How to Buy a Classic Car at Auction

Buying a classic car at auction has gone from traipsing across the country to a damp warehouse to kick tyres, jostle shoulders with fellow enthusiasts and try to catch the auctioneer’s eye, to something altogether more desk-based. Since lockdown, online classic car auctions have thrived because they’re less hassle and they’re easier to manage around your schedule. At Car & Classic, we’d also argue they’re more informative and transparent too. To help you make the most of this new landscape, we’ve put together these tips on buying a classic car at an online auction.

The change has been seismic. Since 2020, online auctions have grow quickly, and at Car & Classic we expect growth to continue upwards. It is fundamentally changing how enthusiasts buy cars, replacing face-to-face auctions and classified advertising with a new model. This changes how buyers assess and buy cars. Here’s our quick guide to buying a classic car at auction.

Quick Summary

– Check the photos

– Review the description

– Do the desk research

– Ask the seller questions

– Find the right platform

1) Check The Photos

The key to safely buying online is to check the photos. It’s why Car & Classic generally provides hundreds of photos of each car with its listings. We include general shots of the car plus detailed photos to enable you to assess the condition. We aim for transparency, so we’ll show you any marks or defects that we spot. Any reputable online auction house wants a sale to complete – by showing the car’s true condition, we aim to avoid issues when you collect the car. 

When you look at an auction, take care to check the photos carefully. Most are high resolution so you can zoom in and really inspect each area of the car. Often, the photographs provide more detail than you could get by checking a car on a driveway. 

2) Review The Description

 Alongside the photos, the car’s description provides a general assessment of the car and a summary of key points to note and history highlights. The description is effectively an introduction to the car, guiding you about key points to consider. It will include points that the vendor has told us that may not be visible in the photos. 

We know that buying a classic car is often as much about the car itself as the person who owns it. So at Car & Classic we will include any comments from the vendor about the car. This gives you a flavour of the owner and adds colour to the car. It’s good to know that a car has been loved and enthusiast owned. 

3) Desk Research

As comprehensive as an online listing is with photos and description, it is always worth doing your own desk research. Before listing a car, Car & Classic undertakes considerable desk research to check VIN numbers, keeper history and any previous sales. But we still recommend checking HPI and DVLA databases. You can also use online search functions to check the car’s previous history. 

As with any direct purchase through classifieds or an owners club, with online auctions, it is still important to be clear on what you are buying and satisfy yourself that it is what you want at the price you want to pay. 

4) Ask The Seller Questions

When you can’t necessarily touch and feel a car, it’s important to get reassurance. Photos, descriptions and desk research play their part, but you may have questions you want to put to a seller. Car & Classic offers a ‘Comments’ section where you can do that. It’s a way for buyers and sellers to interact and raise queries or seek answers. 

Our Comments enable you to build up a broader picture of the car’s specific details and also get a sense of the seller from their replies. 

5) Find The Right Platform

Since online classic car sales took off during lockdown, the number of options available to buyers and sellers has blossomed. When you choose one to buy from, there are a few things to consider.

First of all, check their process for verifying buyers and sellers. Reputable sites will ensure both sides of the deal are honest and who they say they are. Likewise, check the site’s approach to payment: how are payments made and how secure is the platform? You’ll also want to check the Terms to ensure you know what you’re buying into when you make a bid. Finally, it’s always worth looking at the site’s online reviews. Were in the age of hair-trigger opinions and feedback so every online business suffers its share of unhappy customers, just like any business, but what do most people say about their buying and selling experience?

We’re duty bound to say this, of course, but Car & Classic has been in the online classic car auctions business from the start of the current growth. Since 2021 we’ve been refining the way we work – in fact, we have a whole team dedicated to making sure buying and selling gets better every day. Our focus is on making buying and selling transparent, honest and fair. After all, we love cars and we’re doing this for the love of cars.