Car buying services: how to avoid a lowball offer

Selling to a car buying service is the fastest way to turn a car into cash. You don't wait for a buyer, the service handles the re-registration and will take the car even without a valid roadworthiness test or with faults. You pay for that with the price: by our overview an offer is typically around 10–25 % below market value, and more for older cars. It suits you when speed and certainty matter more than the top price, typically when you are buying another car and need the money now. The full guide is on the page Selling to a car buying service.

1. Get several offers. Don't stop at one buyer. Enter the VIN and mileage into at least three online forms. It takes a few minutes and the gap between offers can be large.
2. Find the market price. Before you negotiate, look up similar cars for sale and note the price range. In Carnado search you see the offer from many marketplaces at once, and Price trends show where the price of a model is heading. Without this number you negotiate blind.
3. Prepare the paperwork. The registration documents, a valid roadworthiness test (without one they will deduct it from the price) and the service records.
4. Expect a physical inspection. An online estimate is only a rough guide. The buyer will lift the car, look at rust and bodywork repairs and plug in a diagnostic tool. After the inspection the price may drop. Then you decide whether to accept or go elsewhere.
5. Negotiate. The first offer is not final. If you have a higher offer from another buyer, show it, they will often match it. Also factor in that they handle the re-registration for you and you pay nothing for it.
6. Read the contract. Before signing, look for clauses that let the buyer lower the price afterwards. Ask for the money the same day, by bank transfer or in cash on the spot.
7. Cancel the insurance. After the handover, ask your insurer to end the motor insurance and return any documents they require. For the unused period the insurer refunds a proportional part.

Pros: money on the day of handover, the buyer deals with the paperwork, the car can be in any condition, no viewings with strangers.

Cons: a lower price than selling through an ad, an experienced counterpart in the negotiation and, on some platforms, fees for valuation or reservation.

If you want more money than a buying service pays but don't want to handle the sale yourself, you can send us an enquiry on the Sell a car page. We photograph the car, list it on several portals, deal with enquiries and help with the re-registration.

What offer did you get from a buying service and how did it compare with prices in the ads? Share it here, such comparisons help other sellers.