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I'd recommend you have a closer look at the auction-house route. H&H seems to do well with runs of the specialist annuals, although they don't always realise what they should on some of the recognised rarer definitive titles.
The trade would probably be trying to get the set of Autocourse out of your hands for less than £2500, but they've got margins, rent and wages to factor into what they offer you.
With all of these, condition is absolutely critical. Anything less than really fine will take a big hit in value, so whatever you do, don't let anyone cherry-pick the best ones, leaving you with an incomplete run. Splits in dustwrappers, glued endpapers, inscriptions from Auntie Betty wishing you a happy Christmas are all killers when it comes to book values.
As a rough reckoner, most of the dealers would be asking these sorts of prices for the individual items in the collection in very fine condition:
Autocourse Magazines 1951-56 £50-60 each - maybe more for vol.1 no.1
Autocourse Magazines 1957-58 £40-50 each - they're rare, but there's not much meat to them.
Autocourse annual 1959 £350
Autocourse biannual 1960/1 £250-325 each
Autocourse annuals 1961-66 £270-350 each
Autocourse annuals 1967-70 £180-275 each
Autocourse annuals 1971-75 £150-250 each
Autocourse annuals 1976-80 £90-150 each (more for 1978 - its scarce)
after 1981, the only really precious one is 1994 - maybe £120 for a very fine one, the rest can all be found for the £50 mark. Nothing since 1996 is worth much at all, because too many people have looked after them and the print runs were extensive.
I've seen two complete sets in my time. Their respective owners were asking £7500 and £9000 for them - I don't know if they actually got it!
Motocourse - only the first four are truly difficult to find (1976-7 can fetch £400 on its own) but the other seventies editions will be advertised in the low £200s usually.
Rallycourses won't break £100 each yet, no matter how mint! 1986-1990 seem able to command £80 if they're really fine.
There you go - a valuation without paying a fortune! I can't emphasise enough though - the prices I've stated are only for books that are mint in every way, no price clips, no tears, no inscriptions, tight binding, no warping to the boards. And those are the prices you'll pay at any of the recognised dealers. They won't buy in for anything like that, and there are enough of the books floating around that they'll probably politely decline on anything that looks anything less than fabulous.
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