You’ve probably heard of We Buy Any Car. That catchy jingle from the adverts is hard to forget! But perhaps you’ve already tried them and you didn’t get offered the price you wanted or you’re curious to see what price you’d receive elsewhere. Whatever the reason, let’s take a look at the best We Buy Any Car alternatives and see what they all have to offer.
What is We Buy Any Car?
We Buy Any Car is a car-buying service that operates in the UK and the USA. In their adverts, they have claimed to be the UK’s largest car buying service.
One of the main benefits of selling to We Buy Any Car is that you get a guaranteed sale without any of the hassles of listing your car privately and waiting for somebody to come along and buy it. They do take all of the hassles away and the whole process is very quick and easy.
But, some people aren’t too happy with the price they’re offered by We Buy Any Car. As they sell vehicles on to trade, they do have to make a profit so you will always receive less for your car than you would if you were to sell it privately. That being said, many people feel that the benefits far outweigh the negatives and We Buy Any Car have been incredibly successful since the company was first established back in 2006.
It’s always worth shopping around whenever you’re buying or selling anything. If you get a few different quotes (ideally a minimum of three), then you can get a good idea of what you’re car is worth.
What are the cons to selling with We Buy Any Car?
Although selling with companies such as We Buy Any Car or their competitors can be ideal if you need a quick sale, there are some downsides.
- You will receive less than the market value
- We Buy Any Car charge a transaction fee to buy your car!
- You get charged if you need the money quickly
- You will probably receive less than the online quote
- They don’t offer a collection service
So, let’s take a look at the best We Buy Any Car alternatives.
Alternatives to We Buy Any Car
It’s definitely true that you’ll get more money if you sell your car privately, but if you need a quick sale for whatever reason, then companies such as We Buy Any Car really come into their own. They can have the sale wrapped up very quickly and have the money in your bank account sometimes within hours.
Here are the best We Buy Any Car alternatives:
- Exchange My Car
- We Want Any Car
- Motorway
- The Car Buying Group
- Cazoo
- Cinch
- CarWow
- Money4YourMotors
Some of these companies work better for certain cars, so we’ll take a look at what they each have to offer individually.
Exchange My Car
Exchange My Car work slightly differently to We Buy Any Car. They class themselves as a comparison site and search other sites to find the best deal for your car.
As well as buying cars, they also offer a part-exchange service and their website suggests that they will be able to give you a better price for your car if you’re using it as a part-exchange towards buying a car from them too.
Exchange My Car do offer a collection service without any extra fees, and they don’t charge a transaction fee either.
Quotes are valid for 7 days.
Fees
As far as I can see, there aren’t any hidden fees if you decide to sell your car with Exchange My Car.
We Want Any Car
We Want Any Car will give you a valuation for any car at all, with or without tax and an MOT. They will also come and give you a valuation if your car isn’t roadworthy at all, so they could be a good option if you just need to get rid of an old car that’s been sitting on the drive for years.
We Want Any Car don’t have branches, so you will need to arrange for them to visit you for a full valuation.
Quotes are valid for 5 days.
Fees
- Purchase price up to £100 – no fee
- Purchase price above £100 – £99 administration fee
There aren’t any fees for faster payments, payments usually hit your bank immediately.
Motorway
Similarly to Exchange My Car, Motorway don’t actually buy your car themselves. They have a database of over 5,000 dealers and any interested dealers will place a bid in order to hopefully secure your car. This means that when you enter you car registration details, you will be given an estimated price. You will then need to upload photos of your car and you can set a reserve price so that you know your car won’t be sold for a price you’re not happy with.
Once you receive your quotes, you can then select the highest bidder. They will come to collect your car and you will receive your cash the same day.
Fees
Motorway make their money by charging dealers a fee to use their platform. There aren’t any fees for you if you’re selling your car through them.
The Car Buying Group
Once you’ve filled your details in online and received your initial quote, you will receive a phone call from The Car Buying Group who will ask for further details about your car in order to give you a more accurate quote. If you’re happy, they will then arrange for the car to be inspected and collected from your home. They pay the money into your bank account immediately.
They won’t buy non-runners.
Fees
The Car Buying Group don’t charge any fees.
Cazoo
Cazoo are fairly well-known thanks to their intensive advertising campaign and they have grown very quickly since they first launced back in 2018. They are quite picky about the types of car they’ll buy though and their website states that they don’t buy cars that:
- Are different from the description you gave us
- Have issues identified by a car history check
- Have major accident damage, been stolen or scrapped
- Have mileage discrepancies
- Have tyres that aren’t road legal
- Have been used for taxi, private hire, chauffeur or rental purposes
- Have been used for driving lessons
- Have been used as a police vehicle or by a local authority
- Have insurance issues
- Have been written off
- Have been imported or exported
- Have mechanical or electrical faults
- Haven’t got a valid MOT
- Haven’t been first registered in the UK
- Are valued by us at £65,000 or more
- Are older than 15 years old
- Have been modified
They also won’t buy your car if you have been the registered keeper for six months or less.
Quotes are valid for 7 days.
Fees
Cazoo won’t charge any fees unless you ask them to collect your car. There is a fee of £149 for the collection service and they will only collect cars valued at less than £25,000.
Cinch
Cinch are slightly different as they only offer part-ex, so you couldn’t just sell your car to them without buying a car from them. They won’t just buy your car outright, so obviously they won’t be suitable for everyone.
Quotes are only valid for 6 hours.
Fees
Cinch offer a collection and drop off service and don’t charge any fees for this.
CarWow
CarWow are similar to Motorway and have a database of car dealers who will bid on your car allowing you to then choose the highest bidder and agree a price you’re happy with.
Fees
CarWow charge dealers a fee to use their services, so there aren’t any fees for you to pay to sell your car through them. Collection is also free.
Money4YourMotors
Money4YourMotors work in a similar way to We Buy Any Car but they don’t have branches so they will come to you to make their final valuation. If you’re happy, they can take your car then and there and will make payment by instant bank transfer.
Quotes are valid for 5 days.
Fees
I have to be honest, I found it very difficult to find their fees and I think this should definitely be more transparent on their website. I eventually found the fees hidden deep in their terms and conditions.
- Purchase price up to £100 – no fee
- Purchase price above £100 – £99 administration fee
We Buy Any Car Alternatives Comparison Table
In order to give a real picture of the price differences between the various companies, I entered the details of our cars into each of the sites in order to get an idea of the various different prices they might offer. Bear in mind that both our cars are a few years old now, so they’re not worth thousands and thousands of pounds each. My car is a 63-plate Vauxhall Zafira whilst my husband has a 12-plate Vauxhall Corsa.
It’s also worth noting that these companies would probably not give us the actual price quoted here, they do tend to find marks and scratches when they do their inspections which inevitably knocks down the price they are prepared to pay.
I used Parkers Price Guide to get an idea of what each car is worth.
| Company | Vauxhall Zafira | Vauxhall Corsa |
| Parkers | £2,305 – £2,900 | £1,485 – £2,285 |
| Exchange My Car | £2,850 | £2,000 |
| We Want Any Car | £3,735 | £2,701 |
| Motorway | £3,574 | £2,486 |
| The Car Buying Group | £3,395 | £2,377 |
| Cazoo | £3,025 | £1,925 |
| Cinch | £3,008 | £1,982 |
| CarWow | £3,623 | £2,547 |
| Money4YourMotors | £3,752 | £2,616 |
Who pays the most for secondhand cars?
Obviously, this only gives you a snapshot into the price differences you could see if you entered your own car details into these different sites. For our cars, Money4YourMotors and We Want Any Car came out on top. It just goes to show how important it is to shop around so that you can really get an idea for an accurate market valuation for your car.
Pros and cons
There are always pros and cons with these kinds of companies, so let’s take a look.
Pros of using We Buy Any Car alternatives
- No need to see lots of different potential buyers
- Quick sale
- Instant car valuations
- Choose the day of sale that’s convenient for you
- Guaranteed sale
- Appointment flexibility – you can choose an appointment time that suits you
Cons of using We Buy Any Car alternatives
- You may see a compelling price initially but that’s unlikely to be the amount you actually receive
- Some companies charge a fee to buy your car
- You will receive less than you would in a private sale
If you can afford to wait, and you’re not in a hurry to sell, then you will always get more money from a private buyer. But if you do decide to sell your car with any of the We Buy Any Car alternatives, or even with We Buy Any Car themselves, then make sure you know exactly what you’ll be charged in fees, and shop around so that you don’t lose out by selling for less than you could achieve elsewhere.
