The short answer. Collection management means one person holds the whole picture: what each car needs, where it is, who last worked on it, what it costs and what happens next. Davey & Daughters plans and coordinates that work for owners in the UK, and for owners abroad with cars here, so the cars are ready when you want them and you are not the one chasing suppliers. Specialists do the physical work. Alex is accountable for it being done properly and on time.
Written by Alex Davey, founder. Reviewed 18 October 2026.
What it covers
- The records. A maintained file for every car: history, invoices, servicing, MOT and registration details, renewal dates, condition photographs, keys and quirks. The file is yours, built in your name.
- An annual plan. A yearly review of every car's condition, use, running costs and storage, ending in a written plan for the year ahead: what to service, improve, keep, sell or leave alone.
- Storage. Choosing suitable storage for each car and location, and keeping an eye on it. Davey & Daughters does not own storage; facilities are chosen for the car and answer to Alex on your behalf.
- Servicing and specialists. Booking the right marque specialist, briefing them properly, approving the work with you and checking it was done.
- Transport and readiness. Moving cars between homes, storage, workshops and events, and making sure a car is prepared before you want to use it, not after.
- Renewals and administration. MOTs, registrations and the other dates that otherwise get remembered at the wrong moment.
- Buying and selling within the plan. Advice on what to add, and preparing a car for sale and finding the right route to market when it is time to let one go. Davey & Daughters advises you on the sale; it does not become the seller's dealer or hold cars as stock.
Storage, workshop and coordination are three different jobs
A good storage facility looks after the building, the security and the conditions the cars sit in. A good workshop fixes and maintains them. Neither is usually responsible for deciding what each car should have done this year, in what order, by whom and for how much, or for keeping one complete record across all of it. In most collections the owner does that third job by default, often in spare moments. Collection management takes it off your hands.
Budgets, approvals and reporting
The plan comes with a budget you agree. Work above a level you set does not go ahead without your approval. Third-party costs are passed through at cost, itemised, and approved before they are incurred. Reporting runs on a cadence you choose, in a form you or your advisers can use. Availability outside normal working arrangements is only promised where it has been agreed in writing.
The Stables or The Motor House?
The difference is complexity and workload, not the number of cars.
| The Stables | The Motor House | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical situation | Cars kept in one place or a few, needing regular care and a plan | Cars across several homes or countries, several projects at once, or a family or family office involved |
| Rhythm | Annual review, then coordination between reviews | Retained oversight with reporting on an agreed cadence |
| Often includes | Servicing, storage, transport, renewals, records | All of that, plus cross-border movements, project governance and inherited collections |
| Read more | The Stables | The Motor House |
One significant car with real demands on it can justify The Stables. Several trouble-free modern cars may not need either, and you will be told so.
Inherited collections
When cars pass to a family, the pressure to decide quickly is usually the enemy. The first job is to establish what exists, where it is, what condition it is in, what the paperwork shows and what it costs to keep, before anything is moved, restored or sold. Alex works alongside the family's solicitors, tax advisers and valuers and stays on the practical automotive side of that line.
Insurance and valuations
Insurance, valuations for insurance or probate, finance, tax and legal matters belong with qualified and, where relevant, regulated providers. Alex can introduce specialists who understand significant cars and supply them with the records they need. Any referral arrangement is disclosed before you act on it. Davey & Daughters does not give regulated advice or issue valuation certificates.
When you probably do not need this
If you have one or two cars, a specialist you trust and you enjoy the admin, keep doing it. Collection management is for owners who want the cars without the operation, or whose collection has grown past the point where one person can hold it all in their head.
How it starts, and fees
Usually with a collection review: what you have, where it is, what it needs and what you want from it. From there, coordination can be handed over at your own pace. The Stables runs on an annual retainer and The Motor House on a retained arrangement, each quoted after the first review and agreed in writing. Details on the Fees page.
Related
The Stables
Continuing care for a collection
Annual review, records and coordination through one point of contact.
See The StablesThe Motor House
A private automotive office, retained
For collections spread across homes, countries, projects or generations.
See The Motor HouseEverything around the cars
The full map
What is advised on, coordinated and arranged, and who does the physical work.
See the mapLet the cars be a pleasure again
Tell Alex what you have and where it is. A collection review is the usual first step.