Machinery and engineering auctions in Sunderland

Machinery auctions for businesses in Sunderland and the surrounding Tyne and Wear area, including Washington, Houghton-le-Spring, Seaham, South Shields. We catalogue and sell on your premises, so nothing has to be moved before the sale.

Machine tools have a market of their own. A CNC lathe, a turret mill or a surface grinder is bought by people who know exactly what they are looking at, and who will pay a fair price for a machine with a known history.

A machinery auction puts your equipment in front of that market. We catalogue each machine with the detail buyers want, run the sale online, and manage the removal by riggers. Tell us what you have, with makes and models if you can, through the contact form.

What these sales usually include

CNC turning centres
CNC vertical and horizontal machining centres
Manual and toolroom lathes
Milling machines
Surface and cylindrical grinders
Press brakes and guillotines
Laser, plasma and waterjet cutters
Bandsaws and cold saws
Radial arm and pillar drills
Welding sets and positioners
Coordinate measuring machines
Tooling, chucks and workholding
Compressors and dust extraction
Cranes, hoists and forklifts

What the buyers want to know

Engineering buyers bid on detail. A catalogue entry that says lathe tells them nothing. One that gives the make, model, year, serial number, control system, swing, centres, spindle speed and the tooling included tells them whether to travel for the viewing.

We record all of that when we catalogue. We photograph the control, the ways, the tooling and the nameplate. If a machine runs, we say so, and we note any known faults. Honest condition notes bring higher bids than vague ones, because buyers discount for uncertainty.

Keep the paperwork with the machine. Manuals, tooling lists, software licences, probe calibration records and the last service report all add value. Control keys and dongles are essential. A CNC without them may be worth little more than scrap.

Machines that sell well

Demand is strongest for:

CNC turning and machining centres from recognised makers with common control systems
Manual lathes, mills and grinders from established makers, especially in good order with tooling
Sheet metal equipment: press brakes, guillotines, punches and laser or plasma cutters
Welding and fabrication equipment, positioners and manipulators
Inspection equipment, coordinate measuring machines and surface tables
Sawing, drilling and general workshop machines

Older machines with an unusual control or an obsolete maker still sell, but to a narrower market and at lower prices. Very large or heavy plant can be harder to sell because removal cost is high relative to value. We tell you where each machine sits before the sale.

Viewing, bidding and the buyer's premium

Machinery sales run as online timed auctions. The catalogue is published with photographs and specifications. Buyers register, view the machines on the viewing day, and bid online until the lots close. The sale is advertised to the engineering trade and to dealers who resell machines at home and overseas.

Buyers pay the hammer price plus the buyer's premium, and VAT on both where it applies. The premium is the buyer's cost, not yours. Overseas buyers are common in machinery sales and they arrange their own export.

All machines are sold as seen. The viewing day matters for this reason. A buyer who has inspected a machine and heard it run bids with confidence. Keep the power on and, if it is safe, be willing to demonstrate the main machines on viewing day.

Reserves and estimates

We give an estimate for each significant machine before the sale. The estimate is an opinion of the likely hammer price based on recent results for similar machines. It is not a valuation for insurance or accounts, and it is not a guarantee.

Reserves are available on the main machines. We advise on a reserve that reflects the market rather than what the machine cost. New machine prices have little bearing on what a used one makes. Age, hours, condition, control system and how many buyers need that exact machine this month matter more.

Smaller machines and tooling usually sell without reserve. A sale that clears is better for you than one with a tail of unsold lots that need dealing with afterwards.

Removal by riggers

Machine tools are removed by machinery movers or riggers appointed and paid by the buyer. They bring the lifting equipment, skates and transport. Your site needs to allow this: access for a low loader or articulated lorry, floor strength along the route, door width and height, and a crane or forklift where one is needed.

Machines should be disconnected from power, air and coolant before collection, and drained where necessary. Foundations and machine feet stay unless agreed otherwise. Coolant, swarf and oil are not the buyer's problem and should be dealt with before handover.

We set the collection window with you and our staff attend to release lots. Riggers often want several days for large machines, so allow for that in your timetable.

When a private sale beats an auction

For a single late model CNC in demand, a private treaty sale to a dealer or end user may bring more than an auction and can be quicker. We offer this route and we suggest it when it makes sense.

An auction wins when there are several machines, when the timetable is fixed, or when the market for the machine is broad and competitive bidding will find the price. An auction also draws out buyers who would not answer a private advert.

If you are unsure, send us the list. We will say which machines we would place privately and which belong in a sale.

Businesses in Sunderland

Sunderland has one of the largest car manufacturing sites in the country at Washington, with a battery plant next to it. Tier one and tier two suppliers for pressings, plastics, seating and trim are on the estates around it, along with tooling, automation and maintenance contractors. The port handles bulk cargo and offshore equipment. Main industrial areas include Pallion Industrial Estate, North Hylton, Sunderland Enterprise Park, Hylton Riverside, the Washington estates such as Pattinson, Armstrong and Glover, Rainton Bridge Business Park and the International Advanced Manufacturing Park.

The A19 runs north to south past the west of the city. The A1231 and A690 connect it to the A1(M) at Washington and Durham. Sunderland station is on the Durham Coast line and the Tyne and Wear Metro. The estates at Washington and Hylton have flat, wide roads and can take articulated lorries and low loaders.

We regularly handle machinery auctions in Sunderland and across Tyne and Wear. Sales are run on site, with viewing and collection at your premises, and the online catalogue reaches buyers well beyond the area.

Questions people ask

Do I need to know the exact model of each machine?: It helps, but we record it when we catalogue. Every machine has a nameplate with make, model and serial number, and we photograph it. What you can do is gather the documentation: manuals, tooling lists, control software, service history and keys. Those are the things buyers ask about and the things that are hard to find once the workshop is being packed up.
Can buyers see the machines running?: They should, if it is safe and practical. Keep power and air connected until the viewing day and, ideally, until collection. A machine that runs under power on viewing day attracts stronger bids than one sitting cold, because the buyer no longer has to price in the risk of a fault. If a machine cannot be run, say why, and we put that in the catalogue.
Who removes the machines and who pays?: The buyer appoints and pays a machinery mover or rigger. They bring lifting gear, skates and transport, and they take the machine from where it stands to their lorry. Your side is to have it disconnected and drained, and to give access for the vehicle. Our staff attend during collection to release lots against paid invoices.
Will overseas buyers bid?: Often, yes. Used machine tools have an international market, and dealers who export bid in most UK machinery sales. They arrange their own shipping and export paperwork. From your point of view nothing changes: they pay us like any other buyer, and their rigger collects during the same window. The wider the audience, the better the price.
How much is a used machine worth?: Less than it cost, and the gap depends on age, condition, control system and demand. A late model machine from a maker with strong dealer support can hold a good proportion of its value. An older machine with a rare control may be worth little more than its weight. We give you an estimate for each machine before the sale, based on recent results, so you can decide with real numbers.
What if a machine is on finance?: It can be sold with the lender's consent, and the settlement figure is normally paid from the proceeds. Tell us before we catalogue so we can contact the finance company. If the settlement is higher than the likely hammer price, you need to know that before the sale, because you would have to fund the shortfall.

All questions people ask

Related services

Guides

How a commercial asset auction works
A stage by stage account of an online timed auction for business assets. It covers the asset schedule, cataloguing, viewing days, how bidding closes, buyer's premium and VAT, collection and how you get paid.
Preparing machinery and equipment for sale
What to do in the days before viewing so machines fetch what they should. Isolate and make safe, clean but do not repaint, find the tooling and manuals, sort out access, and avoid the mistakes that cost sellers money.
How used machinery is valued
Buyers pay for what a machine will do for them, less what it costs to get it out and running. This guide explains how make, hours, tooling, demand and removal cost feed a guide price, and why that price is not book value.