Mat Watson

Sell my car

The free, easy way to get 3000+ dealers all over the UK bidding on your car

Rated 4.7/5 from 28,196 reviews

How to sell a car with carwow

1. Get a quote on your car for free

Add some basic details about your used car and start receiving instant car valuations within minutes for free – there are no hidden fees or costs.

2. Compare car offers from dealers

We’ll find you the best offers from 3,000 local and national dealers so you can compare prices and dealer ratings to sell your car online.

3. Easy payment and free collection

Once you’ve picked an offer to sell your car, the dealership will arrange payment and confirm the best time to pick up your car.

Why sell your used car with carwow

  • We check thousands of dealers

    We save you the bother of hunting around for the best price to sell your old car

  • Dealers compete to buy your car

    We make the process of selling a car to a dealer easier. Any buyers who are interested in bidding will offer you their best price

  • You will sell your car online for free

    No fees. No hidden costs. All the money from the sale is yours to spend how you want

  • Avoid the hassle of the private sale

    Skip the struggle of selling a vehicle privately. You may also get more for it than if you were to try part exchange

  • Sell your car for what it's really worth

    Get a realistic valuation of your car's worth, not an automated price to be chipped down later

  • Sell your car fast and get paid the same day

    The chosen dealer will contact you to make payment and arrange free home collection

  • Buy and sell your car in one place

    We can also help you find your next car to buy, without the hassle or haggle

  • Outstanding finance cars accepted

    We can help you sell your car even if it has outstanding finance to settle

How much can I sell my car for?

How much you’ll be able to sell your car for is determined by a number of factors.

First of all, it will depend on the model of your car. It’s no secret that some cars are more valuable than others. As a general rule, the more expensive your car was new, the higher a price it will likely command compared with similarly-aged cars.

Perhaps as equal will be the condition of your car. It almost goes without saying, but the better shape a car is in, the more it’ll be worth.

However, no matter the state of your car, it’s worth providing clear images and as much information as possible. A car that’s a little more worn down but with lots of details and clear pictures may catch the eye more of a buyer than what may be a perfect car that’s been listed with bad images and little-to-no info about it.

If you provide clear info at the point of listing your car through carwow as well, you can expect to be paid the price you’re offered.

90% of buyers received the agreed price from dealers, but failing to mention any damage or other issues with your car could affect your valuation at the point of sale.

Make sure you can provide as much information on your car’s service history as well, too. Strong service history can add lots of value to your car, so being able to back it up with stamps and receipts always helps.

Selling your car FAQs

Selling your car through carwow is quick and easy. Once you’ve listed your car with a few photos, our trusted dealers will start bidding for it.

It’s just a case of accepting the best offer, then the dealer can come and collect the car from your home at a time to suit you and drop the money straight into your account.

How long it takes to sell your car can vary depending on the demand for your specific model, however the process of listing it is super quick and simple.

Because you can upload photos of your car, the dealers can get a really good idea of its condition and can offer you a price they can stick to. This removes any need for haggling on collection day.

Unlike some other car selling sites, carwow doesn’t charge you to sell your car.

It’s totally free and without obligation to sell if you don’t find an offer to suit you. Simply enter your mileage and registration details, and wait for the offers to flow in.

If you do sell your car to one of our trusted dealers, you won’t be charged a penny for doing so - every penny you get is yours to keep. You’ll be paid by the dealer directly too, so no need to worry about the middle-man processing times.

Though repairing your car will add some value back to it, it could also prove more costly than its worth.

For example, expensive bodywork repairs or big engine parts could end up outweighing any extra you may get.

If you’re on the fence, it may be worth listing your car in its current condition and seeing the offers you get for it. You may find one you’re happy with, but if not, it’s worth doing some extra research into the cost of repairs.

Once you’ve got that in mind, try running your car through carwow’s valuation tool but with the idea that any damage you’re planning to have done is fixed. This will give you a rough idea of how much more you could get for it.

With a private sale, you pay a little to place an advert on a classified website and hope it will be spotted by a potential buyer. You then arrange for them to come to you to view and test drive the car. You agree on a price, they pay you and then they drive the car away.

This method is for those who don’t mind having potential customers come to their house and is the method that could get you the most cash for your car.

However, there’s no guarantee on how long it could take and how much cash you’ll end up getting. It could also be a lot more time consuming for you as a seller. Using carwow’s services to sell your car takes away this hassle and uncertainty.

For more on this see our guide on the best ways to sell a car.

On other car selling sites, you’ll typically list your car for private sale, have to worry about whipping out your English GCSE again to put together an appealing description, spend money on just listing it and then have lots of humming and ahming from people ready to lowball you for well under asking price.

None of that is the case with carwow. Just as with our new car buying service, we have a wide range of dealers ready to make you an offer on the car you want to sell. All you need to do is enter the mileage and registration of your car, along with a couple of pictures and some basic information. Then sit and wait for the offers to roll in.

Once you find an offer you’re happy with, the buying dealer will make an appointment with you for them to come to inspect and collect the car.

You’ll be then sent the payment directly - no haggling to worry about and no fees for you to pay.

You'll just need your V5C logbook to sell my car, though what you do with it depends on if the car you're selling is staying in the UK or heading abroad.

If you're selling your car through carwow, the buyer will be UK based. This means you’ll just need to hand over the green 'new keeper' slip from inside the logbook.

You'll need to then tell the DVLA you’ve sold the car, along with the details of the buyer. If you don't, you might not get the full entitlement of any car tax refund you're due.

If you do sell the car to a buyer that’s taking it abroad, you'll need to fill out the 'permanent export' section of the V5C and send it off to the DVLA including a letter with the buyer’s name and address.

You'll need to pass over the rest of the logbook to the buyer too, as they’ll need to to register the car in whichever country it's going to.

In case you don't have this document, you can sell your car without the V5C logbook; though it's worth the investment to get one before doing so.

For more information see our handy guide: what documents do I need to sell my car?

Yes you can also part exchange through carwow, and it doesn’t have to be with the dealer you’re buying your new car from.

Selling through carwow is as easy as waiting for offers once you’ve given mileage and registration info, along with some photos and some basic info.

You’re paid directly by the dealer buying your car once they’ve collected it too, and without fees, so all of that money is yours without lengthy waiting times for it to be processed.

That means you can sell your car for cash and use it towards the new car you’re buying through carwow right away or, if you’ve already bought your new car, to make some early payments.

Or just forgo that entirely and buy something like a new games console or a loft conversion. Like we say, it’s all your money.

Yes you can, in fact the only bidders for your cars will be dealers looking for used cars to stock.

At the time of writing this, there’s potentially over 3,000 buyers waiting to pounce on your new car - which means you could end up with more money than you expected as a result of demand.

And that means none of those tyre kicking buyers coming in with the mindset of lowballing you for half the asking price and with no real intention of buying the car.

Selling through carow will put your car in front of over 1,000 of our trusted dealers across the UK.

The benefit of selling with us is that there’s no haggling to worry about, so the price you’re offered is the price you’ll get if you’re happy with it. The dealer will pay you directly too - so no need to worry about any delayed payments or a middle man getting in the way of the transaction.

Sell with carwow! It’s super quick and easy, and you don’t have to wait long at all for the offers to come in.

Once you’ve submitted mileage and reg info for the car you’re looking to sell, along with some pictures of the car, you can just sit back and wait for the offers to roll in.

How long it’ll take and the number of offers may of course vary depending on demand for your particular car, but the process itself is super quick and easy. There’s no time wasted on haggling - you can simply choose to accept or reject any offers handed to you.

Once you see an offer you’re happy with, the dealer will contact you to arrange an inspection and collection from you directly. You don’t even need to leave your sofa the whole time!

In short, it depends on the type of finance agreement you have. If you have a Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) with a balloon payment, then yes, you can.

If you sell through carwow, the buyer is responsible for paying off any finance and providing proof this has been done before they take your car.

In addition, if the sale price is higher than the settlement amount (i.e. the amount needed to pay off any outstanding finance, as decided by the finance company) you can expect to receive the difference. Ka-ching!

On the other hand, if the sale price is lower than the settlement amount this means you have negative equity. You'll need to pay the difference to the buyer beforehand so they can pay the full settlement amount to the finance company.

There may also be the option to hand the car back to your finance company if you have paid off at least 50% of the total financed amount (including the deposit, interest, fees and the balloon payment). However, this is usually well beyond halfway through your agreement.

You may also hand your car back if it is financed with a Hire Purchase (HP) agreement and you have paid back at least 50% of the total financed amount. Due to there being no balloon payment in HP finance, this is usually close to the halfway point of the agreement.

For more info on the ins-and-outs on selling your financed car, we have a handy guide here that explains everything you need to know.

Sell your car guides