Sell my car to Evans Halshaw: review and tips for getting the best price
Thinking of selling your car to Evans Halshaw? Our independent review will take you through everything you need to know, including fees to watch out for and how to get the best price for your car.
If you want to sell your car quickly, whatever its age and condition, you could consider Evans Halshaw.
Unlike some of the other car-buying sites that exclude cars with high mileage or that’s especially old, Evans Halshaw say they’ll buy your car no matter what.
‘So, should I sell my car to Evans Halshaw’?
Our independent Evans Halshaw review will answer that question, taking you through everything you need to know, including tips for getting a better price, how its fee structure compares to rivals, and how quickly you can expect to be paid.
But before we get into all that, we wanted to make one thing clear up front so as not to waste your time: no car-buying site can guarantee they’ll pay the best price for your car.
The adverts might imply otherwise, but the only way to be sure you aren’t getting ripped off when selling your car online is to get quotes from a bunch of the major sites first – we’ve included links to all of them lower down in this guide, under the heading ‘Evans Halshaw alternatives and competitors’.
These online quotes are pretty accurate, so if one comes out miles better than the rest you can be confident you’re on to a winner.
Right, now that we’ve clarified that, and assuming you’re still happy to sell your car to Evans Halshaw, let’s take a closer look at how the whole process works.
Sell my car to Evans Halshaw: how it works
Getting a free online valuation at Evans Halshaw is pretty straightforward, taking less than five minutes.
After entering your details on the Evans Halshaw website, it’ll bring up the make and model of your car, and you’ll be asked some questions about its condition and service history.
You’ll then get an instant online valuation, which is valid for seven days and emailed to you.
If you want to sell, click the ‘book an appointment’ button in the email to book your inspection and handover.
There’s no option to have your car collected with Evans Halshaw, but it has over eighty inspection centres. I put in my postcode and found my nearest one was ten miles away.
In some cases, you may be able to get a ‘same day’ inspection appointment, however, this depends on how busy individual centres are.
As part of the selling process, you’ll need to take proof of ID, like a photo driving licence, valid V5C, (vehicle registration document), and proof of address, like a recent bank statement or utility bill.
You’ll also need at least one set of keys, plus service history, and parts that go with the car like a wheel locking nut.
Should I sell my car to Evans Halshaw? What cars do they want?
Evans Halshaw say it will buy your car whatever its “age, make, model, mileage or condition”.
So if you’ve got a car you can’t shift privately it might be worth selling to Evans Halshaw, though clearly, you’re unlikely to get much if you’re offloading a rust bucket.
Anything over 10 years old, or over 95,000 miles, tends to be classed as ‘trade’ which can mean inspections aren’t as tough, but the valuation offer may reflect this too.
If you’ve had your car under one year, Evans Halshaw will want ‘proof of purchase’ from a recognised dealer, and if you’ve had your car less than six months, it will need an inspection, prior to valuation.
If I sell my car to Evans Halshaw, will I get the quoted price?
Offers are based on the make and model, along with the mileage and condition given at the valuation stage.
Worth being honest, as if you turn up with a car in much worse condition, your valuation offer can be revised, which is the case with other car-buying websites.
Evans Halshaw do say you can sometimes get more selling privately than selling to a dealership or company, so it’s not claiming to offer the best price.
I ran a valuation for my 2010 Peugeot 207 CC 1.6 GT Convertible through the Evans Halshaw site and was offered a top price of ‘up to’ £1,528 for ‘Excellent’ condition, down to £808 for ‘below average’.
Valuation offers were much lower compared with Cazoo, in one case over £700 lower, for the same condition.
How does Evans Halshaw’s £100 Price Promise work?
Evans Halshaw make a pretty compelling promise on their website, claiming that they’ll “match your best offer plus an extra £100.”
That sounds amazing, but there is some important fine print to be aware of in the ‘terms and conditions’.
The bottom line is Evans Halshaw says they will only pay £100 more if you’ve had an offer from a ‘competitor dealer’ that’s within 20 miles of the Evans Halshaw branch you visit.
However, there is an important catch here: Evans Halshaw says you have to provide a copy of your offer “and the written quote of the competitor dealer. No other valuations shall be accepted by us.”
If you’ve done any shopping around on other sites by now, you’ll know that you won’t get any offer in writing unless you’ve effectively gone through most of the sales process first.
If you simply get a quick online valuation from other sites – something we always recommend you do, more on that later – that won’t be enough to meet the requirements of Evans Halshaw’s price pledge.
So while the offer is a welcome one, the reality is a lot of people won’t be willing to proceed far down the sales process with one firm to then have to do it all over again for the potential gain of £100.
How does the valuation process work?
When it comes to the valuation process, there are four categories, ranging from ‘Excellent’ to ‘Below Average’.
Check the bodywork for dents and scratches, as there are strict criteria regarding the number for each category.
To achieve the top ‘Excellent’ rating, you’re only allowed one small chip or scratch that doesn’t go through the paintwork.
Even if your car is mechanically sound, with a good clean interior, you may get a lower offer than expected, due to cosmetic damage.
And it’s also worth knowing you need at least two sets of keys to achieve the ‘Good’ rating or higher.
Evans Halshaw fees: how much will I be charged?
Evans Halshaw doesn’t charge any admin fees when selling your car.
However, this could be reflected within its valuations, as having compared offers from Evans Halshaw with Cazoo for my vehicle, the lowest offer from Cazoo was nearly twice the price that Evans Halshaw was offering.
Evans Halshaw vs other car-buying sites: can I get a better price elsewhere?
As we mentioned at the start, you should take the time to shop around and get quotes from a few other car-buying sites before committing.
This is because no site will always offer the best price for every car.
The age, make, model, mileage and condition will all affect how attractive your motor is to each site.
The difference in price could be staggering: we carried out research on some of the most popular cars on UK roads and found that some sites would offer thousands of pounds less than rivals for the exact same car.
It really does only take a couple of minutes to get a quote.
To save you a little more time, here’s a detailed rundown of your options when it comes to selling your car.
I want to sell my car quickly online
Read our Motorway review – or head this way to get a Motorway quote now
Read our Webuyanycar review – or head this way to get a Webuyanycar quote
Read our Cazoo review – or head this way to get a Cazoo quote
Read our Wewantanycar review – or head this way to get a Wewantanycar quote
Read our Carwow review – or head this way to get a Carwow quote
Read our Arnold Clark review – or head this way to get an Arnold Clark quote
Read our Mone4yourmotors review or get your Money4yourmotors quote
I want to sell my car myself to get the best price
AutoTrader (be sure to read our Autotrader review first)
How will I be paid if I sell my car to Evans Halshaw?
Once you agree to the sale and hand over your car, Evans Halshaw will pay directly to your bank account within three working days.
In some cases, it says the money could be in your account the same day.
Evans Halshaw Trustpilot rating – Excellent
If you are still unsure whether Evans Halshaw is the best place to sell you car, it’s worth factoring in what other motorists who’ve used the company think of it.
Trustpilot is an independent customer review site and, on there, customers have given Evans Halshaw a 4.5 star rating, (out of five stars), with over 86,000 reviews.
In total, 73% of customers awarded Evans Halshaw a five-star rating, while 13% gave them a one-star rating.
That does suggest you’re more likely than not to get good service, but the fact more than one in eight gave it the lowest possible rating is a worry.
As a point of comparison, neither of the two main car-buying sites – Motorway (4.5 stars overall) and Webuyanycar (4.8 stars) have more than 4% one-star ratings.
Should I sell my car to Evans Halshaw? Pros & cons
If your car is a right old banger, Evans Halshaw does appeal as they claim they’ll buy anything, even non-runners.
The site is easy to use, provides an instant offer with no need for photos, but on the downside, we found valuations were much less than offers for the same vehicle from Cazoo.
There’s no home collection, so you’ll need to be prepared to drop your car off at one of its eighty locations (see which sites do offer home collection here).
If you want to ask a question, there’s no customer service centre, but you can call one of its drop-off centres directly.
Still unsure who to sell your car to? Take a look at our independent reviews of all the major car-buying sites.