Carwow Sell My Car: How it works and how to get the best price

Carwow has built its reputation as one of the UK’s leading online car buying platforms but did you know you can sell your car through Carwow as well? Carwow is the sister site of Auto Express so we have the inside line on how the Carwow Sell My Car service works, how to get the best out of it as a car seller and its pros and cons compared to other methods of selling your car. We’re going to cover the whole lot right here.

What is Carwow Sell My Car? 

The Carwow Sell My Car service is designed to work in tandem with the site’s car buying facilities, which allow you to specify your ideal new car and get offers from the Carwow network of over 4,500 UK dealers or to find a used car from that same dealer network. When you’re buying a car, there’s a fair chance that you also have an old car that you’ll need to get rid of, so Carwow aims to be the complete car changing destination by letting you sell your car through its dealer network, too. 

How does Carwow Sell My Car work? 

Carwow Sell My Car is designed to be quick and easy for the seller to use. Just enter your car registration and you’ll get a quick valuation of approximately what the car is worth. If you decide to go ahead and sell the car, you’ll be asked to add a few more details about the car and some photographs. The Carwow team will then contact you to set a reserve price on the car - an amount you’d be happy to sell it for.

From there, Carwow advertises your car to its network of dealers who are invited to bid on it in an auction format. After the auction, the dealer who placed the highest bid will be in touch to arrange your payment and the free collection of your car. 

In theory, the element of competition between dealers in the auction mechanism used by Carwow should deliver higher prices for sellers than they would get by part-exchanging the car, selling it directly to a dealer or using one of the online car buying services that buy your car directly from you. 

With the whole process taking place online and the car being collected for free at the end of it, Carwow Sell My Car should be pleasantly hassle free as well. 

Is Carwow Sell My Car free? 

Carwow doesn’t charge any fees to the seller so you don’t have to worry about admin charges or collection fees. You’ll simply get the final price that the highest bidding dealer agrees to pay deposited in your bank account - usually on the day of collection. 

How long does it take to sell a car with Carwow?

Carwow auctions happen daily so once you’ve completed the information needed to advertise your car on the platform it should be available for dealers to bid on in a matter of hours. If you accept the offer from the highest bidding dealer they are required to be in touch within 48 hours to arrange payment and collection. 

The time the whole process takes can vary depending on the demand for your particular make and model of car. It is unlikely to be as fast as part-exchanging the car with a dealer or selling it to a third party company but you can do it all from home and you should get a better price. 

What documents and info do you need to sell your car with Carwow? 

To advertise the car for sale to the Carwow dealer network you need the registration number and some basic details of the specification, current mileage and service history. You’ll also need to take some photographs of the car so dealers can get a good look at it and assess its condition. As always when advertising any car, it pays to be honest about the condition and any defects in order to get an accurate valuation and a better chance of an easy, quick sale. 

After you’ve accepted the winning bid and the car has been sold, the dealer will collect the car and you’ll need the correct paperwork to hand over. The V5C registration document, your driving licence and the car’s service history documents are the essentials. You will also need to hand over any spare keys and locking wheel nut keys. Plus, if there’s a car finance settlement letter you’ll need that, too.

What kind of vehicles can you sell through Carwow?  

If your car has been an insurance write-off or a ‘service vehicle’ (like a taxi or ambulance) in the past, you can’t sell it with Carwow, but virtually anything else, from Fiestas to Ferraris, can go into a Carwow Sell My Car auction. Carwow sells vans, too.

Carwow can sell vehicles with outstanding finance on them but you will need to arrange a settlement with the finance company, and the precise mechanics of that can vary depending on the type of finance deal and the company involved. 

How long will it take to get payment for my car?

Carwow says that most payments for cars arrive in your bank account on the same day as collection. Some dealers have slightly different policies but Carwow vets all of the dealers and says it only uses “​​trusted dealers to give you a secure and hassle-free experience”.

How much is your car worth? Find out with our free valuation tool...