Motor Auction Group’s (MAG) new £5m Goole LCV auction centre has recorded high demand and prices for used vans after officially opening for business.
The dedicated five-acre site in Yorkshire sold more than 200 used LCVs in the first two sales, attracting more than 100 physical buyers along with 150 online buyers from as far afield as the south coast and Scotland.
The first sale achieved a 100% conversion rate for its top five vendors and an overall conversion rate of 87%, while the second recorded 100% conversion for three new vendors and an 82% conversion rate.
The Goole auction has attracted a good mix of vehicles in the early sales, from sub-£1,000 panel vans to highly-specced pick-ups that made over £30,000.
Geoff Flood, MAG’s head of LCV, said the used market remains strong for vehicles between three and five years old and in good condition physically and mechanically.
“The current worldwide economic challenges are working in the favour of the market as buyers are happier to invest in a used vehicle at £10,000 rather than take out finance to fund a new vehicle at £40,000.
“Buyers continue to stay away from vehicles that are in poor physical condition or that need parts due to the delay in getting a vehicle on their forecourt. Some specialist vehicles like Lutons have been a little slow of late, but generally Q2 looks set to continue in the same positive vein as Q1,” he added.
Justin Lane, MAG’s group operations director, welcomed the strong performance of the launch sales after the speedy work to get the site up and running.
“We got our first sale live and operational within less than a week of transferring the LCV operation over from our Bawtry site.
“Our refurbishment and valeting team are live onsite and our logistics partners have plenty of space to deliver and collect vehicles. Feedback from the physical buyers has been how easy it is to get here and park. Other than a few minor items like fitting a new canopy and some internal snagging, the site was live just two months after we bought it.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better first few weeks onsite,” he added.
