Britannia AuctionsCommercial vehicle and fleet auctions in Derby
A works van from the Derby supply chain has usually had an easy life. It has run parts between a machining shop at Ascot Drive and a customer at Sinfin, or carried a fitter and his tools to a rail depot, and it often comes to us with modest mileage and a service file, because firms like these keep records. That makes them straightforward auction lots.
The larger vehicles here come from logistics operators along the A38 and A50 and from construction firms. Tractor units, curtainside trailers, tippers and plant trailers all turn up. Precision engineering firms add pickups and 4x4s that were bought for site visits and now sit in the car park.
We sell every vehicle as its own lot in an online timed auction. Bidding is open to bidders well beyond the area, the trade in Burton upon Trent, Belper, Ashbourne and Ilkeston is within reach of a viewing day, and the sale closes on a date you set with us.
Works vans and pickups from the engineering supply chain
Supply chain firms change their fleets when a programme ends or a contract moves. An aerospace machining firm that has lost work does not need four vans. A rail engineering contractor that has finished a project has a row of welfare vans and pickups back in the yard. These vehicles are often only a few years old, serviced on schedule and fitted with racking, roof bars, a tow bar or a bulkhead, and each of those is worth listing.
Vans like these are aimed at tradespeople and small firms who want a vehicle that has been looked after. We list the racking and any fitted kit in the catalogue, photograph the load area, and note whether the ply lining is sound. Pickups and 4x4s reach a different buyer again, often on the Ashbourne and Uttoxeter side, so we describe the tow bar and the tyres for them.
Fleet livery should come off before the sale where it is vinyl.
Deciding where the sale runs
The estates south of the city were laid out for heavy engineering, and when we first visit we check what that means for your yard in particular. Vehicle access and turning space, the surface, where a transporter could stand and how a van gets out of the gate all go into the plan, and the findings go in the catalogue so buyers know what to send before they bid. Sinfin Commercial Park, Raynesway and Pride Park are all different in this respect.
Where the access suits it, the sale runs from the seller's premises. We catalogue on site, hold a viewing day so bidders can start engines and look underneath, and agree a collection window after the close. Buyers pay us before they collect, and keys and V5C documents are released against a paid invoice.
The A38, A50 and A52 give buyers from three directions a quick run to the viewing without going through the city centre.
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 Derby
- We have finished a rail contract and have eight welfare vans to sell. Is auction the right route?
Yes. Welfare vans have a specific market, contractors who need a vehicle with a toilet and a generator on board, and that market is spread across the UK rather than concentrated in one place. A dealer will price the batch for the ones he can shift locally. An online auction puts all eight in front of that wider market and lets each one be priced on its own condition. We describe the welfare equipment in detail and run the generator before the sale where it is safe to do so.
- Our vans are on a fleet finance agreement. Can we still sell them?
Only with the funder's agreement. A vehicle on finance, hire purchase or lease is the funder's until the agreement is settled, so before we list one we need a settlement figure and their consent for the sale to go ahead, and where they agree the settlement is usually paid from the proceeds before we account to you. Tell us which vehicles are financed when you first get in touch, and we will build the consent step into the timetable rather than discover it halfway through.
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.