webuyanycar.com

sarahlou89

I did a quote for my car and they offered me £50....Prob not far off tbh lol

Butts

Rather than all these theoretical rantings about We Buy Any Car here is a real experience.......

I got an online valuation for my Fiat Punto of £1710 which was about the same as the trade price in Parkers etc.

I did not declare the scuffed alloys and few dents and scratches on it.

Making an appointment was dead easy online , I even had to change it and was able to do that online as well.

However it was with some trepidation that I attended their premises last Sunday - someone had phoned on the Saturday to confirm my appointment.

I met a nice lady who was "the staff" - this was not a Carcraft Branch but a small unit in Scotland -just an office on a business park with no garage or showroom.

First of all she went through all the paperwork for the car and checked my identity etc. She then explained that we would go outside and compare the condition of my car with the online information I had submitted and any defects would be inputted into the computer to produce a revised valuation (whoops brown trouser time !!!)

We went outside and she walked around the car noting the previously mentioned alloys and scratches I had not declared. We also had a short drive around the Car Park and look under the bonnet.

It was with some foreboding that I sat there waiting for the computer to produce the updated valuation - I was expecting £1200 or something silly. I nearly fell off the chair when she offered £1540-only £170 less than the original valuation. However I played it cool and stated I would prefer £1700 - I went out for a cigarette while she "phoned a friend "

I came back in to be told that £1600 was the highest she would go. The deal was concluded there and then the extra £60 and road tax refund covered the £49.99 Admin Fee and Next Day Payment Fee of £24.75.

I did the deal and set off home in a taxi - I was a little concerned when I read the small print which stated they could rescind the contract if a subsequent mechanical inspection revealed any defects not apparent.

I had been told the money would be in my account by 5pm the following day and it arrived about 4pm - whew !!! Not bad considering the deal was done on a Sunday.

In conclusion I could have got a few hundred extra possibly by selling it privately but this was a pain free process no adds and time wasters. Also the timing belt should have been replaced at 5 years and the car was now over 6 years old this would have been a couple of hundred at least. The whole process was open and upfront -perhaps this was because it was a small Scottish Unit and not a Carcraft Megaplex.

motorguy

geordie_taxi wrote: »

if they didnt spend so much on advertising on telly then you would get a better offer. rubbish company

WHY are they rubbish?

They are motor traders buying your car at trade price. They will then sell the car on to another trader and take profit. That dealer will then make good all he needs to to make the car saleable, have it valeted, probably put a fresh MOT on it, be obliged to put a warranty on it, and then will take profit over and above that. Do you think they are a charity and all that happens for free?

nshaw4

Thought I'd put them to the test as they offered me £2.5k more for my 2007 Audi Q7 than I could get as a part ex from the dealer.

Booked the appointment, surprise surprise they phoned me the night before to say the valuation had dropped by £2k an hour ago !

Least they saved me the trouble of a visit and all the process on the day but my advice is DONT DO IT ! and DON'T tell me anything that sounds to good to be true must be - already learnt that one !

swifthorn

My mum's old Micra (now on some scrap heap) was valuded a year before it failed it's MOT. 1994 "m" 1.3L Micra they quoted £50. Seriously :eek:

bexyboo1312

Well, my corsa was valued at £5910 - took it in yesterday got £5910 for it (they offered me £5410 3 weeks ago!) so thought I would be getting knocked down whenI got there....was pleasantly surprised. Bloke was excellent and was all quick and easy -great experience for me and £500 - £1000 more than most garages were offering me on part ex!

jimmym105

So the moral of the post is...it all depends on what car it is and how old it is!

bravobeastie

lol this company offered £250 for a 1985 Audi coupe quattro with full mot, tax, mint bodywork, low mileage etc etc.

Ps didn't want to sell it but was just curious after reading this thread

Lemonade_Pockets

I don't know why people are surprised.

Fundamentally this company works buy buying your car and then selling it on to the trade for a quick profit.

So best case scenario if you have desirable car that is worth £1500 retail, the dealer will want to make at least £500.
Lets assume WBAC only want to make a 'small' profit of £250. This means the max they are going to give you is £750 if your car is ready to retail i.e. doesn't need a valet or a service MOT paint repair etc etc.

Obviously these profits are subject to VAT and CGT and any Over heads so actual net profit will be a lot less. So the above is probably going to an absolute best case scenario.

Now thats if you have a car that is easy to shift and the 'trade' is likley to want.
If you have something like a Ford Probe truth be told they probably would rather not buy it. However they've commited to buy any car so they give a stupidly low offer so that if they end up with the car there is still a chance of turning a profit.

The situation is improved with a more expensive car as that 'quick' profit is less of a % of the expected price.
I recently my own car to a main dealer that i have a good relationship with for £14,250 - which was a fairly good price in the current market.
WBAC actually offered £14,300 however that was less a £75 admin fee - obviously in this case their trade contact was better than mine.

I don't think it's to bad as long as you understand how they operate and accept that everyone in this world wants to make a little profit. If you have a undesirable car or car with a really niche market (see Audi Quattro above) they are probably going to low-ball the offer as it will be harder for them to move on.

ElkyElky

swifthorn wrote: »

My mum's old Micra (now on some scrap heap) was valuded a year before it failed it's MOT. 1994 "m" 1.3L Micra they quoted £50. Seriously :eek:

I wouldn't pay any more than a tenner for a Micra. :rotfl: