot of auctioneers would be prepared to negotiate their seller's commission, especially if it's something they're keen on selling - always pays to have a quiet word in their ear!
I'd personally find a suitable dealer who offers fair terms. A good dealer should have plenty of contacts to place a car like this I would think - probably a quicker sale and better price for you.
I have a slightly different opinion of the above, PM for details if needed. On an unrelated note, I think he deals more in more modern performance cars etc but could be wrong.Originally Posted by Dave O'Sullivan
I would suggest an ad on Car and Classic-http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/ free and has a large base of enthusiasts for that sort of car.
This might give you a price point?
http://www.historics.co.uk/buying/au...vo-iii.aspx?p=
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I would avoid an Auction sale, charges, commission would def dent the end price, wouldn't be doing your car justice. S.O.R would def be your best bet with a niche car like yours, plenty of companies would be interested in taking it on, Plenty of horror stories out there though so be careful (I'm sure you will be)
Word of advice leave it with a company as close to you as you can- you can then easily pop in and check its being advertised, looked after properly.
If you want some recommendations who I've personally dealt with trade wise for 20 years you're most welcome to PM me.
Last edited by Rob153; 19th July 2016 at 11:23.
I've got a very good friend who works for Silverstone Auctions I could put you in touch with so you get some sort of idea.
That's an Evo III, or Sport Evo as they are more commonly known.
Looks like H&H fee's are a lot less than I thought - not sure where I got that figure from but assumed that 15/20% was the "going rate"...could possibly look at that later in the year if I don't get any joy beforehand.....
No personal experience of GTAcademy, but it looks like it is all much more modern sports they deal in, with just the odd classic here and there - I'm not sure people looking for this sort of car would think to look there or indeed that they would necessarily be best placed to market it properly, but I appreciate the recommendation all the same.
There is a funny "urban myth" that you should never buy a car from that general neck of the woods also.....and whilst it's probably rubbish I've heard it said many times on various forums....
Cheers and please keep the input coming - especially anyone who has actually sold recently if possible - PM is fine if you prefer to be discreet.
Regards,
David.
Indeed, posted really so OP has a few strands of info - thought it might be a helpful indicator of the appetite for the genre at auction?
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
It's worth considering that the European audience may bring you a higher price too, speak to Paul McLean at GT Classics, http://www.gtclassics.co.uk he's a top guy who mainly deals in high end Porsches however he has a wide reaching audience and does deal in other Marques too if it's the right car, which I believe yours is.
I bought, and sold back, my e24 from Andy at Old Colonel Cars in Hertfordshire:
www.oldcolonelcars.co.uk
He's been buying and selling classic BMWs for a long time. In the end he offered me a great deal to broker the car, but as I was short of cash for a house purchase, I took a straight sale and still managed to get a good deal from him.
Would do business again with him without a doubt.
Thanks - good shout about Old Colonel.
I had a chat with him last year when I was thinking of selling my B10 V8, but he more or less talked me out of it and I'm glad he did with hindsight as I love that car. Definitely a good guy from memory.
Cheers,
David.
I would recommend Andy at Old Colonel too. I bought and sold through him an E30 318iS a couple of years ago.
Can't believe nobody has asked for pics yet!
pictures please :-)
seriously if itv was me I would use munich legends
as they've got a good reputation always get top price and have a good database
no connection to me by the way
I don't think you'd have a problem selling it yourself,just do some research for its value
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sorry gents - no pictures just yet.
I've only really got the restoration shots and there are several hundred of them that I still need to sort into some sort of order, and in the nicest possible way, I don't really want those going to anyone other than a seriously interested potential buyer at this stage.
As and when it ends up with some sort of dealer, I'm assuming they will take some posh arty photo's for whatever marketing medium they use, and as long as there is no issue I'll link or post up then.
Had a couple of recommendations of people to talk to that I will explore a bit further, but I was kind of hoping someone may have dealt directly recently with either Munich Legends or Classic Heroes and/or the likes of KGF Classic Cars in Peterborough, and somewhat more locally, 4 Star Classics in Kingsley Hampshire, and then you've got Fast Classics based in Bramley in Surrey, which also seems to have about 3 or 4 other sub-brands all based from the same location....
The last two seem to be stocking cars in the right sort of age range and price bracket, but the 2 websites look remarkably similar and I'm wondering if they are actually just the same company working out of 2 locations.....I'm sure it's all above board, but when your handing over your pension to someone to sell, you'd like to be sure....
Thanks again for the advice so far.
Cheers,
David.
I'm sure I read that the original business partners split, hence the similarity. Don't quote me on that, mind.
I sold my EvoII via Munich Legends back in 2012. Is that recent enough?
I've used this service in the past and my thought process was similar. I used http://www.sprintclassics.com/ who prepped the car (alloys refurb/new tyres and badge) and charged practically trade rates.
I cant remember the commission levels but a nice set up and good guys.
Andy at Old Colonel is a top guy. Fair and in the business to turn cars quickly so prices accordingly.
Another recommendation is http://www.sprintclassics.com/
Lookin forward to seeing it on SC - Hopefully it flips there!
Best of luck
I had a 911 that I took to a high end Porsche specialist to sell SOR.........
The garage was a fair distance away so I could not just call in to check progress.....
About 3 months later it had still not sold- I was getting fed up with the whole process so I phoned
the garage up and said 'I'm coming tomorrow to collect the car- I'm going to keep it'
and would you believe it the sales boss told me there was a customer in the showroom that moment
who was buying it.
After 3 months with no interest at all I found it rather suspicious the car sold simultaneously with me phoning to say I wanted the car back.
I would definitely keep tabs on the garage selling my car SOR in the future- even get friends to phone up occasionally
and show interest in the car- just to make sure they had not already sold the car and kept hold of my payment to boost their cash flow.....
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