Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.
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Penman
Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4866
Location: Swindon, Wilts.
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 Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2025 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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Hammer price ?1,000,000 Sotheby's take ?370,000. 27% buyers premium and 10% sellers fee. If you have pricey items in say the ?50 mill to ?100 mill range then percentages are lowered and sellers can in some cases even get some of the buyers premium.
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 7139
Location: Derby
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| Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2025 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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When I sold my 1926 Dodge Brothers tourer at an H&H auction, it failed to reach it's reserve. In an attempt to secure an after sale deal with the highest bidder, they agreed to drop their commission entirely.
This is quite normal apparently. The buyer sill pays the premium though.
I wonder whether RM Sothebys do the same for their sellers? |
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Vintage Fly Guy
Joined: 27 Jun 2024
Posts: 179
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| Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2025 10:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Ray White wrote: | On further investigation things are not quite what they seem. Following a brief period when Sothebys reduced their buyers premium to 20% they have now reverted to 27% hammer price ...which seems excessive. 
So, not such a good deal after all.  |
Indeed! For example, a 30,000 'bargain' can start to look very green around the gills when the actual price to be paid is just shy of 40,000 (hammer price + 27% sellers fees + the obligatory 20% VAT that's charged on those sellers fees, as it's a service). As the saying goes, caveat emptor!
At that commission rate I'd certainly start to consider buying from a classic car dealer instead, as at least I'd get 3 or 6 months warranty on my purchase, and perhaps a bit more consumer rights protection if it wasn't substantially as described by the dealer! |
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Rootes75
Joined: 30 Apr 2013
Posts: 4175
Location: The Somerset Levels
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| Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:36 am Post subject: |
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We recently bid on a motorcycle in an auction, finished at just over 6k, the issue then was the fees and VAT and extra online bidding fee added around 1k to the price!!
We did not buy the bike, this was an example requiring restoration, restored examples sell for between 5-7k.
Absolutely ridiculous that someone would pay 7k for it.
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Vintage Fly Guy
Joined: 27 Jun 2024
Posts: 179
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 3:10 pm Post subject: |
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If you don't like buyer's fees just be grateful you didn't buy that 1933 Mercedes-Benz 380 K Cabriolet Type A at the Manor Park Classics auction today, which, after quite a bidding war, was finally knocked down for 228,000 pounds! Just add 12.5 percent buyers fees plus 20 percent VAT on those fees to see the final price to be paid.
https://www.manorparkclassics.com/auction/lot/lot-240---1933-mercedes-benz-380-k-cabriolet-type-a/?lot=4049&so=0&st=&sto=0&au=43&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=0&pp=96&pn=1&g=1
I think the new owner will have a bit of a job on restoring that too, but when it's done it will be a very rare beast indeed and, judging from what they were willing to pay to buy it, I imagine they'll have work of the highest order carried out.
I did look at a car that was in today's sale, which looked promising, but I spotted too many causes for concern for my liking, so cut my inspection short and went home. It sold, but below bottom guide price, which made me think I'd made the right decision. The search goes on! |
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ukdave2002
Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4242
Location: South Cheshire
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 4:27 pm Post subject: |
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The last vehicle I bought at auction was my Fordson Recovery Truck, last year. It was from a auction house that generally deals with house clearance, so generally most stuff sell for ?10?s and for that they charge a 25% buyer?s premium, however for expensive things like vehicles, they reduce the premium to 10%.
Double win, as 1) not a vehicle auction, it attracts less bidders, 2) lower buyers premium  |
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ukdave2002
Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4242
Location: South Cheshire
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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The last vehicle I bought at auction was my Fordson Recovery Truck, last year. It was from an auction house that generally deals with house clearance, so generally most stuff sell for less than 100 Quid, and for that they charge a 25% buyer?s premium, however for expensive things like vehicles, they reduce the premium to 10%.
Double win, as 1) not a vehicle auction, it attracts less bidders, 2) lower buyers premium |
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Rick
Site Admin
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22790
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Vintage Fly Guy wrote: | If you don't like buyer's fees just be grateful you didn't buy that 1933 Mercedes-Benz 380 K Cabriolet Type A at the Manor Park Classics auction today, which, after quite a bidding war, was finally knocked down for 228,000 pounds! Just add 12.5 percent buyers fees plus 20 percent VAT on those fees to see the final price to be paid.
https://www.manorparkclassics.com/auction/lot/lot-240---1933-mercedes-benz-380-k-cabriolet-type-a/?lot=4049&so=0&st=&sto=0&au=43&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=0&pp=96&pn=1&g=1
I think the new owner will have a bit of a job on restoring that too, but when it's done it will be a very rare beast indeed and, judging from what they were willing to pay to buy it, I imagine they'll have work of the highest order carried out.
I did look at a car that was in today's sale, which looked promising, but I spotted too many causes for concern for my liking, so cut my inspection short and went home. It sold, but below bottom guide price, which made me think I'd made the right decision. The search goes on! |
Wowzers, the Merc was certainly a special car but I didn't see it getting that high.
RJ
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 7139
Location: Derby
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 8:54 pm Post subject: |
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I would expect a further 100K will be spent on it's restoration.
However, these glamorous motors do fetch some very high prices once the rich start bidding against each other. |
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Vintage Fly Guy
Joined: 27 Jun 2024
Posts: 179
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 10:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Ray White wrote: | I would expect a further 100K will be spent on it's restoration.
However, these glamorous motors do fetch some very high prices once the rich start bidding against each other. |
Assuming the buyer isn't personally going to do any of the work, I'd think the final bill may a bit shy of 200k inc VAT at today's prices, if the restoration work is carried out in the UK. 100k ish for the metalwork and paintwork, 30k to 40k for the interior, hood, instrumentation and brightwork, and around 50k for the mechanical bits (including sourcing/remanufacturing any missing parts), plus or minus a 15 percent average contingency. So, in all, the finished car will probably stand the owner at somewhere around the 400k to 450k mark if finished to the highest standard to original specification (or as close as it's currently possible to get).
If I'm correct, perhaps the new owner will send me a bottle of Krug for guessing right? |
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mikeC
Joined: 31 Jul 2009
Posts: 1809
Location: Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire
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| Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2025 7:30 am Post subject: |
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With this far less attractive 770 being listed at over ?4million, the new owner could spend a couple of million and still be quids in
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 7139
Location: Derby
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badhuis
Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 1469
Location: Netherlands
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2025 11:58 am Post subject: |
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I spotted that too Ray, and thought of you and your interest in these cars. But quickly dismissed it as it would probably be too rough for you. I remember you pointing to a MkVI for sale which in my eyes was a perfectly fine car but in your eyes needed much restoration.
This car is a very nice one being so original. I would not mind the not perfect chrome bumpers, the loose stich in the seat, and so on. A rust spot here and there.
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 7139
Location: Derby
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2025 1:21 pm Post subject: |
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| badhuis wrote: | I spotted that too Ray, and thought of you and your interest in these cars. But quickly dismissed it as it would probably be too rough for you. I remember you pointing to a MkVI for sale which in my eyes was a perfectly fine car but in your eyes needed much restoration.
This car is a very nice one being so original. I would not mind the not perfect chrome bumpers, the loose stich in the seat, and so on. A rust spot here and there. |
I am not so fussy about condition so long as it is honest. The cars that I would steer clear of are those (and there are a lot of them) where a feeble attempt has been made at restoration and they would really want doing over again... ...or indeed, like the lemon I fell for, which had been deliberately, although quite skilfully, tarted up so as to deceive. I won't be making that mistake again!.
You are quite right, though... the worry for me would be the problems of long term storage. There might be too much rot in the body; also these engines suffer terribly from build up of sludge that goes hard with time and causes overheating.
Then there is the unseen damage of condensation turning to rust on the cylinder walls that is considered by many as the prime reason for piston ring breakages.
If I am honest with myself, I would much prefer a properly restored example and to that end I would probably better have a car on which someone else had spent many thousands of pounds rather than get bogged down with another restoration.
My recent health issues have made me realise that life is short.  |
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 7139
Location: Derby
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| Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2025 10:29 pm Post subject: |
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The H&H Mk6 Bentley sold for 7,760 GBP (including buyers premium).which has to be the lowest price for a project in basically sound condition that I have seen so far.
At that price, I would think there is a temptation among money driven buyers to turn it into a so called 'special'.
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