Britannia AuctionsCommercial vehicle and fleet auctions in Bradford
Selling a van fleet from a mill yard is a different job from selling one on the Euroway estate, and Bradford has both. The parcel and distribution operations near the M606 run Lutons and 7.5 tonne box lorries on flat sites a minute from the motorway. The bakeries and ready meal producers run delivery vans from units around Dudley Hill and Bowling Back Lane. The textile firms that are still spinning and dyeing keep a few vans and a flatbed in a mill yard that was built for horse carts.
We sell all of them by online timed auction. Bidding runs for a week or two, buyers view at the premises, and they pay us before collecting in an agreed window, with the dates set by the number of lots and when you need the yard. Bidding is open to buyers from any part of the country, and the trade in Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield and Keighley is able to get to a viewing day without a long trip.
Parcel and bakery vans from the M606 estates
A parcel subcontract ending is the most common reason we are called to Euroway or Staithgate Lane. An owner operator has ten Lutons that were bought for one contract, the contract has gone, and the finance is still running. Each Luton on its own is an ordinary lot. Listing ten separately lets one buyer take two and another take three, and each van is priced on its mileage, its tail lift test, the state of the box and the months left on the MOT. A vehicle on finance, hire purchase or lease stays with the funder until the agreement is settled, so it is listed only with their agreement, and where they agree the settlement is usually paid from the proceeds.
Bakery and food delivery vans are a similar story with an earlier start. Refrigerated and insulated vans from a Dudley Hill producer that has moved to a contract distributor are bought on the state of the refrigeration as much as the van, so we run the unit where it is safe to do so, note whether it holds temperature and describe the load area.
When the yard is at the top of a steep lane
Some of the older mill sites have tight yards and steep approaches, and that is settled at the site visit rather than assumed. We look at vehicle access and room to turn, the width and height of the gateway, the surface and where a transporter could stand, and the findings go in the catalogue so buyers know what to send before they bid.
Where the approach will not take a transporter, buyers collect one at a time by appointment. Where that will not work either, the vans are collected and sold from our own premises instead. Which route we propose depends on how many vehicles run, the yard itself and the date you need it clear.
Thornbury and the Canal Road corridor are flatter, and the A6177 ring road reaches the M606 from either without crossing the centre. Tell us the address and we will say which route suits before you commit to anything.
What these sales can include
- Panel vans
- Long wheelbase vans
- Luton box vans with tail lifts
- Tippers and dropside trucks
- Refrigerated vans
- Rigid lorries
- Tractor units
- Curtainside trailers
- Flatbed and skeletal trailers
- Minibuses and welfare vehicles
- Pickups and 4x4s
- Car derived vans
- Plant trailers
- Vehicle mounted equipment
How the sale runs
We photograph and describe each vehicle, record the mileage and note known faults. The vehicles are listed in an online timed auction and the catalogue is marketed to trade buyers, hauliers, owner drivers and export buyers. Bidders can inspect on a viewing day, usually at your yard or ours, and lots close in sequence on the sale date.
Lots are offered as seen under the auction terms, and buyers are expected to inspect before bidding. The buyer pays the hammer price plus a buyer's premium, with VAT charged where it applies and shown separately on the buyer's invoice. Your charge is a separate commission, with any costs agreed in advance, deducted from the proceeds.
Reserves can be set on individual vehicles where there is a clear reason, such as a finance settlement figure.
The commercial vehicle and fleet auctions page covers when auction suits a fleet, paperwork that affects the price, livery and fleet kit, after the hammer.
Questions about selling in Bradford
- Our parcel subcontract has ended and we have ten Lutons at Euroway on finance. Sell as one lot or separately?
Separately, in one auction. A dealer buying ten as a batch prices for the two he does not want and discounts the rest. Ten separate lots let one buyer take two and another take four, with each van priced on its own condition and paperwork. On finance, the van remains the funder's property until it is settled, so we need their consent and a settlement figure before listing, and where they agree the settlement is usually paid from the proceeds. Removing the vinyl livery first is worth the day it takes.
- Our vans are in a mill yard up a steep lane in Shipley. Can buyers really collect from there?
We look at the lane when we walk the site and say what it will take. Where a van can be driven out but a transporter cannot get up, collection runs by appointment over a few days rather than in one afternoon, and the listing tells buyers that before they bid. If the vans are not all running, or you want the yard clear sooner, they can be brought to our own premises and sold from there. The auction itself runs the same way either side of that choice.
More questions about vehicles and fleets
Related services
Guides
- Selling a commercial vehicle fleet
Fleet sales turn on paperwork as much as on price. This guide covers the V5C, MOT and plating documents, clearing finance before listing, keys and livery, recording mileage and tachograph data, and how to defleet in batches while still trading.