Motorway promises to sell your used car online for a top price with minimal effort. Here, we look at how it works, the costs to look out for and how it compares to rivals like Webuyanycar.
Selling your car can be an incredibly time-consuming and stressful process.
From deciding where to list the car to handling visits from interested buyers, it’s not exactly enjoyable.
Recent years have seen a host of businesses pop up offering to make things easier, to remove some of that stress and ensure you sell the car as swiftly as possible.
One of those sites is Motorway. So how does it work? And will you end up getting a good price for your car?
How do I sell my used car with Motorway?
The first thing to point out is that Motorway isn’t a car buyer. Its service allows you to sell your car online to a verified dealer.
With Motorway, you enter the registration of your car and some details about your location, mileage and when you are thinking of selling the vehicle.
Dealers will then compete to buy your car and the highest offer from 5,000 verified car dealers will be presented back to you.
Want to see how much you could get when selling your car with Motorway?
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Please note that loveMONEY may receive a small commission if you do decide to sell through them, but this has in no way influenced our editorial standards or the price you'll get.
Remember to shop around and compare rival quotes
When selling your car online you should always get a number of estimated quotes: you can get a valuation from Webuyanycar here and one from Cazoo here, and there are many others you can use.
It generally only takes a few minutes for each one as most sites offer quick online valuations these days, and it's the only way to know whether you're getting a competitive price.
Review site Sell My Car Guide conducted research into all the major sites to see which one offered the highest valuations on a bunch of different car makes and models.
Its price comparison identified huge differences between the best and worst car quotes, often running into the £1,000s.
While Motorway came out top in most instances overall, its research concluded that no site is always going to be best, meaning you really do need to shop around if price matters to you.
Getting a more accurate valuation from Motorway
Motorway's valuation tech uses live market data to estimate your car’s value accurately.
It will provide you with an initial valuation upon entering your car details. Your car is then entered into their daily sale for dealers to compete for your car.
The highest offer is then returned to you, and you’re under no obligation to accept it and sell.
Because you're effectively selling direct to dealers which then sell to customers via their forecourts, you're cutting out the middlemen.
This means prices are typically higher than many online car buyers, which take cars to auction first and sell to dealers and brokers.
Motorway: no hidden fees or collection costs
Unlike other car-selling routes, Motorway is completely free, and there are no hidden fees.
Motorway doesn't make money off you as a car seller. Rather, the dealers pay it a commission fee if they snap up a motor through the site.
You can complete your sale in as little as 24 hours, and they provide free collection, so you never have to leave your home to sell your car. And most dealers offer same-day payment into your bank account.
Does Motorway offer the best price when selling my car?
If you’re selling your used car through Motorway, the buyer is going to be a dealer that plans to sell it on again or at least trade it.
In other words, whatever they pay for it, they are going to have at least some confidence that they would be able to flog it to another driver for a higher price.
That’s ultimately the bargain you’re making with any car-buying site ‒ you sacrifice getting the absolute maximum for your vehicle, in exchange for the convenience of getting the vehicle off your hands as quickly as possible.
Personally, if I was selling my car I would use the site if only to get a good idea of what I could get quickly.
My brief career in advertising sales was an excellent indication of just how bad I am at selling things myself, so the convenience offered by a site bringing together the various quick sale firms ‒ and which gives an indication of how accurate the guide offers are likely to be ‒ strikes me as ideal.
But if you fancy yourself as a sales whiz and are confident that you can swiftly find a buyer who will pay top dollar, then you may prefer to go it alone through the likes of Auto Trader.
If you are keen to sell your used car online, as mentioned earlier it's a good idea to get valuations from a variety of car-buying and selling sites.
Want to learn more before selling your car? Read all about your options in our complete guide.