8:55 am, November 9, 2010
BCA is riding high in November with the sale of a special charity Smart car and improving LCV values.
The auction house’s Blackbushe site is selling one of just 100 Pink Passion Smart FourTwos helping to raise money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign.
The remaining special metallic pink Smarts – 84 coupes and 15 convertibles – are being sold by Mercedes-Benz throughout November. With every car sold, Mercedes-Benz will donate £100 to Breast Cancer Research.
Royal Marsden operates specialist cancer hospitals in Chelsea and Sutton, and every penny that the car sells for over its basic list price will go straight to the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign – a charity which funds research into cancer cures and respite treatments.
The event is the brainchild of car dealer Fred Andy who was treated by the Royal Marsden in 2009.
Andy said: ‘The surgeons, doctors and nursing staff at the Royal Marsden do marvellous work in the most difficult of circumstances and their dedication and kindness is an example to us all. Having been treated at the Sutton Hospital myself last year I am delighted to have the opportunity to give something back and the sale of this very limited and highly desirable car will hopefully raise a good sum for the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign.
‘I would like to thank British Car Auctions for offering their services free of charge, Stratstones Leeds for supplying the car and Mercedes-Benz for offering much help and support in my endeavours,’ he added.
James Gibson BCA Blackbushe manager (pictured above) said: ‘These Pink Passion Smart cars are extremely limited and we are pulling out all the stops to raise the maximum amount for the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign.’
The sale takes place at 1.00 pm on 22 November at BCA Blackbushe.
Meanwhile, average values of LCVs rose in October at BCA’s auction houses – strong demand and lower than expected volumes are quoted as the reasons.
Average values improved by just £33 to £4,179 in October compared to the figure of £4,146 recorded in September.
Meanwhile, volumes dropped by around 9 per cent with the fleet sector taking the biggest slice of the drop – a shortage of stock and the rarity of nearly new LCVs are to blame.
However, BCA are keen to point out that demand for LCVs still remains high with demand outstripping supply, and online and hall bidders competing strongly. Performance against CAP remained flat – at just under 100 per cent – despite values increasing.
Fleet and P/X values also improved – 1 per cent and just under 1 per cent respectively – nearly new values fell by more than 2.1 per cent.
Duncan Ward BCA’s general manager – commercial vehicles said: ‘There has been little change in market conditions over the past eight weeks as professional buyers remain active and competition for the best, ready-to-retail stock is high.”
‘In addition, the end-user/owner-operator remains a factor – particularly in the sub-£3,000 price band – and this is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
‘With cuts and redundancies in the public sector we are likely to see more and more small businesses being established in the months ahead and a used van will often be one of the first things purchased.’
BCA also remind vendors of the importance of good-conditioned vehicles, especially as year-on-year values remain ahead by 8.3 per cent in October.
by JAMES BATCHELOR
