What a buyer's premium is, and what you actually pay when you win a car at auction

The short answer

A buyer's premium is a commission the auction house charges you, the winning bidder, on top of the hammer price. It is not optional and it is not negotiable after the sale. At RM Sotheby's Monterey auction this year the premium on motor cars is 12 per cent on a hammer price up to $250,000 and 10 per cent on any balance above that, while motorcycles and automobilia carry 20 per cent on the total hammer price. At Bonhams in the United Kingdom it is 15 per cent on the first £500,000 and 12 per cent on the excess, with 20 per cent VAT added to the premium and charges.

So if you hear that a car "sold for" a round number, the buyer either paid more than that, or the figure already includes the premium. Knowing which one it is matters before you bid.

The rates, platform by platform

Classic.com's fee reference lists the live houses clustered together: RM Sotheby's, Gooding & Company and Broad Arrow all at 12 per cent up to $250,000 and 10 per cent thereafter, Bonhams at 15 per cent up to £500,000 in the UK and 12 per cent thereafter, and Mecum at 10 per cent for in-person bidders and 12 per cent by telephone. Collecting Cars is listed at 7.2 per cent for UK buyers, with minimums and maximums that change by location.

The online platforms are cheaper and, importantly, capped. Bring a Trailer is listed at 5 per cent with a $250 minimum and a $7,500 maximum. Cars & Bids sits at the same 5 per cent and the same $7,500 cap, a change The Autopian reported on 24 February 2025, up from 4.5 per cent and a $4,500 cap. The cap is the part Indian buyers should notice. Above a certain level the online fee stops growing, while a live house keeps charging a percentage all the way up.

Why the same car can be reported at two prices

Live houses usually publish results with the buyer's fee already included, which is how Classic.com describes RM Sotheby's, Bonhams, Gooding and Broad Arrow. Mecum, Bring a Trailer and Cars & Bids results are quoted on the hammer price or winning bid. That single difference explains most of the arguments about record prices. When you compare a Monterey result with a Bring a Trailer result, you are often comparing a price with the commission inside it against a price without.

What else lands on an Indian buyer's bill

RM Sotheby's bidder information is blunt about the rest. Duties and local taxes are yours. Collection, transport and storage are yours. Insurance is your responsibility from the fall of the hammer. None of that is in the premium.

Then come India's own rules. On 7 February 2025 the DGFT issued Notification No. 58/2024-25, which replaced the old pre-1950 cutoff and made motor vehicles classified as vintage under the Explanation to sub-rule (1) of rule 81A of Chapter IIIA of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 free for import by actual users, with Policy Conditions 1(I) and 1(II) of Chapter 87 no longer applying. Free for import is not free of cost. Customs duty and GST still apply, and a vehicle meant for public roads must comply with the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Chapter IIIA.

Two practical habits. First, work out the premium before you set your maximum bid, not after, because on a live sale it rises with the hammer. Second, get the house to confirm in writing how VAT on the premium is treated when the car is exported out of the UK or the EU, since Bonhams states that VAT is added to the premium and charges as standard.

Sources

• RM Sotheby's, The Monterey Auction 2026, bidder information
• Bonhams, Buyer's premium, United Kingdom
• Classic.com, Auction Fees and Prices
• The Autopian, Cars & Bids raises its buyer fees to match Bring a Trailer, 24 February 2025
• Taxscan, DGFT revises import policy for vintage motor vehicles