Northeast Ohio · Auction prep & certification
Ready for the hammer.
Go to Hammer gets enthusiast and collector cars ready to sell at Bring a Trailer, Cars & Bids and Mecum. Enter the VIN, upload a handful of photos, and get an honest read on what your car should hammer for and what would move the number. Like the plan? Send the car to us. We inspect it, quote the work line by line, do it, and hand back a Go to Hammer Certified statement for your listing.
Credited in full against any prep you approve. We never take title. We are not the auction house.
Sample valuation
2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
31,250 mi · 6-speed · Velocity Yellow over Ebony
- Bring a Trailer
- $38k to $46k
- Cars & Bids
- $35k to $42k
- Mecum
- $34k to $44k
Condition read
Paint presents well in photos; front bumper chips and a curbed left front wheel will be the first bidder questions. Interior looks original and unworn. Aftermarket exhaust: keep the stock system in the listing.
- Paint correction, front-end chip touch-in~$900 → +$2–3k
- Wheel refinish, left front~$180 → +$500
- Auction photo set + cold-start video~$450 → +$1–2k
Illustrative. Ranges are estimates, not promises.
Built for the venues that matter
- Bring a Trailer
- Cars & Bids
- Mecum
and the ones that come up: Barrett-Jackson, Hemmings, PCarMarket, Collecting Cars.
How it works
Five steps. You approve every one.
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01
VIN and photos
You
Enter the VIN, add mileage and history, upload a handful of photos from your phone.
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02
AI valuation
Us
A per-venue hammer range, a condition read, and the prep list that would move the number.
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03
Send it to us
You
Tell us where the car is and how it gets here. Drive it in or we arrange transport.
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04
Approve the estimate
You and us
A hands-on inspection becomes an itemized estimate. You approve it line by line.
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05
Go to Hammer Certified
Us
A reviewed, dated statement of what we found and what we did, with a public verification link.
Go to Hammer Certified
Honest about what is wrong.
The certification is the product the brand is built on. It is a reviewed, dated record of what we found, what we did, and what we did not touch, with a public verification code any bidder can check. If it flattered the car, it would be worth nothing. So it does not.
Found
Inspection findings
Faults, wear, prior repairs and non-original items we observed on the lift and on the road.
Done
Work performed
Every approved line, with before-and-after photos, and a condition grade on our published scale.
Not addressed
What we left alone
Declined, out of scope, or not worth fixing. It goes in the statement either way.
Plain terms
What we are, and are not.
Your car, your sale. We are the prep shop and the certifier, and we keep to that lane on purpose.
- We are not the auction house.
- No bidding on gotohammer.com, ever. You list on Bring a Trailer, Cars & Bids, Mecum or wherever fits, under your own account.
- We never take title.
- We do not buy, consign or sell your car. It stays titled to you while it is with us; we hold it for work only.
- Nothing without your approval.
- The estimate is itemized and you approve it line by line. Anything found mid-job becomes a change order on the same terms.
- Not a restoration shop.
- We do the work that moves the hammer price. Frame-off restorations are somebody else's business, and we will say so.
For bidders
Verify a certification.
Every Go to Hammer Certified statement carries a ten-character code. Enter it to see the current status, the findings, the work and what was not addressed. If a document and this page differ, this page wins.
Start with the number
Find out what your car should hammer for.
A per-venue range and an honest prep list for $49.00, credited in full against any work you approve. Ten minutes with your phone.