Close Brothers Motor Finance extends Motor Auction Group remarketing partnership

Close Brothers Motor Finance (CBMF) has extended its remarketing partnership with Motor Auctions Group (MAG) for a further two years.

It will sell several thousand of end of contract, voluntary terminations, repossessions, and non-runners through MAG’s Wednesday physical sale and two online weekly timed sales over the next 12 months. This includes cars, LCVs and motorbikes.

It also holds closed dealer sales for cars and motorbikes solely for its dealer finance partners. This gives CBMF the potential of a double retail finance opportunity and keeps its dealer network engaged.

The MAG Close Brothers partnership has been live since 2006 with stock ranging from a £500 non-runner to a £40k NAMA grade 1 sports car. CBMF utilises MAG’s network of 26 compounds to drop off vehicles before being transported to Rotherham for physical auction or to Corby which hosts all online sales.

MAG also provides BVRLA inspection and collection services to help CBMF ascertain vehicle condition at the end of each finance contract to support reserve setting and to drive end of finance contract charges.

MAG is always looking to add value to CBMF stock with non-runners diagnosed and where possible issues such as batteries and starter motors fixed prior to sale to increase values. It also replaces missing keys which can increase values by an additional £1,000 on larger premium used cars.

MAG refurbishes 25% of Close stock pre-sale but only if it improves the NAMA grading. Typically, with an ageing vehicle park and a buoyant used market a £250 spend can generate a 14% increase in CAP values.

Glenn Matthews, Head of Operations at Close Brothers Motor Finance said: “We have partnered with MAG for auction disposal services for over 10 years and we look forward to continuing that valuable relationship. Whilst initially we used MAG solely for their motorcycle expertise, their flexibility and ‘can do’ attitude means they have grown to be our largest auction provider for everything including cars, LCVs, and motorcycles.

“This comes at a time when we expect our volumes to potentially double towards the back end of this year and into 2024 as voluntary terminations and repossessions look set to increase,” he added.

Zoe Sutton, MAG’s Sales Director said: “We have a very strong working relationship with Close Brothers as they empower us to help them set reserve prices as well as find ways of optimising auction values. This partnership has been extremely rewarding as we have worked together to manage the ever-changing used car trends since the beginning of the Covid pandemic.”