Selling a classic car collection, as a whole
Whether you built it over forty years or inherited it last month: one specialist values every car, we agree a route per car — sell, consign or auction — and nobody cherry-picks the best and leaves you the rest. One partner, one itemized settlement.
In the showroomRolls-Royce Spectre · 2024→Updated November 2026 · fees as published on this site
Never sell a collection car by car to whoever calls first, and never let a buyer take only the stars. The right order is: value everything first — every car, the documentation, the parts — then agree a route per car: a direct offer where speed matters, consignment (10% all-in) where the best net result matters, auction (5%) where bidders should set the price.
HooG Selections does all three under one roof, arranges collection across Europe (transport insured at appraised value), sells worldwide, and closes with one itemized settlement — to you, or directly to the estate's account.
A generation of collections is changing hands
The numbers are remarkable: Hagerty estimates that some 12 million collector cars — roughly $570 billion in value — will change hands over the next fifteen years, as the generation that built today's collections passes them on. In the UK the average historic-vehicle owner is 66; in Germany, 62, and more owners now intend to sell than to buy. Behind each of those numbers is a family — often an heir or executor who never shared the passion and suddenly owns twenty cars, a stack of incomplete paperwork and monthly storage bills.
Whether you are that heir, an executor, or the collector yourself deciding to hand over the wheel at a moment of your own choosing: the questions are the same. What is it all worth? Who can I trust? And how do I avoid the classic mistakes?
The whole collection — no cherry-picking
The oldest trick in this trade: a buyer appears quickly, pays decently for the three best cars, and leaves the family with fifteen harder-to-sell ones and the same storage bills. It is common enough that estate auctioneers warn about it. Our commitment is the opposite, and it is written into the agreement: we take responsibility for the entire collection. Every car gets the route that suits it — and for the cars that remain, we can make a direct offer, so the storage ends up empty and the family is not left managing leftovers.
First: a specified valuation of everything
Before anything is sold, everything gets a value: each car, but also the documentation, the spare parts, the history files — in estates, real value hides in folders and on shelves. The valuation is free, confidential and itemized per car, and for a first pass it can be done remotely by video call. It gives heirs and executors a defensible basis for the estate, and it gives you negotiating ground whatever you decide to do next — even if that is not selling to us.
We also put our money where our mouth is on values: HooG publishes the realized sale prices of cars we sold — not asking prices — in our public market reports. You can check what we achieve before you trust us with a collection.
Three routes, published fees, mixed per car
Most houses quote collection terms "on request". Ours are on the site. Per car, we agree one of three routes:
- Direct sale to HooG — free. We buy the car ourselves: a written offer, immediate certainty, no fees. Right for cars that need to go quickly, or for the remainder of a collection.
- Consignment — 10% of the realized price, all-in. Workshop inspection and condition report, a 100+ photo shoot including the underside on the lift, insured indoor storage, advertising on all major platforms, viewings, contract and secure settlement. Nothing sold, nothing owed.
- Auction — 5%. Our online auction with a fixed date, for cars bidders will fight over. Results are published afterwards.
The mix is the point: a collection is rarely best served by a single route. The daily drivers can be bought directly this week, the stars consigned for the best result, the crowd-pleasers auctioned — one plan, one settlement.
Discuss your collection confidentially on WhatsApp →Collected in Europe, sold worldwide
The collection comes to one place: our 6,000 m² indoor showroom in Katwijk, under an hour from the port of Rotterdam. We arrange insured transport across Europe, our own workshop assesses every car, and selling happens where the buyers are: our showroom and auction, the major European platforms, and export worldwide — American buyers use the 25-year rule, and we handle export documents and shipping.
Discretion or legacy — your choice. By default nothing is published about the seller. But a life's work can also deserve a stage: a named collection, sold with its own story, press attention and the realized prices published afterwards. The Netherlands has shown how far that reaches — a single Dutch barn-find collection made headlines from TopGear to Robb Report.
From first call to empty storage
- Confidential first call
Phone, WhatsApp or video. A rough picture of the collection is enough to start; works alongside your notary, executor or advisor.
- Itemized valuation
Every car, plus documentation and parts — free, confidential, specified per car.
- One plan, in writing
A route per car (direct sale, consignment, auction), the published fees, the timeline, and the no-cherry-picking commitment.
- Collection and preparation
Transport to Katwijk, insured at appraised value per collection, workshop inspection, 100+ photos per car.
- Sale and settlement
Showroom, platforms, auction — worldwide. Buyers pay us first; you receive one itemized settlement, to you or to the estate's account.
Frequently asked questions
How do I sell an entire classic car collection?
Value everything first, then agree a route per car: direct sale for speed, consignment (10% all-in) for net result, auction (5%) for price discovery — one partner, one itemized settlement.
What does it cost?
The valuation is free and confidential. Consignment is 10% all-in, the auction route 5%, a direct sale to us costs nothing. Nothing sold, nothing owed.
I inherited a collection and know nothing about cars.
That is exactly who this service is for. Do not sell anything before an itemized valuation; we work alongside your notary or executor and can settle directly to the estate's account.
What about cherry-picking?
We commit in writing to the entire collection: every car gets a route, and we can make a direct offer on the remainder — the storage ends up empty.
The collection is not in the Netherlands.
We arrange collection across Europe (transport insured at appraised value, agreed in writing) and a first valuation by video call; selling and delivery are worldwide.
Can it stay quiet — or make the news?
Discretion is the default. If the family prefers, the collection is sold as a named collection with its own story and press — and the realized prices published afterwards.
Classics from our collection
Alpina B6 3.5
Alpina B10 3.3 Touring
Volvo 760 GLE 2.8
Mazda 323 TD
Rolls-Royce Spectre
Bentley S2 Continental by H.J. Mulliner
Questions? Talk to Nick directly.
You'll speak to a specialist straight away — exports and insured worldwide delivery included.
One confidential call is enough to start. Free itemized valuation, also by video — wherever the collection is.
Last reviewed: November 2026. Market figures: Hagerty "The Great Car Transfer" (2026), FBHVC National Historic Vehicle Survey 2025, BBE Oldtimerstudie 2025. Fees as published on this site. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice — inheritance and tax treatment differ per country; we work alongside your notary, executor or advisor, never instead of them.
Also interesting: HooG Selections in English · Importing a classic to the USA · Exporting & worldwide delivery · Realized prices (Marktbeeld) · Nederlands · Deutsch · Français · The Living Dossier