Britannia AuctionsCommercial vehicle and fleet auctions in Sheffield
Steel and forgings leave the Lower Don Valley on flatbeds and crane lorries, and those vehicles come to us when a stockholder consolidates or a fabricator closes. A rigid flatbed with a vehicle mounted crane is a specialist sale. The crane needs its inspection paperwork and the lorry needs its MOT, and the bidders are people who price the crane as closely as the chassis.
Alongside the heavy stuff, Sheffield engineering firms run ordinary van fleets. Toolmakers and precision engineers at Attercliffe and Darnall keep panel vans for collecting material and delivering finished parts, and the logistics operators near junctions 33 and 34 of the M1 run tractor units and trailers on contracts.
We sell all of these by online timed auction. Bidding is open to buyers from any part of the country, with Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster and Chesterfield in reach of a viewing day.
Crane lorries and flatbeds from the steel trade
A crane lorry is worth a lot more with its paperwork than without. The vehicle mounted crane needs a current thorough examination report under the lifting regulations, and the buyer will want the crane's capacity chart and remote control with it. We check all of this before the sale and say plainly in the catalogue what is present and what is missing. A fresh examination report and a working remote take the doubt out of the main lot, which is why we think a crane lorry is worth preparing properly.
Flatbeds and dropsides from the same trade are simpler. Buyers look at the bed condition and the MOT date. Steel delivery vehicles have often carried heavy loads on short runs, so mileage is low for the age and the suspension has worked hard. We photograph the chassis and underside so bidders can judge for themselves.
This kind of vehicle is aimed at hauliers and stockholders, in South Yorkshire and along the M1.
Viewing and collection off the Parkway
Most Don Valley estates were built for heavy plant, and during our first visit we check what that means for your yard. Vehicle access and turning space, the hard standing, the gateway and where a transporter could load all decide how the days are set, and the findings go in the catalogue so buyers know what to send. Parkway Industrial Estate and the sites at Tinsley usually suit a sale run from the seller's premises, with the viewing day minutes from junction 33.
The sale itself runs online for a week or two. We photograph each vehicle, record the mileage and note the faults we find, and the catalogue goes to hauliers, owner drivers, trade buyers and exporters. A viewing day lets bidders start the engines and look underneath. After the close, buyers pay us and collect in an agreed window, and keys and V5C documents are released against a paid invoice.
If a vehicle is not running, the listing says so and recovery is arranged as part of the removal.
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 Sheffield
- We are moving our engineering business out of Attercliffe and have four vans and a pickup we do not want to take. How quickly can they be sold?
In about three to four weeks from first contact, depending on the number of vehicles and the access at the unit. We visit and catalogue in a day, bidding runs for a week or two, and buyers collect within a few working days after the close. If your move date is fixed, tell us and we will set the closing date back from it. Five vehicles is a small job and we take those on. Have the V5C documents and MOT certificates together before we come.
- Do trade buyers from Barnsley and Doncaster come to a viewing day in Sheffield?
They can. The Parkway and the M1 put most of South Yorkshire within half an hour of the Don Valley, so a viewing day is an easy trip for hauliers and traders across the county. Bidding is online, so anyone who cannot attend still bids, usually after asking us questions about a particular vehicle. We answer those honestly, because a buyer who is told about a fault before bidding does not walk away at collection.
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.