Britannia AuctionsCommercial vehicle and fleet auctions in Middlesbrough
Shutdowns and turnarounds on the Teesside process plants are staffed by contractors who arrive with a fleet. Crew vans, pickups, welfare units and site 4x4s are bought or leased for the job, run for the length of the outage and then parked at a yard on Riverside Park or Skippers Lane with nowhere to go. Steel fabricators add flatbeds and crane lorries, and plant hire firms add tippers and beavertail trailers. Scrap yards at Cargo Fleet add hook loaders.
That is a lot of metal standing still, and it costs money every week. We sell it in an online timed auction with a viewing day at the yard, bidding over a week or two and an agreed collection window afterwards.
Bidding is open nationally, and Stockton, Hartlepool, Darlington and Redcar are all able to get to a viewing day without a long trip.
Contractor fleets when the outage ends
A contractor who has finished a shutdown wants the vehicles gone before the next job starts somewhere else, sometimes before the invoice for the last one has been paid. Auction gives that a date. We catalogue at the yard, list the vehicles online and close the sale on a day that suits the accounts, and the seller is paid once the sale is reconciled, buyers have paid and the collection window has closed.
Site vehicles carry the marks of the job. Pickups have towed generators over rough ground and crew vans have had eight people in boots climbing in and out for three months. Buyers expect that and price for it, but they want to know the cab starts, the MOT date and whether the tow bar is sound. We say what we find.
A vehicle on hire purchase or lease is the funder's until the agreement is settled, so the consent comes first and the settlement is usually paid from the proceeds.
Checking the yard before the days are set
The riverside estates were built for heavy plant, and on the first visit we check what that means for the yard you are actually in. Vehicle access and turning space, the standing, the gateway and the route out all decide whether the fleet is viewed and collected where it stands or moved first, and the findings go in the catalogue so buyers know what to send. Riverside Park and Cargo Fleet usually take a transporter, and the A66 reaches them from the A1(M) side in under an hour.
Scrap and recycling yards are the one place we look twice. A hook loader parked between skips and a shear is fine to sell, but the collection window needs a clear route out and someone on site to move what is in the way. We sort that when we first visit.
Teesport is close, and the older tractor units and flatbeds are where export interest usually sits.
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 Middlesbrough
- Our fabrication shop at Cannon Park is closing and the vehicles are parked among the plant. Can they sell in the same auction?
Yes, and it is usually the better route. One catalogue with the crane lorry, the vans, the plant trailer and the workshop machinery reaches buyers for both, and a fabricator may bid on the flatbed and the bandsaw on the same day. We lot the vehicles separately from the plant so each is priced on its own. Buyers book and pay for the removal of their lots, and we agree the collection order with you for the site so the yard is clear when the heavier lots are moved.
- We hire tippers and beavertails to contractors on the chemical sites. When is the best time of year to sell surplus?
Sell when the job ends rather than waiting for a month in the calendar. Outage work on the process plants runs to its own timetable, so a contractor's fleet comes free when the contract does, and a tipper or plant trailer standing idle costs tax, insurance and yard space in the meantime. What sets the price is condition, the brake test on a trailer, the state of the bed and how much MOT is left, not the season. A sale usually runs three to four weeks, depending on the size of the catalogue and the access.
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.