A WEST Country auctioneer has shown that while it may not be as large an operation as some of its rivals it can still produce good results on the auction floor. Exeter Car Auction, a business run by chartered surveyor, auctioneer and valuer Husseys, secured an agreement with Mercedes-Benz Finance to sell its repossessed and end of finance term cars from around the south west.

An SL60 Sports Coupe, N-registered and complete with full AMG body kit saw offers begin at £32,000 and was eventually sold for just over £51,000. Mercedes-Benz turned to ECA when bidding at a large national auction house failed to reach anywhere near the car's eventual selling price. Hussey's auctioneer John Hubbard said: 'We may be a relatively small concern when compared to BCA or CMA, but this sale helps to prove small professional firms like ourselves with years of experience and in-depth local knowledge can produce the results customers want. More Mercedes will be on sale in the future.'

Also sold on the day was a '95N Mercedes C180 Elegance auto for £10,000 and a consignment of seven Peugeot diesel cars direct from Cornwall County Council, including a '96N 306 DT for £6,550, a '95N 306 XLDT for £5,250 and a '95N 405 GLXDT estate for £6,650.