Selling a performance car: outright sale or consignment?

There are two ways to sell a performance car through Auto Vault. An outright purchase is faster. Consignment usually achieves the higher number. Neither is the better route in general. The right one depends on what matters more to you: time, or price.

How an outright sale works

We buy the car. You send the details, you have an honest valuation within 24 hours, and payment follows in days, not weeks. If the car is still on finance, we settle directly with your bank and handle the paperwork.

The car is never advertised. There is no public listing, no stream of messages from people who want to know your lowest price, and no strangers at your gate. For many owners, that alone is the point.

Why an outright offer is lower

An outright price is lower than the car’s eventual selling price, and it should be. The buyer is taking on the car before anyone else has said yes to it. That means the time it takes to sell, the cost of preparing and presenting it, and the risk that the market moves while it waits. A fair offer prices those things in, and a good one explains how.

What you get in return is certainty. The number is agreed, the money arrives, and the car is gone.

How consignment works

On consignment, we sell the car on your behalf. It is stored and presented at our facility, and it is marketed to our network first, before anywhere public. Every enquiry, viewing, and negotiation is handled for you.

You approve the number before the car moves. Nothing is agreed in your name that you have not seen.

Because the car is sold to the person who wants it most, rather than to a trader who needs a margin, consignment typically achieves more. The cost is time. A car on consignment is sold when the right buyer arrives, and that can take longer than a cheque.

When each route makes sense

Outright suits you when:

• You need the money, or the space, soon
• The car is financed and you want the settlement off your books
• You do not want the car advertised anywhere, for any reason
• You are replacing it and want one clean transaction

Consignment suits you when:

• The car is desirable and in genuinely good condition
• You are not in a hurry
• You want the highest price the market will pay
• You would rather not deal with buyers yourself

Why not just sell it privately?

You can, and some owners do. But a private sale of a car worth more than a million rand has costs that are easy to underestimate. Your phone number and your car’s location are public. Viewings happen at your home. Payment needs care: proof-of-payment fraud is common in South Africa, and a car should never leave until the money has cleared in your account, not just appeared on a screenshot. If the car is financed, you will need to manage the settlement with your bank and the buyer at the same time.

Either of our routes removes those steps. That is most of what you are paying for.

What cars we take

Porsche, AMG, M, RS, and comparable cars in genuinely good condition. If you are not sure whether yours fits, send the details anyway. You will hear back from Keagan or Mo directly, not a form response, and if the market is soft on your car, you will be told that too.

The valuation prices both routes, outright and consignment, so you can compare them side by side before deciding. Start on Sell your car, or see what is currently with us on Cars for sale.