Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Flip

Original poster

We Buy Any Car - are online valuations accurate?

19 replies

UbercornsGoggles · 14/10/2018 00:06

Hi, thinking of selling my car through WBAC but am concerned that the amount I'm offered when I take it to them will be a lot less than the online valuation, and that the initial valuation is bumped up to sucker you in. What are other people's experience, and would anyone recommend WBAC or another similar company?

OP posts:

DewDropsonKittens · 14/10/2018 00:09

They are complete con artists that draw you in
They are owned by British car auctions who go on to sell your car for double

Daisypod · 14/10/2018 00:11

We got offered £160 for our car from wbac, sold it through auto trader for £500!

Dinnaehinksae · 14/10/2018 00:13

Dunno bout we buy any car but I recently used car take back. You go online and get an instant quote, you can either take the car to them or they pick up (in my case I got more for them collecting) I found it quick and easy. Got money in bank next day. The quote you get is accurate as long as the car isn't missing anything major and runs to the extent that they literally just turned it on to check it ran then straight back off. It's all included in their t's & c's and they had a good trustpilot rating.

StressedToTheMaxx · 14/10/2018 00:14

I used a compaeison site and was recommended wbac to sell my df's car. We were quoted at £612, got there done the formalities and they offered £99 for it.
It may be a one off but we were not too impressed.

SputnikBear · 14/10/2018 00:14

They offered me £300 and I sold privately for £800. The price they offer online is for impossibly mint condition - they will knock hundreds if not thousands off that price for every little imperfection.

Fatted · 14/10/2018 00:20

They do knock the price down when it actually comes to handling the car over to them.

I sold my old car to them last summer but it really was a non-runner and the choice was getting a few quid from them or letting the handbrake off by the river.

We've just got rid of our second car and sold it privately because we knew we wouldn't get as much with them. You are paying for the convenience of them taking it off your hands.

diamantegal · 14/10/2018 00:34

We ended up driving away from We Buy Any Car because they offered us a price that was so far below the online valuation. We knew they'd knock some off, but the price was halved. We had agreed a bottom price, told them that, and when they said no, just said goodbye. They rang us on the way home and offered us the price we wanted...

Everything is about cosmetics and service history - they never actually drove it. So any scrapes (even if repainted) will cost you, as well any gaps in the service history

That said, we needed rid of the car (about to come up for MOT, insurance renewal etc) and it was much quicker and easier than a private sale - all sorted out in one afternoon. Just don't expect to get anything like the best price for it!

Original poster

UbercornsGoggles · 14/10/2018 13:15

Thanks everyone for your replies. You've confirmed my suspicions. We are probably going to trade in our car but WBAC were offering more by their online valuation than the dealers.

I'd love to sell privately and get more but for a variety of reasons it's not an option for us at the moment.

OP posts:

BatsAreCool · 14/10/2018 13:24

I have sold a couple of cars with them. They have been 3-4 years old cars so looking at valuations of several thousand and typically got around £50 less than the quoted price usually due to the odd dent on doors or scuffs on alloys.

Can't fault them really as I expect their valuation to be less than selling private but I didn't want the hassle of people coming round and I also wanted the money quickly. I also filled their form out accurately regarding the cars condition.

19lottie82 · 14/10/2018 17:54

I’ve used them twice and not had any problems with the valuations. However, if you do have any scuffs / dents then expect their offer to be reduced. I think this is clearly stated in the T&Cs though.

pacer142 · 15/10/2018 09:13

Of course you're going to get less than if you sold it privately through ebay or local paper or magazine. The dealer has to make a profit and cover their risk of any problem arising.

Raver84 · 15/10/2018 13:47

Had a couple of year old quashqai which the quoted 12000 for and knocked me 500 on it. I was ok with that as a private buyer would have done the same and then u have you ad costs and time wasters. It was really easy.

roarksina · 21/07/2021 12:10

Hey, where do you guys check the valuation car in the first place?

Ampalirani · 21/07/2021 12:18

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

MrMerlot · 26/07/2021 13:31

You'll get less than you would compares to selling through, say Autotrader. You're essentially paying for convenience.

Also to look out for, when you've got your quote, they will look over the car and knock off a bit more for silly things. I had to take a couple of hundred pounds hit for a paint repair where the paint wasn't quite right on a plain black car! When you're there, it's a waste of time if you then don't go through with it, and I think they prey on this a bit.

CayrolBaaaskin · 27/07/2021 15:05

Not for me - when they turned up they offered less than half of the online quote (which was already lower than I would get for a private sale). So I sold it on Facebook and got full vale. Total waste of time IMO

Dontlickthetrolley · 27/07/2021 21:09

WBAC offered me £50 and the dealer offered £200, was a no brainer (and that was with only 6 weeks left on Mot) was more surprised when I checked to see if the garage had MOTd it and only failed on wind screen wipers!

Fluffyandsilly · 27/07/2021 21:15

I sold a car to them four or five years ago and they actually gave me more than their online tool had said the car was worth!

I’d noted every little scratch on the car and their website quoted me £800ish. When I actually went to their office the guy I dealt with told me I’d been a bit over critical and I ended up with £950 or something similar.
I was chuffed as I just wanted rid of it and didn’t have the time or energy to sell it privately, even if it would mean I got a big more for it.

ExConstance · 28/07/2021 10:24

I had an on line price of £5k from WBAC. I took it to the dealer to look at new cars and when I had secured a good discount on the new car he offered me £5k too. I'm sure WBAC would have offered less on inspection.

Flip