The tenth annual Bangers4Ben sale at BCA Blackbushe on Friday, 26th October raised nearly £20,000 for Ben, an independent charity and dedicated partner to the automotive industry, providing support for life for its people and their family dependents.
The sale attracted a large crowd of buyers to BCA Blackbushe who competed with online bidders for the vehicles, many of which were dressed with special wraps or extra trim.
A total of 29 vehicles that had participated in the 2018 Car Dealer Magazine Bangers4Ben Rally were offered and sold, with all the proceeds going directly to Ben. BCA auctioned the cars free of charge to ensure the maximum amount was raised for the charity and donated all the buyer’s fees to the cause.
Each vehicle participating in the rally was purchased by the competing teams for no more than £750 and then donated to be sold at BCA Blackbushe. The rally covered around 1,300 miles over five days, leaving from Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, before travelling through France, Germany, Belgium and ending at Rockingham Speed Way.
The top seller on the day was the mobile ‘Nag’s Head Pub’ from Only Fools and Horses, which started life as a Vauxhall Vivaro van. The five-door van – which had covered nearly a quarter of a million miles during its working life – featured an internal bar with working beer pumps, dartboard and bar stools and was kitted out with glasses, vintage Heineken ashtray and a service bell to get the bar staff’s attention. It was finished in a special wrap showing characters and scenes from the TV programme and topped with a wooden pub sign fitted to the roof rack. It sold for £1,825.
The 05/54 Ford Street Ka Luxury was transformed into a replica Noddy’s Car thanks to a red, yellow and blue colour scheme with vintage-style headlamps and a repurposed grill. The two-door roadster had covered around 63,000 miles and sold for £700.
The 1993 Reliant Robin generated a lot of interest with bidders and was beautifully presented as the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard TV series. With an active Reliant owners club staging regular meetings, this was ready for classic events and rallies and following some very competitive bidding, it sold for £800.
Other strong sellers included the 2004 ‘Mister Bean’ Mini Cooper for £575, the Ghostbusters-themed 1999 Vauxhall Omega Elite stretch limousine for £500 and the 2007 Peugeot 307 CC Allure finished in a Union Jack wrap that realised £800. The 1994 Toyota Corolla Liftback was offered with an interesting history file, including a photo of its original owner – a lady by the name of Edna – getting the keys at the supplying dealer and a receipt showing that air conditioning was an additional £1,739!
