We Buy Any Car are certainly the most popular platform to sell your car in the UK and we are big fans of the brand. However, there are multiple alternatives to consider that offer a number of unique benefits and varying valuations.
To ensure that you get the best price for your car, below are some of the best alternatives to We Buy Any Car.
What Are The Best We Buy Any Car Alternatives?
1. Cazoo
Unlike We Buy Any Car that buy cars and puts them straight to auction, Cazoo look for cars that they can sell on themselves. This means that for certain vehicles, they can offer higher valuations than some of the alternatives. From our car valuation case study shown further down in the article, Cazoo provided the highest valuation for mid-range cars.
Other benefits of using Cazoo include:
- The company is growing in size and opening more local branches
- Offer a collection service (£99 fee that’s deducted from the value of your car)
- Payment within two hours
- Valuation is guaranteed for 7 days
Some of the drawbacks that we found include:
- They don’t purchase cars worth over £60,000 or those that are over 15 years old
- They don’t purchase high mileage cars (over 150,000 miles or 25,000 per year)
- Cars must be registered in your name for at least 3 months
- They aren’t interested in commercial, vans, motorbikes, trucks or ex-rentals
To conclude, Cazoo is our top recommendation if you are looking for an alternative to We Buy Any Car. If you have a mid-range car (worth between £10,000 to £30,000), we’ve found that they offer very competitive valuations. However, for older, modified, high mileage or any other non-standard private vehicles, the alternatives below are advised.
Get A Valuation
2. Motorway
Motorway is another thriving alternative to We Buy Any Car and it works by selling your car direct to a dealer. After entering basic details about your car (as you normally would), Motorway retrieves offers from its network of participating dealerships with the best price for your car. If you are happy with the valuation, you can then opt for the dealer to pick up your car or take it to a local collection point where the car will be inspected and the money is paid into your bank account.
Some of the benefits of using Motorway include:
- Offers very competitive valuations for each type of vehicle (budget, mid-range and premium)
- Free home collection available
- No hidden transaction fees (the dealers buying the car pay the fees)
However, the drawbacks that we found include:
- Dealers may require additional photos of any damage prior to the inspection
- Collection times of your car vary
Overall, if you want to get the highest valuation for your car and you aren’t bothered about the extra effort required (adding photos), Motorway is a great option to consider. As you can see from the valuation table below, they offered very competitive prices for each of the cars we inputted into their system.
Get A Valuation
3. Arnold Clark
Whilst researching the various We Buy Any Car alternatives, Arnold Clark was a new addition to the list. They have over 200 branches throughout the UK, which means they should have a local branch to your location.
During our research, we were impressed that they provided a competitive valuation for each type of car (budget, mid-range and premium) and that their valuation form was very quick and easy to use.
Other benefits of using Arnold Clark include:
- Option to provide additional details for a more accurate quote
- Instant valuation for all cars (including premium vehicles)
- No admin or transaction fees
- Cars only require a minimum of 30 days MOT
- Great part exchange incentives with their own stock
The only drawback that we found was that:
- The valuations aren’t as competitive when compared to the alternatives
Apart from the valuations being slightly lower, Arnold Clark are certainly a great alternative to We Buy Any Car. If you are in the market for a new car, part exchanging with the company may be the better option.
Get A Valuation
4. We Want Any Car
Although We Want Any Car has a similar brand name, it isn’t the same company as We Buy Any Car. Instead, they offer a unique mobile service where the assessor will come to your house to inspect your car once you’ve agreed the initial valuation. This is a great bonus because it saves a lot of the time and hassle involved with visiting your local branch.
Other benefits of using We Want Any Car include:
- Instant payment for your car
- Only company to purchase non-runners and cars without MOT
- Payment to your bank on the same day
Some of the drawbacks that we found include:
- No set appointment times (mobile service gives you a time period)
- Collection time of your car varies as it must be collected and not left at a local branch
- They don’t purchase cars that are worth more than £60,000
To conclude, We Want Any Car are a unique service that are completely mobile and offer to buy cars without MOT as well as those that aren’t running at all. Although the valuation for these types of cars will be low, it may be far greater than the price you would receive if you were to scrap your car.
Get A Valuation
5. Evans Halshaw
Our final We Buy Any Car alternative is Evans Halshaw, which like Arnold Clark are a dealership themselves. According to the brand, they take great pride in “cutting out the middleman” in terms of selling the cars on themselves. However, from our research, we found that they were offering the lowest valuations across the board.
Some of the benefits of using Evans Halshaw include:
- No admin fees
- No age, condition or mileage restrictions
However, some of the drawbacks that we found include:
- Offered the lowest valuations when compared to the alternatives
- They don’t purchase cars that are worth over £60,000
- Only 80 local branches, which means the nearest branch may be far away (when compared to We Buy Any Car)
- Payment takes up to 3 working days with no option to speed up the process
If you accept that your car isn’t in the greatest of condition or the mileage is quite high, selling your car to Evans Halshaw is certainly a great option to consider.
Which We Buy Any Car Alternative Pays The Most?
One of the main factors to consider whilst looking at the We Buy Any Car alternatives is the price they’ll pay for your car. Therefore, we’ve taken three cars (budget, mid-range and premium vehicles) and entered their details through the five alternatives (including We Buy Any Car) in order to get a comparison of their valuations.
It’s worth pointing out that each of the cars are in “good” condition with average mileage and full service history and below are the valuations we received for the three cars:
| Brand | 2018 VW Golf GTI | 2021 Range Rover SVR | 2013 Ford Fiesta |
|---|---|---|---|
| We Buy Any Car | £18,205 | £94,300 | £4,860 |
| Cazoo | £19,225 | N/A | £4,725 |
| Motorway | £18,495 | £95,400 | £4,709 |
| Arnold Clark | £18,082 | £88,165 | £4,022 |
| We Want Any Car | £17,847 | N/A | £4,681 |
| Evans Halshaw | £17,390 | N/A | £4,394 |
Analysis Of The Car Valuations
- Cazoo, We Want Any Car & Evans Halshaw were unable to provide a valuation for cars worth over £60,000
- We Buy Any Car provided the highest valuation for budget cars
- Cazoo provided the highest valuation for mid-range cars
- Motorway provided the highest valuation for premium cars
- Evans Halshaw provided the lowest valuations overall (for each type of car)
Conclusion
If you’ve read our review of We Buy Any Car, you’ll see that we highly recommend them. However, that’s not to say we don’t recommend the alternatives to We Buy Any Car because we certainly do and they often provide higher valuations.
Hopefully our We Buy Any Car alternatives have given you some extra options to consider. However, if you feel that you need further information, feel free to get in touch and we will try to provide our assistance where possible.
