BCA Answers Your Questions

BCA is the largest European used car marketplace

Get to learn BCA

1. Who are BCA?

British Car Auctions is part of BCA Marketplace, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange. We are bringing together used car sellers and buyers. We sell more than one million vehicles annually and are Europe’s largest vehicle remarketing company.

2. In which countries do BCA sell vehicles?

We are managing used car sales around 50 centres across 10 countries: France, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Sweden and UK.

3. Where do the vehicles coming from?

We develop partnerships with many contributors, sometimes exclusively, to offer a wide selection of cars. Vehicles for sales come from dealer trade-in, finance and leasing houses, rental companies, manufacturer, fleet operators and adminitrations among others. BCA features a unique used vehicle stock.

4. What type of cars can I find?

We sell a wide variety of cars, commercial vehicles, damaged cars, non-runners, two-wheelers and even trucks and machinery! The vehicle type is mentioned on the vehicle detail page.

5. How can I find a car?

In the menu, you can either search for a specific vehicle in stock or search for a sale in the calendar. The calendar will contain a selection of similar vehicles to offer you a larger choice.

Get to know all about BCA´s sales

Discover our different types of sales, who is eligible to attend and how to register with us.

1. What is a sale, and what do X-Bid, Live Online, Buy Now, Auction in hall mean?

A sale is an event, online or in hall where we present a wide range of vehicles. To access online sales, you must be registered and connected. At BCA, we provide different type of sales:

  • Bid now: this type of sale gives you the opportunity to place bids in online auctions, at any time of the day directly within vehicle detail page.
  • xBid: Most of the bid now sales end with an X-Bid session which start 5 minutes after the first sale. It is a new opportunity to bid on the vehicle.
  • Live Online:  An "In house" application which allows you to attend an auction from your home, either the auction takes place physically in "an auction place" or only online. You can hear the auctioneer and send a message to ask questions.
  • Auction in hall: In Netherland, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal, some auctions take place in a hall so you can go there to bid and buy in person.
  • Buy now: you can find and purchase vehicles online 24/7 at a fixed price.
  • Sealed bid: You place a bid of the amount of your choice, you can modify this amount whenever you want. After the auction has ended the highest bidder receives a notification by email.

2. Who can access our sales?

Access to our sales is reserved for professionals from the automotive industry in most countries.

3. How to register?

To register at BCA, fill in the online form, we'll call you back asap to learn more about you and ask you to provide a few documents. You can also register at BCA when you come to an auction in hall or simply call us to +34 949 263 000.

4. What are the required documents to register and when will I be able to buy

For clientes from abroad (NON Spanish company) 

Any vehicle or auction visible in our website is open to accredited buyers in any BCA in Europe. To be accredited you must:

Be fully registered as a trade buyer with a BCA country. 

If it is a new registration you should send to BCA Spain: 

  • Trade Register/business registration (company details)
  • Company Owner or person name in the Deeds
  • Copies of the owner's ID cards/passports (showing name, address and photo ID).
  • VAT tax ID number.

If you want to satisfy registration requirements to qualify for VAT-Free invoices for international sales, please see information about international sales.

Delivering this information to BCA will enable all trade buyers to participate in both National and International sales opened to International buyers.

 

If your company is registered in Spain: 

The documents required to register are: 

​​1-. Registration Form​ for companies registered in Spain
2-. Copy of the final CIF (Spanish tax ID number) of the company.
3-. Copy of the valid ID card/passport of the owner of the company (Front and back).
4-. Copy of the Articles of Association of the company (the complete document).
5-. Copy of census Declaration (Model 036-037 of Customs of the current year), in the epigraph of Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.  If you do not have it, tax certificate on economic activities (Certificate IAE) of the current year.
6-. Generic Mandate* with the sign and stamp of the company’s owner in the field “EL MANDANTE”. To download the document click here.
7-. Terms and Conditions* signed and stamped by the company’s owner in ALL of the pages. To download the document click here.
8-. Bank account number (IBAN) to make any payments. To download the document click here
9-. Authorization of purchase if the person buying at BCA Spain is not in the Articles of Association of the Company.  Click here to download.
You can send these documents scanned to altas@bca.com.  Bear in mind, *Generic Mandate and Terms and Conditions must be received in original format by BCA at the following address: 

BCA Autosubastas de Vehículos SL
Att. Gestoría Álvarez Martín
Avenida Conde de Romanones 10
Polígono Industrial Miralcampo
19200 Azuqueca de Henares
Guadalajara

If BCA does not receive the originals of Generic Mandate and Terms and Conditions signed and stamped, the registration will not be done. 

5. How long does it takes to get registered?

It takes within 24 to 48 hours to register, check your documentation and send you your login.

6. What should I do if I did not receive the activation email?

If after 48 hours of your online registration you have not received the activation email sent by the Customer service :

  1. Check your spam box
  2. If the email is not there, please contact the Customer service, from 8:30 to 18:00 to +33 143 996 380 or by email

7. In which country should I register?

You should register with your local BCA subsidiary. If you came from a country where BCA is not present we will automatically assign your account to the team best placed to support you.

8. I want to buy in another country, should I register again?

No, once you are registered in a BCA, you can get access to all international sales across Europe. Please contact your local team and request the access. Further information or documentation might be required.

All about BCA buying process

From bidding to receiving your invoice, all the information you need to know.

1. Can I cancel a bid?

During our online sales, each of your bids commits you. All the bids are active until the end of the auction. If you win a vehicle, you are obliged to go ahead with the transaction. During an auction in hall, if you raise your hand and the auctioneer accepts the bid, this is legally binding and cannot be revoked.

2. Can I find the starting prices of the vehicles before the beginning of the auction?

Depending on the sale and BCA country, you might have access to this information before the auction starts. You will find it on the vehicle detail page.

3. Is it safe to buy online?

The BCA website respects all the standard practices of online security. To bid and buy, all the users have to connect with secure passwords. The website uses the standard internet cryptographic Protocol SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), supplying a safety and an integrity of the data for the web communications.

4. How do I know if I have won a vehicle?

You will be notified via email shortly after the end of the sale.

Furthermore, you will also find this information under MyBCA (with the exception of purchases done on Live Online).

5. What and how to pay?

You have to pay the vehicle hammer price and buyer fees. You must pay by bank transfer in the next 2 days. Please note that buyer fees and payment details are different depending on the country sale management.

6. Can I receive an invoice without VAT when I buy to a foreign sale?

Professionals can receive invoices without VAT under certain conditions. Please refer to the guide for more information.

Pick up your car or get it delivered

Get more information about how to pick up a vehicle and our delivery options.

1. How to pick up a car from a BCA branch?

Full and irrevocable payment for the vehicle and associated charges are required before BCA will release the vehicle.  Since some international money transfers take more than 3 working days; we advise you to contact our teams to confirm if the money is in BCA Spain's account.

Once payment is made, the vehicle is usually available immediately.  Bear in mind there are some vehicles that are not in our compounds and some days are needed to have them available to be picked up.  These cases are announced in the auctions.

ATTENTION:  In accordance with BCA’s directives, we inform you that as from the 1st of September, all vehicles purchased by clients from abroad at BCA Spain will only and exclusively be picked up by a transport company with a license and with a valid CMR or DUA.  It is mandatory that the transport company be completely different from the buyer.  Therefore, and from that date, pick-ups by individuals who have no accreditation as a transport company will not be possible, even if these individuals are the legal representatives of the purchasing company.

2. How do I know where to pick up the car?

 You will find the details of your vehicle's location in the vehicle´s detail page in My BCA. To get the local center details and opening hours, please check the location page.

3. Does BCA can help to deliver a car?

Yes, BCA can help to deliver you the vehicle. For more details, please refer to the Delivery section.

4. Does BCA can help to export vehicles?

Yes, BCA can help you to get some documents and deliver the vehicle abroad. For more details, please refer to the Export section.

Submit a claim on a vehicle you purchased

At BCA we want to ensure your satisfaction. Thus why we have a dedicated team to process your claims. We accept claims on certain vehicles and conditions

1. Can I submit a claim on a vehicle purchased at BCA?

At BCA we want to ensure your satisfaction. Thus why we have a dedicated team to process your claims. If after carefully studying our terms and conditions you would like to submit a claim, please follow the process below or contact us +34 949 0321 68

2. In which case can I claim?

In Spain, you can open a claim for vehicles that have an issue which was not annouced by the auctionneer during the sale or not mentionned in the vehicle detail page or mechanical report or other attached document. We will consider claims on mechanical elements for vehicles with less than 180,000 km and less than  10 years old. Vehicles sold under Sold as Seen status 'Venta en Estado' can’t be subject of complaint.

3. How to open a claim when I purchased on a european sale?

You open a claim on the same website as you log in. Please refer to the country claim policy in the pdf guide to ensure the eligibility of your claim which depends on local rules.

Not familiar with auctions?

Visit the Jargon Buster page to learn more