How to sell your car online and get a great price for it

You’ll always get more money for your car if you sell it yourself rather than part-exchange, but when it comes to chopping in your old motor, it can often seem like more hassle than it’s worth when it comes to selling online.

Numerous things affect the value you’ll get for your car. Do you go to eBay, Autotrader, or maybe one of the bespoke online sales websites? If your car is particularly old, then Gumtree might be the only way to go.

Let’s look at how to sell your car online and get a great price for it.

Sell your car on eBay

eBay is probably the biggest marketplace for cars in the UK, from things costing £100,000 to £300, you’ll find them all on eBay.

You can either list them as a traditional auction or as a classified advert. If you’re after a quick sale, then an auction is likely the best way to go. You probably won’t get top money, but if your car is something unique or special, then buyers could be whipped into a frenzy and keep on bidding. It will cost you £14.99 to list your car for auction or with a fixed price.

If you have a fair price in mind and want to stick to your guns, then a classified ad is the best option. It’s guaranteed to be seen by a large number of people, and the current fees are just £19.99.

The downside is you could be waiting a while to sell, especially if your pricing isn’t on point. It’s also ‘buying unseen’ the majority of the time, so if your description isn’t up to scratch or you’ve forgotten to mention something, be prepared for a lot of aggro or a buyer that just walks away on collection day.

Sell your car on AutoTrader

AutoTrader is almost the ‘go to’ website for selling your car in the UK; just as you think of ‘Googling’ something when it comes to selling your car, AutoTrader is the name for online car sales.

They can boast millions of hits a month and give you a free, instant valuation, so you know what to use as a ballpark figure for your car. If you’re selling your vehicle for less than £1,000, it’s free, for a week advert – bargain.

Prices are then staggered depending on how much you want to sell your vehicle for, and the length of time you want to advertise your car for – 1-2 weeks, three weeks or six weeks. You can also opt for the ‘Ultimate’ package, which is a single fee and will keep the advert live until the car is sold.

I’ve used that service before, and it also gives you priority on both mobile/desktop search and boosts your listing in the search results. For example, it took less than a week to sell my car with AutoTrader and the Ultimate package.

But again, you can get A LOT of time wasters. Especially if your car isn’t all that expensive, you then have prospective buyers coming along and picking holes in this and that; even if you’ve been entirely honest, they’ll try and knock you down on the advertised price.

You then have to get them to make the bank transfer before signing over the V5C and giving them the keys.

Yes, you’ll likely get the best price for your car, but it can be a hassle, and it’s not at all quick.

Sell your car with Motorway

If you want to sell your car as soon as humanly possible, then Motorway is the way to go. It’s a purely online service that will sell your car directly to a dealership. This way, dealers can get high quality used car stock without sourcing via auction or part-ex.

You get an instant valuation, you can sell in as little as 24 hours, and they can come and collect your car for you. But wait, it gets better…the service is 100% free as the dealers pay the fees to buy your car.

42% of Motorways customers received £1,000 or more compared to their initial quote from other companies, and 83% of payments from a sale were made on the day of handover.

Having over 4,000 dealerships at your disposal can be incredibly helpful for getting the best price. But the greatest thing about Motorway is the hassle-free nature of it from start to finish.

Granted, you may get less than a fully private sale, but not always, as some private sale listings will struggle to attract interest from buyers. If speed and ease of use is what you’re after, then Motorway is your best bet.

Gumtree

If your poor old car is only worth a few hundred pounds, then Gumtree could be the ideal place to get rid.

Listing a car on Gumtree is free for private sellers, which makes it a no brainer for old bangers. Depending on your price, you could also get a pretty quick sale, especially as they’re one of the largest private car markets in the UK.

They also provide a free HPI Check whenever you list your , which helps to keep you, and the buyer safe by making sure the car has no outstanding finance or hasn’t ever been written off, scrapped or stolen.

As with the other traditional sites, you have to deal with Joe Public, put up with missed appointments and dodgy phone calls.