WeBuyAnyCar alternatives: Complete guide 

WeBuyAnyCar is a website where you can quickly and easily sell your car. You simply go online, tell them what car you have, and they give you an estimated value. You then book an appointment at a local branch where your car is appraised, and you are given a final offer.

It’s all very easy, but you do have to make some sacrifices for convenience. WeBuyAnyCar will buy your car and then sell it for a profit, plus charging a transaction fee that sits at £49.99 for cars valued at £100-£3,999, rising to £74.99 charge for cars valued at £4,000 or over. There’s no transaction fee if your car is valued at under £100.

It doesn’t have to be that way, though. There are now loads of ways to sell your car so you can get a great price. Below we will outline different ways so you can decide which one is best for you.

Selling your car to an online car buying website

You can sell your car online through numerous marketplaces, such as carwow’s Sell My Car service. There are lots of options, including money4yourmotors.com and wewantanycar.com.

How it works

It will vary from company to company, but typically you create a listing for your car, including images that show any relevant details such as damage.

In some cases dealers will bid on your car, and in others the site will make you a direct offer. Then you accept the offer and, depending on the site involved, it could be up to you to organise collection.

Fees and costs

Some sites might charge a fee for listing or collecting your car. However, with carwow there are no fees for the seller to worry about, and the dealer who ends up buying your car will arrange to collect your car for free!

Selling your car privately

There are also lots of places where you can sell your car without help, for example Auto Trader and Facebook Marketplace.

How it works

Generally, selling privately involves uploading the images of your vehicle, writing a description and filling out all of the necessary information. You’ll then have to wait for prospective buyers to see the advert and contact you to arrange a viewing.

This could be the way to get the best price for your car, but it can be a pain to deal with haggling, endless viewings, timewasters and sorting out payment of a large sum of money between two private parties.

Fees and costs

Depending on the website, you’ll usually have to pay a fee to publish your advert for a certain amount of time. For example, Auto Trader currently charges from £37 to £75, depending on how long you want your ad on the website. And when you consider that your best tactic for a quick sale is to advertise on multiple sites, each charging a fee, you can see how the costs can rack up. Some sites also let you pay extra to ‘boost’ your advert’s visibility, which is an additional expense.

Selling your car to a dealership

Selling your car to a dealership is an easy way to get rid of your car. Dealers are usually willing to buy cars that they can sell for a profit.

How it works

If you want to sell your car to a dealership, it’s unlikely you’ll simply be able to walk in off the street and get them to buy your car. However, if you’re already buying a vehicle from a dealership, they’ll often consider your existing vehicle in ‘part exchange’.

The dealer will offer you a discount on your purchase based on the value of the car you’re selling. This works for them because they’ll sell the car later for a profit. However, this does mean you’re unlikely to get what it would be worth on the private market.

Fees and costs

Usually you don’t have to pay any extra fees for selling to a dealer or when part-exchanging your vehicle. It could be worth asking for a breakdown of any fees though, just in case there’s something you want to query.

Selling your car at auction

Auction houses put your car in front of an audience of people, who can then bid on it. This traditionally happened in person but is now increasingly online too.

How it works

The auction process involves contacting an auction house about selling your vehicle. They will then give you an estimated valuation before you travel to their location so that they can hold onto your car and photograph it ahead of the auction.

Once the auction starts, those in the room or watching virtually will bid on your car. The highest bid wins.

The good thing about this is that you only need two people to really want your car, and this can push the price up. The downside is you might not get the price you want. You can put a reserve, which is the minimum amount you will accept, but if it doesn’t reach that then you’ve wasted a lot of time, effort and potentially money, to not actually sell your car.

Fees and costs

You’ll typically pay an upfront fee for your car to be listed at auction. In addition, if your car sells, the auction house will then take a cut of the sale, based on a percentage (5-10%, depending on the auction house) of what the car sold for.

Selling your car for scrap

One possibility for moving your car on is to sell it for scrap, but this really should be a last resort. In almost every case, if a car is in enough of a roadworthy condition to be sold privately, you will get more than if you sold it for scrap. If a car needs repairs that are not worth doing, then you might want to consider scrapping it.

How it works

If you do want to scrap your car, there is a legal process that must be followed. You must contact an ‘authorised treatment facility’, which will usually come and collect your car for you. In some cases, they might be willing to pay you for it, but you can’t accept cash. This must be done through a bank transfer or cheque.

Once your car is scrapped, you’ll receive a ‘certificate of destruction’ which proves you have disposed of the car and makes sure you are no longer liable for fees such as road tax. You must also tell the DVLA the vehicle has been scrapped.

Fees and costs

Scrapping your car through the proper legal process shouldn’t incur any costs.

Selling your car with carwow

Selling your car through carwow is easy.

• Enter your number plate to get an instant valuation.
• Follow the prompts to upload some photos.
• Our team will help you complete your listing and set a reserve price you’re happy with.
• Your car enters an auction where dealers bid on it, which helps you get a great price.
• Once it’s sold it’ll be collected for free and you’ll get paid.
• carwow also offers a Get Your Car service, meaning you can get your next car in the same place, whether you want to buy new or used, or lease.

It really is that easy. No hassle, no haggle, only wow! Join over 2.5 million people who’ve used carwow to help find or sell a car.