Hobbs Parker - Car Auctions

As a motor trader of many years i can honestly say this is one of the worst auction house's i have ever come to! The auctioneer who is also a director of the auction runs the prices very high so there are no bargains to be had as i guess it effects his and of year dividend! Auction fees are also very high for either buying or selling unless you are a main agent then it is a different storey. I am not saying do not use this auction but just dont let the auctioneer run the prices up on you, be very aware !

Fantastic service from start to finish! I'm a private seller who hadn't considered selling a car by auction before. Jon Chapman and James Johnson offered some sound advice and produced a great result for me. Their team of staff are knowledgeable and professional too.
I dropped my car off at 9am, they sold it the same day (significantly above my expectations) and I had a cheque in my hand within two days. Having sold many cars over the years, I have experienced my fair share of tyre kickers and strange characters. Selling through Hobbs was a breeze in comparison. Thoroughly recommended.

Whole process from beginning to end was hassle free and seamless. Actual sale price exceeded expectations and was comparable to selling the vehicle privately if not better! This is the third vehicle I have sold with Hobbs Parker and I wouldn't sell a vehicle any other way. Fantastic knowledgeable and friendly staff"

People are friendly but, very poor estimate of Van's value. We buy any car offered £1141 in PERSON NOT THEIR ONLINE QUOTE SO A GENUINE OFFER. When Hobbs and Parker estimated £1500 over the phone and when seeing it in person said perhaps £1600 due to it's good condition with a suggested reserve of £1300 I thought it was well worth a go. I put a reserve on at £1200 and the van was there for a full two weeks viewing. On the day of the sale I received a call saying an offer had been made of £800. Had I thought there was so little chance of it getting a decent offer I would not have taken it there in the first place. They got the buyer to increase his bid to £900 after deducting their fees but, considering they believed it would get closer to £1500 I felt in every sense short changed. Due to not being local I very reluctantly accepted the low offer but, would not trust their estimates or ability to get the true value especially if they can't even achieve we buy any cars offer. A waste of my time and loss of money.

Surely time to have the public back at the auctions rather than online?
The atmosphere of a live auction is fantastic, often I have bought a car on impulse, online I would consider the purchase carefully and probably end up not bidding.

Have been coming to buy my own cars and vans here for the last ten years 99% Very happy buyer .

These guys have become incredibly greedy, prices of most cars are just a fraction of forecourt sales. I will be very surprised to see the auction come back to normal after covid as their over heads will return, more staff less profit. John Chapman the MD will argue the difference of course. Really disappointing, i've been going further a field like most traders are now.

Response - As expected...... a 'politicians receipt form' response, and a poorly packaged one at that. It might as well be "market forces" the force is clearly being used to sell overpriced rubbish by the Jedi masters.

Every car I’ve seen is (sold as seen) this means if you buy a car with an underlying fault your stuffed. They seem around the same cost as a forecourt but with a forecourt the car is checked over and warranty given 99% of the time. I will be purchasing my next car from a forecourt thanks.