The Private Seller’s Guide
A straightforward way to sell vehicles, machinery & equipment
We prepare each accepted lot for sale, carry out appropriate identity and provenance checks, create the auction listing and market the asset to bidders through our online auctions platform, powered by Auction Technologies Group. Bidding takes place through BidSpotter and iBidder, and occasionally the-saleroom, allowing registered buyers throughout the UK and overseas to participate.
Compton Auctions acts as selling agent for the owner. The owner retains title to the lot until a sale has been completed.
What we sell
We consider suitable entries across a wide range of categories, including:
- Cars, 4×4s and utility vehicles
- Vans and commercial vehicles
- Ex-government and ex-emergency-service vehicles
- Agricultural tractors, machinery and attachments
- Construction plant and industrial equipment
- Trailers
- Motorcycles, quad bikes and utility vehicles
- Classic, collectible and specialist vehicles
- Non-runners, damaged vehicles and restoration projects
- Boats, personal watercraft, marine engines, boat trailers and associated marine equipment
- Tools, workshop equipment and other relevant assets
We focus on useful, interesting and commercially relevant lots that can be properly identified, described and presented.
We may decline any entry that we consider unsuitable, unsafe, unlawful to sell, inadequately documented, disproportionately expensive to handle or unlikely to attract sufficient bidder interest.
How to enter a lot
1. Submit the details
Complete our online entry form with as much information as possible. The better the information provided, the more likley you are to have a successful sale.
Things to consider including are:
- Make, model and registration
- Year
- Mileage or operating hours
- Fuel and transmission
- General condition
- MOT status
- Known faults
- Service history
- Ownership and finance position
- Photographs
- Your expected value
Email info@comptonauctions.com and we will provide you with the necessary forms and information.
2. Initial assessment
We will review the information and decide whether the asset is suitable for an upcoming auction.
We may provide an indicative auction estimate and discuss the proposed reserve. An estimate is an opinion only and is not a guarantee of the eventual selling price.
3. Agree the reserve and terms
Before accepting the lot, we will agree:
- The auction in which it will be entered
- The reserve price
- Our fees
- Delivery arrangements
- Any specific preparation required
- Its VAT status
- Any special terms affecting the lot
You will be asked to accept our Seller’s Terms and complete the relevant declarations.
4. Deliver the asset to Compton Auctions
Once the asset is in our possession, or listed for sale, it cannot be sold outside of the auction until the auction has concluded, following an unsuccessful sale.
Accepted lots must normally be delivered to our Cotswolds auction site by the agreed date. In some cases, such as where the asset is difficult to move, we can accept remote auction lots, sold from the location of the asset.
The seller is responsible for delivery unless Compton Auctions agrees to provide or arrange transport. Transport is an optional, separately quoted service and is subject to vehicle type, location, availability and access. We cannot accommodate every transport request.
Non-running vehicles, heavy plant and marine assets must arrive using suitable transport and unloading arrangements agreed in advance.
5. Preparation and checks
The £150 entry fee includes our standard preparation package:
- External and internal cleaning
- Standard vehicle or asset identity checks
- Provenance and finance checks where available
- Photography
- Catalogue preparation
- Online listing
- Reasonable pre-auction storage
Standard cleaning does not include body repairs, paint correction, mechanical work, specialist detailing, decontamination or removal of significant waste or personal belongings.
Additional work will only be undertaken with the seller’s agreement or where reasonably required to make the asset safe to store and handle.
6. Catalogue approval
We will prepare a factual description using:
- Information supplied by the seller
- Our visual observations
- Available records and documentation
- The results of relevant checks
- Any limited operational test we carry out
The seller must review the description and promptly identify anything that is inaccurate, incomplete or potentially misleading.
The seller remains responsible for disclosing all known material information, even where it is not apparent from our inspection.
7. The auction opens
Once bidding opens, registered and approved bidders can place bids through BidSpotter, iBidder and any other auction site we choose to list the catalogue.
The seller cannot withdraw the lot, increase the reserve or sell it privately without Compton Auctions’ written agreement.
Seller fees
Entry fee
The entry fee is:
£150 plus VAT for each lot
It covers the standard cleaning, checks, photography, storage and listing services described above.
The entry fee is normally payable when the lot is accepted and is non-refundable once preparation or catalogue work has started. It remains payable whether or not the lot sells.
Seller’s commission
When a lot sells, we deduct:
5% of the hammer price plus VAT
The hammer price is the successful bid before buyer’s premium, VAT and any other buyer charges.
Optional and additional charges
Additional charges may apply for:
- Transport
- Specialist cleaning
- Mechanical work authorised by the seller
- Specialist inspections or reports
- Secure or oversized storage
- Recovery, loading or lifting equipment
- Replacement documentation
- Storage after the permitted collection period
- Withdrawal after catalogue preparation
- Disposal of waste, fuel or hazardous materials
Any foreseeable additional charges will normally be discussed before they are incurred.
Seller proceeds example
For a vehicle selling for a hammer price of £10,000:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hammer price | £10,000 |
| Entry fee | £150 |
| VAT on entry fee | £30 |
| Seller’s commission at 5% | £500 |
| VAT on commission | £100 |
| Illustrative net proceeds | £9,220 |
This example assumes that no VAT is due on the hammer price and that there are no transport, storage or additional charges.
Buyer’s premium
The successful buyer pays a buyer’s premium in addition to the hammer price:
15% of the hammer price, subject to a minimum premium of £150, plus VAT
For a £10,000 hammer price:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hammer price | £10,000 |
| Buyer’s premium at 15% | £1,500 |
| VAT on buyer’s premium | £300 |
| Internet Surcharge at 4% | £400 |
| VAT on internet Surcharge | £80 |
| Total paid by buyer | £12,280 |
Additional VAT may be payable on the hammer price where the lot is VAT qualifying or otherwise subject to VAT.
Buyer’s premium is paid by the buyer and is separate from the seller’s commission.
VAT status of the lot
Our own entry fee, seller’s commission, buyer’s premium and most additional services are subject to VAT at the prevailing standard rate, currently 20%.
The VAT treatment of the hammer price depends on the seller, the type of asset and the relevant VAT arrangements. A lot may be described as:
- No VAT on the hammer price
- VAT qualifying
- VAT payable on the hammer price
- Sold under an applicable margin or auctioneer scheme
- Subject to another stated VAT treatment
Business sellers must provide their VAT number and confirm the correct VAT status of the lot. Sellers are responsible for the accuracy of their VAT declaration.
Compton Auctions cannot provide personal tax advice. Sellers remain responsible for any VAT, income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax or other tax arising from the disposal.
Reserves
A reserve is the minimum hammer price at which the lot may normally be sold.
The reserve must be agreed in writing before the auction and should reflect realistic market expectations. Compton Auctions may refuse an entry with an unrealistic reserve.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the seller authorises Compton Auctions to accept a bid up to 5% below the agreed reserve.
For example, where the agreed reserve is £10,000, we may accept a bid of £9,500 or more.
Once bidding has opened:
- The reserve cannot be increased
- It may only be reduced with the seller’s or Compton Auctions’ authorised discretion
- The seller cannot withdraw the lot without our agreement
- The seller must not bid on the lot
Can a seller bid on their own lot?
No. Sellers must not bid through their own account, ask another person to bid for them or otherwise attempt to increase the apparent price.
The Sale of Goods Act contains limited circumstances in which a disclosed right for a seller or one representative to bid may be reserved. However, BidSpotter’s bidder terms state that bidders must not bid where they are the seller or arrange for another person to do so. Compton Auctions will therefore use the agreed reserve and the platform’s reserve functionality rather than permitting seller bidding.
Artificial bidding may result in withdrawal of the lot, suspension of accounts, payment of fees and reporting to BidSpotter or relevant authorities.
How an online timed auction works
A timed auction takes place online without an auctioneer calling each bid aloud.
Each lot has a defined closing time. Bidders must register for the auction and be approved before placing bids.
A bidder can enter the maximum amount they are prepared to pay. The system then bids on their behalf using the published increments, only increasing the bid as required to maintain the lead or meet the reserve.
The maximum bid is not normally shown to other bidders.
Where a bid is placed during the final ten minutes, BidSpotter currently resets the remaining time to ten minutes. This helps prevent last-second bid sniping and gives other bidders an opportunity to respond. The highest valid bidder wins if the reserve has been met.
The exact opening, closing and extension arrangements will be shown in the individual auction catalogue.
What checks can we carry out?
Depending on the type and condition of the lot, our checks may include:
- Registration and VIN comparison
- Finance check
- Stolen-vehicle check
- Insurance write-off check
- Mileage discrepancy check
- MOT history check
- Recorded keeper and identity information
- Imported or exported status
- Limited visual condition assessment
- Limited road or operational test where safe, legal and appropriate
- Cold-start or running video
- Diagnostic scan where appropriate
- Serial-number checks for plant and equipment
Official MOT history can show previous test outcomes and recorded mileage, but it is not a mechanical guarantee.
These checks are intended to improve the information available to bidders. They are not a comprehensive mechanical inspection, structural survey, valuation, safety certification or guarantee.
Vehicles and equipment are sold as auction lots in their existing condition, subject always to any legal rights that cannot be excluded.
Seller disclosure obligations
The seller must tell us about all known material matters, including:
- Mechanical, electrical or structural faults
- Warning lights or intermittent faults
- Accident or fire damage
- Insurance write-off classification
- Flood or water damage
- Previous significant repairs
- Mileage or operating-hour discrepancies
- Engine, gearbox or battery replacement
- Modified emissions equipment
- Missing safety equipment
- Imported or previously exported status
- Use as a taxi, hire vehicle, driving-school vehicle or emergency vehicle
- Non-standard modifications
- Missing keys or security codes
- Outstanding recalls known to the seller
- Any issue affecting lawful road, water or workplace use
The seller must not conceal, disconnect or temporarily suppress warning lights or faults.
Documents normally required
For registered road vehicles
We normally require:
- Original V5C registration certificate
- Proof of ownership, such as an invoice or bill of sale
- Photographic identification
- Recent proof of address
- Bank-account details for payment
- MOT and service records
- Manuals and invoices
- All available keys
- Finance-clearance evidence
- Mileage declaration
- Fault and damage declaration
- VAT-status declaration
- Company authority where applicable
A V5C identifies the registered keeper but is not proof of ownership. We may therefore ask for a purchase invoice, bill of sale, finance settlement record or other evidence of title.
We may accept a vehicle without a V5C only in exceptional circumstances, subject to satisfactory proof of identity and ownership. Additional costs, delays and catalogue warnings may apply.
For plant, machinery and equipment
We may require:
- Purchase invoice or bill of sale
- Serial and chassis numbers
- Finance clearance
- Operating manuals
- Service records
- Inspection or test certificates
- Declaration of hours
- Details of attachments and accessories
- CE, UKCA or other compliance documents where applicable
- Details of hazardous substances, fuel or batteries
- Proof of authority to sell
For marine assets
We may require:
- Bill of sale and ownership history
- UK Ship Register or Small Ships Register documents, where applicable
- Hull or craft identification number
- Engine serial numbers
- Builder’s certificate
- Previous registration information
- Finance or registered-mortgage clearance
- Evidence of VAT or customs status
- Recreational Craft Regulations documentation where relevant
- Boat Safety Scheme certificate where applicable
- Survey, service and maintenance records
- Trailer documents
- Keys and security information
- Details of mooring, navigation or other licences
A buyer of a British registered vessel may not obtain complete registered title until the prescribed bill of sale has been recorded and new registration documentation issued.
Moorings, fishing entitlements, navigation licences and other permissions do not transfer unless the catalogue expressly says that they do.
Outstanding finance
We will not knowingly offer a lot that remains subject to outstanding hire purchase, lease, conditional sale, title-retention arrangement, registered marine mortgage or another third-party financial interest.
All finance must be settled before the lot is accepted for auction.
The seller must provide a settlement confirmation or clearance letter where a check reveals current or recently settled finance.
A person using an asset under hire purchase or lease may not own it and may not have the right to sell it.
If undisclosed finance is identified, we may:
- Refuse or withdraw the lot
- Suspend the seller’s account
- Retain sale proceeds while the matter is investigated
- Recover our fees and expenses
- Notify the finance provider, BidSpotter or relevant authorities
- Require the seller to compensate Compton Auctions and the buyer
Stolen, cloned or unlawfully obtained assets
The seller must have good title and lawful authority to sell.
We will not accept assets that are stolen, cloned, unlawfully converted, subject to a live police interest or otherwise unlawfully possessed.
Where a check raises a concern, we may hold the asset, refuse to release it, contact the relevant data provider or authorities and require further evidence.
VINs, chassis numbers, serial numbers and registration details must not have been altered, removed or tampered with except through a lawful and properly documented process.
Personal registration numbers
A personalised registration will be treated as included with the vehicle unless it has been formally removed before the catalogue is published or the catalogue clearly states otherwise.
Sellers wishing to retain a registration number should complete the DVLA retention process before delivering the vehicle.
Personal data and belongings
Sellers must remove:
- Personal possessions
- Payment cards and documents
- Address information
- Telephone contacts and messages
- Paired mobile phones
- Satnav history
- Dashcam or recording-device data
- Garage-door and access information
- Business branding that is not included in the sale
The seller should cancel tracker, charging, connected-car, toll and subscription accounts.
Compton Auctions is not responsible for personal items or data left in a lot unless caused by our failure to take reasonable care.
Road tax, MOT and insurance
Vehicle tax does not transfer to the buyer. Once DVLA is notified of a sale or transfer, the existing tax is cancelled and the seller normally receives a refund for complete remaining months. The buyer must tax the vehicle before using it on the road or make a SORN where appropriate.
The seller remains responsible for ensuring the vehicle is lawfully delivered to our premises.
A vehicle without a valid MOT, insurance or tax must not be driven on a public road and should be transported.
Sellers should maintain appropriate insurance until they receive confirmation that the lot has been sold and risk has passed in accordance with our terms.
What happens if the lot sells?
When the timed auction closes and a valid bid has met the reserve, a contract is formed in accordance with the auction terms.
We will collect payment from the successful buyer and coordinate collection.
We normally pay the seller by bank transfer within 7–10 working days after:
- Cleared buyer funds have been received
- Required identity and compliance checks have been completed
- All seller documents have been supplied
- Title and finance checks are satisfactory
- No material dispute or buyer-default issue remains
- The seller has supplied verified bank details
We deduct all agreed fees, VAT and other charges before payment.
Payment will only be made to a verified account in the seller’s name, unless we approve another arrangement in writing.
What happens if the lot does not sell?
At our discretion, we may:
- Refer the highest bid or a later offer to the seller
- Negotiate a post-auction sale
- Re-enter the lot in a future auction
- Recommend a revised reserve
- Require the seller to collect the lot
The same seller’s commission normally applies to a post-auction sale arising from our introduction or marketing.
Where the lot is not being re-entered, it must be collected within three working days of our request.
Storage charges may apply after that period at a rate of £25 plus VAT per day for a standard vehicle, with oversized plant, equipment and marine assets charged at £45 plus VAT per day.
Withdrawing a lot
The seller may request withdrawal before bidding opens, but the entry fee remains payable once preparation has begun.
After the catalogue has been published or bidding has opened, withdrawal is only permitted with our agreement.
Our withdrawal charge is the greater of:
- £150; or
- 5% of the agreed reserve
VAT and any direct transport, preparation, storage or advertising costs will be added.
A higher amount may be recoverable where the seller has sold the lot privately, supplied false information or otherwise breached the Seller’s Terms.
Ready to enter a lot?
Complete our online contact form with the asset details and photographs.
Our team will review the submission and contact you to discuss suitability, auction timing, reserve, documentation and delivery.