Sell my car to Webuyanycar: 5 tips for getting the best price
Our independent Webuyanycar review covers everything you need to know, including how to get the best price when selling your car or van.
A lot of people looking to offload their motor will wonder: “should I sell my car to Webuyanycar?’
After all, they are one of the biggest car-buying sites and promise to take your car off your hands with a minimum of fuss while paying you a decent sum of money.
But if getting the highest possible price is all that matters to you, then the short answer to that question is ‘no’.
That’s because sites like AutoTrader, where you pay to list your car on their site and effectively sell it yourself, will undoubtedly get you a higher price for your beloved motor as you’re cutting out the middleman.
But not everyone wants to put in all that time and effort, or simply need the cash quicker, and will instead be willing to accept a slightly lower price in return for a quick and easy sale.
The fact that there has been a boom in online car-buying sites in recent years suggests that lots of people fall into this category.
So which one should you choose? Webuyanycar, Motorway, Arnold Clark and more… you really are spoiled for choice.
You can find our guides to all the other sites here, but this one will walk you through all the vital info you need if you’re thinking of selling your car to Webuyanycar.
We’ll explain what’s good about them, what’s bad (warning, they recently hiked their fees – again), how to get a better price and more.
Sell my car to Webuyanycar: how it works & what price to expect
Webuyanycar promises to buy your car off you no matter what make and model it is – they even buy scrap cars and those with outstanding finance.
They then find someone else to sell it on to at a profit to them.
This takes a lot of the pain and hassle out of the car-selling process but, as we mentioned earlier, you’ll have to accept a lower price than selling it yourself.
The difference between how much Webuyanycar will pay for your car versus how much you can get by selling it yourself will depend on how valuable your current motor is (the gap will likely be smaller the less valuable the car).
But as a rough guide, AutoTrader estimate that you’ll typically lose out on around £1,000 when selling to any car-buying site.
So how does the process work?
You start by entering your car’s reg number and mileage on the Webuyanycar site and they’ll give you a free valuation almost immediately.
If you’re happy with the amount quoted, you’ll need to book in an appointment at your nearest Webuyanycar branch (you can use this branch locator).
They’ll then inspect your car and make you an offer.
If you accept, you’ll receive your money within four working days – or on the same day if you choose to pay a rapid payment fee.
Find out which car-buying site pays out fastest here
Will I get the quoted price if I sell my car to Webuyanycar or will they knock down the price?
It’s important to note that the valuation you get upfront is just an estimate and nothing more, which is based on the assumption your car is in great condition.
It also makes the following assumptions about your motor:
- It has at least 6 months MOT left;
- It isn’t an import;
- It has never been subject to an insurance write-off or used for private hire, rental, driving tuition or as a police vehicle;
- It hasn’t got a personalised number plate;
- It has no damage, including interior or mechanical;
- It isn’t a non-runner;
- It has two sets of keys.
When it comes time for them to view your car in person at one of their centres, they will knock down their offer if your car has any imperfections such as scratches or dents, stains on the seats and so on.
So if the initial valuation you’ve received is barely acceptable as it is and your car does has a few imperfections, it might be worth looking elsewhere (scroll down to the section titled ‘Webuyanycar competitors’ for more).
Is the Webuyanycar valuation fair?
If you’ve done any research on the car-buying site before landing here, you may have seen a fair few news articles criticising Webuyanycar for providing ‘misleading’ valuations.
These headlines all stem from a report by the now-defunct Office of Fair Trading back in 2011, which found that a staggering 96% of customers received less than their original Webuyanycar valuation.
That’s pretty worrying, to say the least.
However, it’s worth stressing that this was a very long time ago and the company said at the time this was due to initial teething problems of setting up as the first mainstream car-buying site and that valuations are now far more accurate.
These days, Webuyanycar say that it’ll pay the quoted price as long as it’s in the condition you say it is.
“The price given online by Webuyanycar to its customers is valid and guaranteed to be honoured for the following four days provided that the car is sold to webuyanycar.com within those four days, and the car is in the actual condition and has the history that customers told us online,” they say in their site’s terms and conditions.
Regardless, when you do get your valuation it’s worth keeping in mind that you may well get a lower final price.
Take the time to consider the absolute minimum price you’d be willing to accept.
How can I get the best price when I sell my car to Webuyanycar?
There are a lot of factors that will influence the final price that Webuyanycar will offer you for your car.
A number of these are out of your control.
You can’t, for instance, reduce your mileage or change the number of previous owners your vehicle has had.
But there are some you can do that will definitely get you a better price when selling to Webuyanycar.
- Fix any minor issues
An obvious one, but any imperfections or damage will drive down the price you receive.
You won’t want to spend too much time or money on this – the process is supposed to be quick and easy, after all – but if there are any simple fixes you can do yourself or could be paid for by your insurer (such as a chipped windscreen) then they’re worth doing.
- Wait for the right time of year… preferably the start
The time of year you sell your car will impact the price you get. This is because demand for motors goes up and down at various times of the year.
For example, convertibles will likely be more in demand in the summer months so may well attract a higher price (although we’ve been told by rival car-buyer Motorway that this trend isn’t as pronounced these days).
Generally speaking, you’ll find more demand for your car at the start of the year, so this is usually a good time to sell.
Take a look at the image above, which is a screengrab of an email one of our team received when getting their car valued at Webuyanycar.
It states that demand for a Ford Focus is likely to be higher in January than February so it’s a good time to sell.
This doesn’t mean you have to sell in the first week of the year to get a good price!
Selling any time in the first quarter, and even some way into the second will be more likely to get you a higher price than in the summer.
So if you have the luxury of not needing to sell urgently, consider waiting for the appropriate time.
…or fast-track the sale if your car’s birthday is coming up
Despite what we’ve said above, waiting for the right time of year is only a good idea if your car is nearing a certain age.
Cars will generally attract a lower price once they become three years and – especially – five years old.
If this deadline is looming, consider selling quickly.
Get a Webuyanycar valuation and then do nothing!
We can’t guarantee this will work as we only have anecdotal evidence, however, it could be worth trying.
Once you receive your initial valuation, simply wait a while and see if Webuyanycar come back with a better offer.
One of our team tested this and, a couple of weeks after getting their valuation, received an email (pictured below) saying they could get a higher price for their car “for a limited time only”.
Obviously, this is only worth trying if you aren’t in a hurry and it doesn’t risk you missing one of the deadlines or peak seasons mentioned above…
- Vital things to do before your inspection
The key to getting the best price when selling to Webuyanycar is giving them as few reasons as possible to knock down your car’s value when they inspect it.
So be as methodical as possible in your preparation.
Do you have all your documents available? Things like the logbook, MOT certificate and service history, and any other forms should be brought with you.
Is the car as clean as possible? First appearances are important and they could decide the car needs a professional clean (which could come out of your final offer price).
Do you have all the accessories that came with the car? Think of things like the wheel locking nut and the spare key.
Speaking of which, check your second key works beforehand.
If it needs a new battery, pick one up for a couple of quid on Amazon and replace it yourself (there are Youtube tutorials available if you aren’t sure how to).’
All these things might seem trivial, but not doing them could lead to you getting a lower price for your car.
Does Webuyanycar charge fees? How much will I have to pay?
While other car-buying sites like Motorway and Carwow are fee-free, that’s not the case here.
For starters, Webuyanycar will charge most sellers an admin fee, also known as a transaction fee that could be anywhere up to £125.
The amount you’ll have to pay depends on the sale price of your car – and it’s worth noting that Webuyanycar has recently tweaked its fees so many motorists will pay a larger fee.
Here’s how the transaction fee is now calculated:
- For cars that sell for less than £99.99, there is no transaction fee.
- For cars worth between £100 and £3,999.99, there’s a £49.99 transaction fee.
- Cars worth £4,000 to £6,999 will attract a £74.99 fee.
- Cars worth £7,000 to £9,999.99 there’s a £84.99 fee.
- Cars valued at £10,000 to £19,999 will attract a hefty £99.99 fee.
- Cars worth £20,000 or more will be charged a whopping £124.99
A year ago, the maximum fee Webuyanycar charged was £74.99, which was applied to all cars worth more than £4,000.
A few months ago, it introduced a new tier for cars worth more than £10k, which came with a £99.99 fee.
It’s now introduced yet another tier – cars selling for £20k or more – which will attract a whopping £124.99 charge.
Note that Webuyanycar says the admin fee “may apply at the point of sale” rather than when you receive your funds for the sale, so make sure you have some money to hand.
Speaking of payment, you’ll also be charged a fee if you want to get your money off Webuyanycar sooner than its standard payment window of four working days (which is free).
It’ll cost you £24.75 to get it the next working day, or £29.75 to get an Immediate Payment into your bank.
The latter will take anywhere between 15 minutes and two hours, depending on how fast your bank processes the payment.
Webuyanycar competitors: can I get a better price elsewhere?
As we said at the start, you’ll almost certainly get a better price selling it yourself through AutoTrader, eBay or even Facebook where you have to put in all the effort yourself.
At the end of the day, there is a price to pay for simply handing your keys over to someone else to sell on.
That said, you might be able to get a better price selling to one of Webuyanycar’s rivals like Motorway and Arnold Clark.
We definitely recommend you get quotes from a few other competitors before selling.
It will only take an extra 10-15 minutes and it could mean you end up getting thousands more for your car.
That’s not because Webuyanycar is a terrible place to sell, but the simple fact that NO site will always offer the best price for every car.
We can say this with confidence because we’ve conducted loads of research into which sites pay the best price for various cars.
The specifics of your car – the make, model, age, mileage, condition – all impact how attractive it is to each site, so be sure to take the time to shop around.
To make it less of a faff, we’ve listed all the other places you can sell your car below.
Each one has a link to our review to help you understand how each works and a link direct to their site so you can get a quote straight away.
- Rival car-buying sites (sell your car quickly)
Read our Cazoo review or go and get a quote
Read our Motorway review or go and get a quote
Read our Wewantanycar review or go and get a quote
Read our Evans Halshaw review or go and get a quote
Read our Money4yourmotors review or go and get a quote
Read our Arnold Clark review or go and get a quote
Read our Carwow review or go and get a quote
If you’ve rounded up a few quotes and none sound good enough, then you’re probably going to have to sell your car yourself.
Here’s a list of the places you can do so
- Sell your car yourself (for a better price)
Will Webuyanycar collect my car?
No, Webuyanycar doesn’t offer a car collection service, so you’ll need to bring your car to a testing centre and organise a lift home yourself.
If collection is really important to you, consider selling to Motorway, Carwow or Wewantanycar as they all offer this as a free service.
Webuyanycar Trustpilot rating: ‘excellent’
If you’ve done all your research and you’re still unsure whether to sell your car to Webuyanycar, then Trustpilot is a good place to look.
It’s an independent review site where people who’ve actually sold through the site can leave their experiences.
At the time of publishing, Webuyanycar’s Trustpilot rating was 4.7 stars out of 5.
As Trustpilot considers anything over 4.3 to be ‘excellent’, that’s an impressive score.
Of the more than 238,000 reviews, 80% gave Webuyanycar five stars and just 3% gave them one star.
While that’s no guarantee you’ll have a great experience when selling to Webuyanycar, it does at least suggest the odds are in your favour.