With a quarter of motorists (25%) planning to sell their current car in the next 12 months, Motorpoint wanted to find out if they were ready to navigate the selling process.
We surveyed 2,010 UK car owners who had sold a car in the last five years to understand what they learned from the experience and if this impacted their habits.
Do motorists keep track of the value of their car?
Despite being one of the most expensive purchases you make, almost half of drivers (45%) don’t know how much their current car is worth – leaving them at risk of undervaluing their vehicle when selling.
According to the research, only a third of car owners (35%) get their vehicle valued often enough – with Motorpoint recommending motorists check every three months.
A significant number of drivers rarely got a valuation with 13% never having checked the value of their current car and 29% waiting until they want to sell to find out how much it’s worth.
With household finances being squeezed, 27% of car owners plan to keep hold of their current car for longer than they have in the past – meaning that motorists might be waiting even longer to get a valuation for their car and could be missing out on the best price.
Are drivers confident they could get the best price when selling?
Three-quarters of motorists (75%) were doubtful they’d be able to get the best price for a car they were selling. With this in mind, it’s surprising to see that most motorists don’t take steps to make sure they are maximising the value of their vehicle.
Despite nearly two-thirds of motorists (60%) believing their last car was worth more than they were able to sell it for, less than a third (29%) would get multiple quotes before deciding where to sell. In addition, three-quarters (76%) wouldn’t try to negotiate on an initial offer to get more money from the buyer.
In a similar vein, over half of motorists (53%) aren’t aware of the factors that have the greatest impact on the value of a vehicle. While factors like age and mileage are largely outside car owners' control, maintaining a full-service history for your vehicle is one way to ensure it keeps as much value as possible when selling it.
How much money could car owners be missing out on?
Almost a third of motorists (30%) said they would prefer to simply part-exchange their car when buying their new vehicle – rather than selling it by other means.
Other popular selling options, included:
- Selling to a local dealership (14%)
- Looking to sell privately (13%)
- Using an online car buying service (8%)
No matter the preferred selling method, our research revealed that car owners are willing to accept up to 24% less than the maximum value of their vehicle to help facilitate a quick sale.
Combining this insight with internal data from Motorpoint’s Sell My Car service, Motorpoint predicts that motorists could be missing out on up to £2,472 when selling their car.1
Methodology
Research conducted by SurveyGoo on behalf of Motorpoint with a sample of 2,010 UK car owners, who had sold or changed their car in the last five years (since the start of 2018). Data was collected in September 2023. All statistics and findings have been rounded to the nearest whole number. A full data set is available on request.
SurveyGoo is a full member of the Market Research Society and the Independent Consultants Group.
- Calculated using the average consumer-to-business transaction price according to Motorpoint’s internal data from January to June 2023.
