The UK vehicle auction market rests on two large networks: BCA, part of the Constellation Automotive group, and Manheim, part of Cox Automotive. Both run sales at their own sites with simultaneous online bidding. For a buyer from the continent three things matter: the rules on who may bid, the completeness of the vehicle paperwork, and how the export is handled.
BCA
British Car Auctions Limited has its registered office at Bartley Way, Bartley Wood Business Park, Hook, Hampshire, and is part of the Constellation Automotive group. Sites are spread across dozens of locations nationwide, among them Blackbushe, Birmingham, Bedford, Bridgwater, Brighouse, Bristol, Chelmsford, Corby, Crawley, Donington Park, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Livingston, London, Manchester, Measham, Mossend, Newcastle, Nottingham, Paddock Wood, Preston, Prees Heath, Thurleigh, Walsall, Wakefield and Westbury. The BCA group manages used car sales at around fifty centres in ten countries.
Manheim
Manheim in the United Kingdom is part of Cox Automotive and states that its network covers twelve auction centres holding up to a hundred and forty vehicle sales a month: cars, vans, trucks, motorbikes, and also specialised commercial and plant vehicles. The centres are Birmingham, Bristol, Colchester, Gloucester, Haydock, Leeds, Manchester, Northampton, Plymouth, Shepshed, Shotts and Washington, with collection hubs at Bruntingthorpe and Mansfield alongside them. All physical sales can be followed and bid on through the Simulcast online system.
Who may bid
Registration rules, the documents required and whether a given sale is open to buyers from outside the trade are set by the terms of the individual auction house and the individual sale. We do not guess them and we do not quote premiums or fees, because they differ between auctions. Before planning transport, check three things in the terms: whether you can register as a buyer based outside the UK, by when payment is due, and by when the vehicle must leave the site.
Paperwork and export
To export a vehicle from the United Kingdom for twelve months or more you fill in the permanent export section of the V5C registration document, detach it and send it to DVLA in Swansea, keeping the rest of the document to register the vehicle in the destination country. The seller must hand over the full V5C, not just the new keeper slip. DVLA will not post a registration document to an address outside the UK, so the buyer needs it in hand before the vehicle leaves. This is one of the most common reasons a vehicle sits on a site longer than the schedule assumed.
What else to settle before bidding
- Whether the vehicle is a runner and holds valid UK roadworthiness, since that decides whether it can leave the site under its own power.
- Keys, immobiliser and radio code: a vehicle without a full set of keys is a different loading job.
- The state of tyres and battery, if the vehicle is to be loaded without towing.
- The final collection date and whether storage is charged after it.
- A VIN matching the document: a discrepancy stops the clearance, not the transport.
Clearance and taxes
Buying a vehicle in the United Kingdom is an import from outside the Union: export clearance in the UK, import clearance in Poland, an EORI number, the tariff code and a customs value based on the auction price plus whatever the rules require you to add. National registration and tax formalities on the Polish side depend on the type of vehicle and are settled with the customs agency and the relevant authority. The basics are in our articles on the importer’s document practice and on customs value.
What we do, and where we stop
We price transport before the purchase, collect from the site and arrange clearance with the customs agencies we work with regularly. The method of carriage is settled before bidding, because a non-runner, a vehicle without keys and a vehicle ready to drive are three different jobs at three different prices. We do not bid for clients with our own money, we do not finance purchases and we do not assess a vehicle’s technical condition.
Sources
- BCA: list of UK auction sites
- Manheim UK: the auction centre network and Simulcast bidding
- GOV.UK: taking a vehicle out of the UK permanently
Buying a vehicle at a UK auction? Send the site, the lot number and the vehicle’s condition through our contact form and we will price collection and clearance. See also damaged vehicles at Copart and our guide to the auction market.
