Has your car got spaceship...
Has your car got spaceship mileage, or do you only cover a few miles every week? Auto Express is looking for three-year-old models with very high or low mileage. And if you do the average 12,000 miles a year, we want to hear from you, too. Email ross_pinnock @dennis.co.uk with your details if you can help.
The shake-up will mean...
The shake-up will mean more vehicles available at lower prices.
Sale operator Manheim has been granted planning permission for the first American-style operation in Europe. And this is great news for drivers who are willing to bid.
Traditionally, car auctions in Britain have different sales in various halls at the same time, which is awkward for potential buyers because they can’t be in two places at once. However, at US events, everything happens in one big hall simultaneously, with up to 30 lanes of cars – and even two vehicles per lane going under the hammer at the same time!
A Manheim spokesman assured motorists that the set-up is not as confusing as it sounds. “What this will mean for private buyers is more access to vehicles at discount prices compared with what you would pay a dealer,” he explained.
Part of the reason for the upgrade is that Manheim wants to keep pace with the growing number of vehicles being put through auctions, and to increase business during key buying times between 11am and 3pm.
The firm’s Colchester site in Essex will have up to eight sales going on simultaneously once the ?1.5million development is completed this summer. It will then be the world’s busiest car auction house outside the US, with around 150,000 vehicles going under the hammer every year.
If the new way of selling is a hit with customers, Manheim is expected to apply for planning permission for some of its other UK operations.