Octane and Automotive Auctions both auction special cars, but in very different ways. Automotive Auctions takes the car in, shows it in a showroom and runs the bidding through an external auction platform. Octane is an online auction platform for enthusiast cars: the car stays with you and we bring the buyers to the auction. So the question is not just what the auction yields. What matters more is who the buyers are and where they are, how much you want to arrange yourself, what the transaction costs on both sides, and how certain you are of that upfront.
Automotive Auctions is an auction intermediary with intake: you bring the car to Milsbeek or Tiel, or have it collected, after which they inspect, photograph and describe it and show it on viewing days. The bidding itself does not happen on their site but on an external auction platform, Bright Auctions or Troostwijk, where the buyer creates an account and sees that auction’s fees. Alongside special cars and classics, they auction premium daily drivers, electric cars, commercial vehicles, campers and boats, and they work for lease companies, dealers and receivers. Octane is a specialist in enthusiast cars and works fully online: the car stays with you, we write the listing and take care of the presentation together with you, and around every accepted car we build a campaign to bring enthusiasts from across Western Europe to the auction, at our cost on regular auctions. Bidding and settlement happen in one place. The second difference is certainty about the costs. At Octane you pay nothing and the buyer knows upfront that they pay 3% including VAT, capped at €3,600. At Automotive Auctions the sell page calls the sale free of charge while the terms allow deduction of fees, and the buyer pays 12.5% auction fees excluding VAT (15.13% including), shown on the external auction platform.
You submit your car, we assess whether it fits and agree a realistic reserve together. We then write the listing copy and structure the specifications and history. For the photos we match you with a photographer from our network, whom you pay directly, or you take them yourself following our photo guide. The car stays with you the whole time. It is usually live within days. Then the real work starts: we build a campaign around the car to bring new buyers to the auction, usually at our cost. The auction takes seven days; you answer bidder questions yourself in the comments.
You submit the car and Automotive Auctions assesses it during intake, after which you make the final decision. You bring the car to Milsbeek or Tiel, or have it collected for €199.65 including VAT; there it is taken in, inspected for damage, photographed and described by their auctioneers. The auction usually follows within a few working days to two weeks and runs through Bright Auctions or Troostwijk, with at least one viewing day in the showroom. After closing they discuss the highest bids with you; you decide by 12:00 the next day whether to award. The buyer pays the auction house, Automotive Auctions arranges re-registration and deregistration and pays you the net proceeds.
At Automotive Auctions you hand the car over and the auction moves to an external platform; at Octane the car stays with you and everything happens in one place. If you want the convenience of intake and a showroom, choose the former; if you keep the car at home and want cost certainty upfront, the latter.
| Sale price | Octane | Automotive Auctions | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| €15,000 | €450 | €2,269 | +€1,819 |
| €25,000 | €750 | €3,781 | +€3,031 |
| €75,000 | €2,250 | €11,344 | +€9,094 |
| €150,000 | €3,600maximum fee | €22,688 | +€19,088 |
At Octane the €3,600 cap applies above a sale price of roughly €120,000.
Octane's amounts include VAT.
Automotive Auctions publishes its buyer fee excluding VAT; it is shown here grossed up to include 21% VAT.
Automotive Auctions’ auction fees are 12.5% of the winning bid excluding VAT (15.13% including 21% VAT) and are shown on the external auction platform before a bid becomes final; that is also how we saw them on the auction that ran through Bright Auctions on 18 August 2026. On a VAT-qualifying car, VAT on the bid is added, and on a Dutch-registered car residual BPM (Dutch registration tax) can be invoiced.
At Octane it is simple: you pay nothing as the seller and the buyer pays 3% including VAT, minimum €350 and maximum €3,600. That is fixed, whatever the auction. At Automotive Auctions it is more nuanced. The sell page for private sellers calls listing and auctioning free of charge; at the same time, the general terms provide for passing on fees of the engaged auction house and deducting fees and VAT from the net proceeds. What you keep in practice we could therefore not establish. Optionally you pay €199.65 for transport to the showroom and €66.55 for valeting, including VAT. The buyer pays 12.5% auction fees excluding VAT, i.e. 15.13% including, against 3% including VAT at Octane. They see those fees on the external auction platform before their final bid. Because a buyer looks at their total purchase price, those fees weigh on what they can bid on the car itself.
Automotive Auctions publishes big numbers: according to its homepage more than 20,000 cars sold and buyers in 59 countries, with a network of private collectors and professional buyers. That network is broad, because the platform also auctions for lease companies, dealers and receivers, from electric daily drivers to commercial vehicles. For a car that suits traders and international buyers, that is a strong channel, and the viewing day in the showroom gives those buyers the chance to look for themselves. Octane chooses the opposite: a specialist audience of car enthusiasts in Western Europe, and a campaign per car to reach buyers beyond our own user base as well. The car does not have to move for that; the auction page, the documentation and the questions under the auction have to represent it completely. A large network says how many buyers a platform knows. What counts for a seller is how many serious candidates for their specific car are reached, and whether those are enthusiasts or traders.
Octane is built to be more than just the place where the highest bid lands. Around the platform we are building a Western European network of specialised partners for transport, inspections, detailing and other services around buying and selling special cars. If your car is in the Netherlands and the strongest bidder is in Belgium, that buyer does not have to find an inspector or transporter from scratch. On request, we connect buyer and seller with a suitable specialist. That way we can help not only to bring buyer and car together, but also to complete the transaction as smoothly as possible afterwards.
The overlap sits with exclusive cars, classics and youngtimers, from a Porsche 911 to a Mercedes-AMG: those fit both. For that type of car, the question is mainly whether you hand it over to an intermediary with intake and an external auction platform, or keep it at home and sell it without commission through a targeted online campaign.
For a sports car, youngtimer, classic or modern performance car in good condition, whose buyers are enthusiasts in Western Europe, we usually consider Octane the more logical choice. First, you keep the car and there is no doubt about the costs: you pay nothing, and the buyer pays 3% including VAT with a €3,600 maximum, known upfront and the same everywhere. Second, the audience. Octane focuses exclusively on enthusiasts of special cars and builds a campaign around every accepted car to reach buyers beyond its own user base too, in the Netherlands and the rest of Western Europe. No commercial vehicles or campers alongside, no trade auction. Third, the simplicity. Everything happens on one platform: the auction page, the bidder questions you answer yourself, the bidding and afterwards the settlement between buyer and seller in a private chat environment with each other’s details. On request we connect them with specialists for inspection or transport.
Automotive Auctions can make more sense when you want to hand the sale over completely and move quickly: you deliver the car, they handle intake, photos, description, viewing day, transfer and financial settlement, usually within a few working days to two weeks of submission. For a premium daily driver, an electric car or a car that mainly suits traders and international buyers, their broad network is a good fit. Anyone selling something other than a car, a camper, a boat, a motorcycle or a commercial vehicle, can also go there. And if you want buyers to see the car on a viewing day in a showroom, Automotive Auctions offers that and Octane does not. The trade-off is whether that unburdening and speed outweigh giving the car out of your hands, an auction on an external platform with fees that differ per auction, and an audience that is broader than enthusiasts alone.
No platform is automatically the best choice for every car, and these are two very different ways of auctioning. Do you want to hand the sale over completely, move quickly, or are you selling a daily driver, an electric car, a camper or a commercial vehicle? Then an intermediary like Automotive Auctions is a logical option, with the intake, the external platform and the per-auction fees that come with it. Is your special car in Western Europe, with its buyers in the enthusiast market? Then we consider Octane the stronger proposition. You keep the car at home, pay nothing, the buyer pays 3% including VAT and knows that upfront, and around every car we build a campaign that reaches enthusiasts specifically. One platform, from auction page to settlement. Not the car to a showroom, but the right buyers to the car.
Submit your car and our team will review it within 48 hours
Octane next to the other auction platforms:
Looking for an alternative to Automotive Auctions? See all options side by side →
| Item | Octane | Automotive Auctions |
|---|---|---|
| Platform type | Online auction for enthusiast cars | Auction intermediary with physical intake and showrooms; the cars are shown on its own site, the bidding runs through external auction platforms (Bright Auctions or Troostwijk) |
| Types of car | Sports cars and supercars, Youngtimers and classics, JDM and modern performance, Rare specifications and low mileage | Exclusive cars, classics and youngtimers, Premium daily drivers and electric cars, Passenger cars and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, campers, boats and caravans |
| Seller cost | None. You receive the full winning bid | Free of charge for private sellers according to the sell page*. Optional: transport to the showroom €199.65 and valeting €66.55, both including VAT |
| Buyer fee | 3% of the winning bid, including VAT, minimum €350 | 12.5% of the winning bid, excluding VAT (15.13% including 21% VAT), shown on the external auction platform before the final bid; VAT on a VAT-qualifying car and any residual BPM come on top |
| Maximum buyer fee | €3,600 | Not published |
| Auction length | 7 days | Differs per auction, from about a week to several weeks |
| Reserve price (minimum) available | Yes, confidential and agreed with the team | Yes: you stay in control of the award and do not have to sell if the highest bid is too low; you decide by 12:00 the day after closing. There are also No Reserve auctions |
| Geographic focus | Western Europe: the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden and Finland | The Netherlands: locations in Milsbeek and Tiel; according to Automotive Auctions, buyers in more than 50 countries |
| Car stays with the seller | Yes | No: the car is taken in, inspected, photographed and shown on viewing days in the showroom in Milsbeek or Tiel. Transport there is optional (€199.65 including VAT) |
| Presentation and photography | Editorial listing copy and structured specifications written by the platform. Photography through a photographer from our network, paid directly by you, or you supply your own images that meet the photo guide | Detailed photo session and extensive description by Automotive Auctions’ auctioneers after intake; no separate photography costs published |
| Promotion of the car | An active campaign per car, aimed at both the existing Octane audience and new potential buyers in Western Europe. Campaign costs are covered by Octane on regular auctions | Presentation on its own site and on the external auction platform, international publication through their network of private and professional buyers, and a newsletter |
| Contact with bidders | Bidders ask questions in the comments under the auction and the seller answers them | Bidders reach Automotive Auctions via WhatsApp, phone, chat or e-mail and view the car on the viewing day; direct contact between bidder and seller is not described |
| After the auction ends | Buyer and seller get a private chat environment with each other’s details, where they complete the transaction between themselves | After closing, Automotive Auctions discusses the highest bids with you; you decide on the award by 12:00 the next day. The buyer pays the auction house and collects the car on the collection day after payment and re-registration; Automotive Auctions pays you the net proceeds. No fixed payout term is published |
| Support around the transaction | On request, Octane connects buyer and seller with specialists for inspection and transport among others | Transport, intake and damage inspection, storage, viewing days in the showroom, pre-purchase inspection by the buyer’s expert by appointment, optional valeting, re-registration and deregistration, and a fixed contact person |
* The sell page for private sellers calls listing and auctioning free of charge; the general terms provide for passing on fees of the engaged auction house and deducting fees and VAT from the net proceeds. What a private seller keeps in practice we could not establish; check with Automotive Auctions beforehand.
Information checked on 17 August 2026. Fees and terms of external platforms can change. Always check the current terms with the platform itself.