Car & Classic Auctions IS LIVE!
June 15, 2020
As you may have seen whilst browsing the Car & Classic listings, we have now launched our all-new and very exciting auction platform. It’s the result of an incredible amount of work, with nearly a year of development and testing behind it, but now it’s here, live and the bids are flooding in. To build something is one thing, but the fact you are using it shows that when it comes to secure, trustworthy online auction solutions, the light is on and burning brightly for the masses.
The focus of the new Car & Classic Auction feature is making it easier than ever before for enthusiasts to sell their classic car while also being safe for both parties at every stage. The new platform has an escrow payment function which holds funds in a secure third-party account until both buyer and seller confirm they are happy with the sale. For buyers, this eliminates the risk of carrying large sums of money when collecting a car and for sellers, this reduces the risk of buyers becoming a no-show after the auction. To avoid ‘tyre clickers’, carandclassic.co.uk requires bidders to submit their bank details when registering and pay a £250 bidding deposit which is refunded once the auction ends.
It’s free to list cars in the auction and sellers are charged just five per cent of the sale price, inclusive of VAT – by far the cheapest online auction of its kind. Sellers also benefit from the auction platform being part of Europe’s largest and most successful classic and specialist vehicle website, where a huge audience searches for five million cars a month.
One of the first vehicles up for sale on the new auction platform is a stunning Aston Martin Virage V8 Volante alongside cars from Bristol, MG and Maserati. The Aston was selected because of its rarity and appeal. The Virage, despite its important place in Aston Martin’s history, is a car that was perhaps not as popular as Aston would have hoped. Happily though, the years have been favourable to the wide Aston, and now the market is switched on and ready for cars like this, with ’90s excess aplenty. But honestly, who doesn’t like wide bodywork, deep-dish wheels and that gorgeous V8 soundtrack?
Only 234 of the 5.3-litre V8 were produced, and only 121 were built in right-hand-drive for the UK like this one. This model also comes with the ‘Works Service’ package, making it even rarer, and adding wider wings, spoilers and additional vents. The listing can be seen here where live bids are now being taken.
Tom Wood, CEO of Car & Classic, said:
“We are thrilled to be finally releasing Car & Classic auctions and are excited to see how it will revolutionise the way people buy classic cars online. Car & Classic has always been the biggest and best website for enthusiasts to come to browse and connect with buyers and sellers. Now, they can securely buy or sell a classic car in just 7 days, without ever leaving their home!
Whilst we all love browsing and buying classics, nobody enjoys the transaction itself – worrying about large cash transfers or having time wasted by buyers who change their mind at the last minute. Furthermore, whilst Covid-19 is still an issue, a thorough online description and hundreds of images is going to be more attractive to some than a physical viewing”
“Car & Classic Auction will give cars the best opportunity to be seen by genuine, valuable buyers through our massive audience of millions of monthly users and then securely transact using our industry-first Classic Car Escrow service.”
To see more of our auction cars on this exciting new platform, click the image above or simply have a look at the Car & Classic homepage, where you’ll see the live listings. This is an exciting time for Car & Classic, but also for the online auction marketplace. We’re confident that the platform we have created will not only become the most trusted, but will also pave the way for how classic and specialist cars are auctioned online. The cars may indeed be classic, but this is the future.
