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Private sale - premium over WBAC price

K_S
K_S Posts: 6,892 Forumite
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edited 21 May 2023 at 10:54AM in Motoring
I'll preface my post by saying that I'm sure this is a subjective opinion and that there'll plenty of variance across two individuals selling the same car and there might be other factors that come into play, but I'd still be interested in any general thoughts please. Thanks in advance! :)

My question is, if you were considering selling your car (no damage, no mods, full dealer service history, long MOT) and your options were selling it to WeBuyAnyCar for 10k or making a private sale (using autotrader or eBay or whatever), what's the approximate premium that you would expect over and above the WBAC price for going down the private sale route? 10%? 20%? Or something else.

I am a Mortgage Adviser - You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. 

PLEASE DO NOT SEND PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.

Comments

  • Typhoon2000
    Typhoon2000 Posts: 1,172 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I would see what a similar car sells for at dealers with a warranty and deduct £1000-1500.
  • facade
    facade Posts: 7,715 Forumite
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    If I was selling I'd want at lest £1000 more than WBAC offer, to compensate for the time wasters, chancers & scam artists who would bother me before I sold it, and then the new owner bothering me after I'd sold it as if it came with a warranty.

    On the other hand if I was buying, I'd need at least £2000 off the dealer price to compensate for the lack of warranty, and the possibility that there is Something Expensive Wrong With It, which is why it is for sale in the first place.


    I want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....

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  • Nobbie1967
    Nobbie1967 Posts: 1,676 Forumite
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    I sold a car recently. Very low mileage, FSH, full MOT, Motorway’s initial offer without seeing it was £4800 although this dropped to £4600 later. I managed to get £5800 via Autotrader after pricing it at £6k. Didn’t get much interest from private buyers, but one was enough.
  • tifo
    tifo Posts: 2,155 Forumite
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    edited 21 May 2023 at 3:50PM
    I realised carwow and motorway prices are lower than autotrader, and the dealer bid is even lower than their estimate. I sold mine through carwow but private i'm sure it was worth much more. It came down £4,000 since December according to carwow and motorway, £2,000 down from March.

    WBAC was £1,500 lower than the carwow sale price and cazoo was £4,000 lower. Cazoo seems to have lowered their estimates, in December they were the highest.
  • HHarry
    HHarry Posts: 1,006 Forumite
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    I got 33% more for a private sale over WBAC.

    But it’s going to depend very much on the car and how desireable it is.  My daughter had a heavily modified Leon which she’d have struggled to sell privately, but got good money with WBAC.
  • cymruchris
    cymruchris Posts: 5,562 Forumite
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    There's no fixed percentage involved - it'll depend on the car/model/spec/engine/spec/desirablility - look at what similar models/years are advertised at on auto trader - adjust your price based on mileage and spec slightly either way, and then accept a close offer. If it's a Ford Fiesta base spec - there's a lot of them about - so they'd be a high turnover lower margin vehicle. If it was a Mercedes SLK350 with low mileage, high spec then you'd likely be able to price in a bit more premium to your advertised price. If it doesn't sell for the price you advertise - you bring it down until it gets to WBAC territory. Bearing in mind that if they offer you £10k - it's not likely you'll get £10k by the time they knock off £££ for a small scratch on a wheel or a mark on the wing mirror.
  • tifo
    tifo Posts: 2,155 Forumite
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    WBAC territory. Bearing in mind that if they offer you £10k - it's not likely you'll get £10k by the time they knock off £££ for a small scratch on a wheel or a mark on the wing mirror.
    WBAC offer you A1 condition price online, then knock it down, you'd rarely get the price they offer. But it depends on market conditions on the day, sometimes you'll get a higher offer by waiting a while.
  • K_S
    K_S Posts: 6,892 Forumite
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    Thanks all for your comments, very helpful to get some public-data pricing-anchors for a private sale.

    I am a Mortgage Adviser - You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. 

    PLEASE DO NOT SEND PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.

  • Herzlos
    Herzlos Posts: 16,045 Forumite
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    WBAC used to be incentivized to reduce the amount paid, so if you were quoted £10k it's unlikely you'd see more than £9k.

    For a £10k car there's a £75 fee for them to buy the car, and another £30 if you want paid the same day.

    I found that if it's a car they are interested in, if you get a quote and sit on it for a while they'll often bump it up a bit.


    If I was selling privately I'd be looking for something like WBAC quote + about 20-30%. But it depends on the car - an awful lot of people want a warranty and finance on cars above maybe £5k. So you'll do much better selling a £2k car privately than a £20k car.
  • Singlespeeder
    Singlespeeder Posts: 285 Forumite
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    Herzlos said:


    I found that if it's a car they are interested in, if you get a quote and sit on it for a while they'll often bump it up a bit.


    Just had exactly this . Just out of interest I ran my car through WBAC, £11,200. Did nothing, a few days maybe a week later they came back with £12,370. That's now lapsed and I'm getting emails saying "We want to buy your car" ... 
    DEBT FREE - Feb '21& Mortgage Free Nov '24
    Now, let's look at FIRE
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