How it works
- Bring it with you. Drive it down when you come to view a car — a valuation on a real car in front of us is far more accurate than one based on a registration and a guess.
- We look it over. Condition inside and out, service history, MOT, tyres, and a short drive.
- We give you a figure. Firm, in writing, and valid on the day.
- It comes off the price. Either as your deposit if you are financing, or straight off the balance if you are paying outright.
There is no obligation at any point. If you do not like the figure, you keep your car and we part on good terms.
What to bring
- The V5C logbook (the registration document).
- Service history and any receipts you have.
- The current MOT certificate.
- Both keys if you have them — a missing second key genuinely knocks money off.
- Your finance settlement figure, if the car is still on finance.
If your car is still on finance
That is completely normal and not a problem. Ring your finance company and ask for a settlement figure — the amount needed to clear the agreement today. Then:
- If your car is worth more than the settlement figure, the difference is yours to put towards the next car.
- If it is worth less (negative equity), the shortfall has to be covered — either in cash or, sometimes, added to the new agreement. We will be straight with you about which makes sense.
We handle settling the outstanding finance directly with the lender as part of the deal.
What affects the value
- Mileage and age — the obvious ones.
- Service history — a full, stamped history is worth real money. Missing history costs you.
- MOT remaining — a long MOT helps; an imminent one with advisories does not.
- Condition — dents, kerbed alloys, worn tyres and a rough interior all come off the figure.
- Demand — some cars simply sell faster round here than others.
Being straight about it
A trade valuation will usually be less than you would get selling privately. What you are buying with that difference is convenience: no adverts, no strangers at your door, no test drives with people you do not know, no waiting, and no risk of a payment going wrong. Plenty of people decide that is worth it — and plenty decide it is not. Both are reasonable.
If you would rather just sell the car and not buy from us at all, we do that too — see sell your car.
Next steps
- Find the car you want first — the part-exchange figure only means something against a specific purchase.
- Book a time to come down and we will have both cars ready to look at together.