Bel Air Auto Auction

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  BSC America’s Bel Air Auto Auction Celebrates 63 Years

            Some things improve with age and experience, as the owners and staff of BSC America’s Bel Air Auto Auction will tell you. The Bel Air Auto Auction has been a fixture of the auto auction industry since its earliest days, and recently celebrated its 63^rd year with a special sale on April 22^nd.

            Michelle Nichols-Neff, vice president of Bel Air Auto Auction, reports that the auction ran nearly 1,300 vehicles at this year’s anniversary sale, with featured consignments from Wells Fargo Dealer Services, Bank of America, PHH, Enterprise, ARI, M&T Bank, and Dollar Thrifty Group,  in addition to a number of local and regional auto dealers. In keeping with a standing tradition at Bel Air Auto Auction, the anniversary sale also included a classic and muscle car sale, and thousands of dollars in prizes and giveaways.

            “We were delighted with the attendance at our 63^rd anniversary sale,” said Nichols-Neff. “We recorded a total of 946 bidder badges in the lane, with 245 more dealers attending the Simulcast sale. “Buyers came from far and wide to celebrate with us, and to bid on a great selection of cars and trucks. By day’s end, we recorded an overall sale rate of 73%!”
               Nichols-Neff reports that capping the festivities at the auctions 63^rd Anniversary was the grand prize drawing. Sam’s Auto Wholesale left the auction with his vehicle purchases and big vacation plans, as the winner of week-long Royal Caribbean Cruise.

In looking back over Bel Air Auto Auction’s 63 years in business, Nichols-Neff notes that the auction’s first sale in 1947 featured 50 vehicles running on a single auction lane. Vehicles were registered for the sale for $5 each. Sale and title transactions took place directly between buying and selling dealers at the point of sale, while the auction charged 25 cents to notarize title documents. A second lane was added in 1962, and the auction became of a member of the NAAA in 1958. 

The Nichols family purchased the auction in partnership with Burt & Dottie Greenwood in 1980, assuming full ownership in 1993. As business grew, a reconditioning shop was created out of the original 1947 building, and more lanes were added in the early 1990’s, bringing Bel Air to its current size of six auction lanes. A major renovation in 1995 resulted in a 4,000 square-foot expansion of the administrative offices, and property acquisitions brought the total footprint of the auction to more than 50 acres. 

Today, Bel Air Auto Auction manages the flow of more than 75,000 vehicles a year, handling consignments from new and used car dealers and private business fleets as well as those from public service and government agencies. Bel Air Auto Auction sells on six auction lanes every Thursday. The auction is strategically located just 17 miles from Baltimore and 80 miles from Philadelphia and provides a wide range of auto-related services, including floor planning, storage, transportation, Internet sales, full reconditioning, and certification.