Britannia AuctionsCommercial vehicle and fleet auctions in Preston
When a machining or composites subcontractor loses a package of aerospace work, the vans that carried parts to Samlesbury are the first thing to become surplus. They are usually medium wheelbase panel vans with racking in the back, a few years old, serviced on time because the work depended on them.
The other fleets here are bigger and blunter. Walton Summit and Red Scar hold distribution and storage operators running rigids, tractor units and curtainside trailers, and the food producers on Roman Way run refrigerated vans on daily rounds. Any of them can come to market when a contract ends or a depot is consolidated.
We sell all of it by online timed auction, with a viewing day at the yard. Bidding is open to buyers from every part of the UK, and Chorley, Leyland, Blackburn and Blackpool are a manageable drive from the viewing day.
Racked vans from the aerospace supply chain
A supply chain van has usually had an easier life than a courier van. It runs the same route between the workshop and the customer's gate, it carries pallets of machined parts rather than a full payload, and it is parked under cover at night. That is worth saying in the listing, so we describe what the van did and who ran it, without naming the customer.
Racking stays in. A sole trader or a small engineering firm is buying a van that is already shelved, and that is worth having. Security passes, site stickers, customer decals and any tracker fitted for the customer's contract come out before we photograph. If the vans carry the subcontractor's own livery, we recommend taking the vinyl off, because a plain white van is easier to bid on.
A van on lease or hire purchase belongs to the funder until it is settled, so ask for the settlement figure on the day you decide to sell.
Three motorways and a yard at Walton Summit
Preston is straightforward to collect from. A depot at Walton Summit is minutes from junction 29 of the M6, and the M65 and M55 both start close by, so a haulier from Blackburn or a transporter from Blackpool reaches it without touching the city. We confirm the access, the turning space and the standing at your depot at the site visit, hold the viewing day there, agree collection hours with whoever is still running the transport office, and stagger the slots so buyers' units do not queue on the estate road.
Roman Way and Riversway are a different kind of site. Where the unit is smaller or the yard is shared, a fridge van sale works better if the vans are collected and sold from our own premises, so buyers can run the fridge units and look underneath without holding up a neighbour's loading bay.
Either way the listing tells buyers what the access is like before they bid.
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 Preston
- We supply machined parts for aerospace and our contract has been cut back. Do we sell the vans now or wait for the next tender?
Sell the ones you cannot keep busy and keep one or two for the work you still have. A van that is parked for six months while you wait for a tender result costs tax, insurance, a slot in the yard and a slice of its value, and the buyer at the end of that wait does not pay more for it. If the new work comes in, a replacement can be bought then. We can catalogue the surplus vans in a day and set the auction to close on a date that suits your cash flow.
- Our distribution depot at Red Scar is closing and the trailers are spread across three customer sites. Can they still go in one sale?
Yes. We catalogue each trailer where it stands, photograph the plate, the curtains, the floor and the tyres, and list all of them in one auction with the collection address for each lot stated clearly. Buyers then collect from the site named in the listing, or we bring the trailers back to the Red Scar yard before the viewing day if the customers want them off their land first. Tell us early which trailers are on hire or finance, because those need consent before they are listed.
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.