Experiences with Webuyanycar?

[Rocinante]

I haven't actually sold to WBAC, but I've had a couple of valuations done by them. They do inspect the car and knock of the "cost of repairs" for any faults. Even after this I found the WBAC price was slightly more than we were getting offered for trade in.

The first time, the difference in valuation didn't trump the ease of swapping over old for new at the dealer.

The second time, I sold it to a mechanic acquaintance for the WBAC price, who probably sold it on for a profit.

[Rocinante]

Originally Posted by concrete

By the time I’ve finished with a car, WBAC wouldn’t want to know. They get run into the ground.

It is, We buy ANY car, I assume they have to at least make you an offer.

[Turbodave]

WBAC seem to be prime hunting ground for the hard of thinking who duly sit and enter the details of their 237,000 miles, 1998 V70R and then take to the forums in a huffy strop because they were offered £32,87 and the bus fare home. The types that cannot grasp that WBAC want stuff like that as much as they want Covid but as its "We Buy Any Car" then they'll bid scrap and bin it off through that route if you're dim / desperate enough to accept.

But where WBAC and many others that have a similar business model are strong is the sub 5yr old, nice condition, straight to the forecourt stuff that is in massively short supply just now and thus they and others are paying very strong money for the right stock. A friends father has just ended a deal on his Skoda... 3yrs old, low miles, FSH, really nice car and paid a balloon payment of £12k to buy it and WBAC have just given him nigh on £17k for it with no quibbles at all. He's delighted.

As far as the appraisals go, yes it does pay to be absolutely honest about the stone chips, the insignificant scuffs and the lack of history as naturally their aim is to buy the cars at the lowest figure they can, they're a business out to make profit, not a charity after all and thus they will actively try pick out any undisclosed issues but that in itself will vary as staff will have varying opinions and it'll also depend on how much they want or don't want your car. It is mainly a visual check, they're not allowed to road test the cars so ironically they'll fret over a kerbed alloy yet many wouldn't note the bottom end knocking or realise the rear diff is lubricated by metal shards.

My biggest bugbear when I had one of mine in is that I was referred to as "doll" several times and the office in question was a bit shoddy all round. Not particularly professional but again, there will be variances between branches / individual staff members. They're evidently very good at what they do given the scale of the operation now and with more and more scams, time wasters, dreamers and general hassle when it comes to selling, I can see why they and many others like them have rocketed in popularity. On the opposite end of the scale, the used and abused end of life buyers are doing well too... again who wants the hassle of selling on the classifieds for the sake of a few extra quid... fill in the form online, it gets picked up, bank transfer and that's it.

[Mint Cake]

I've used WBAC 3 times and I'm a very satisfied customer. As long as the car is exactly as described, you'll get the money that they've offered you.
Scrapes, scuffs, dings and marks that you have "forgotten" to tell them about will all mean a reduction in the price that thy originally offered you online - although there is some wriggle room for negotiations on this.****

Price then agreed, hands shaken, documents signed and a few days later, the money is in your bank.


**** no road test, but any warning lights on the dash a big no-no.

[TeamG]

….and final update. One car went well and was paid by 1016hrs on the morning due. The other was a completely **** poor performance by WBAC.

Payment didn’t go through, so tried to find a phone number to chase. Nothing, not at all for the public to call. Email to mailbox stated 2-3 day response, but responded within 4 hours.

Basically, their chap who took the photos when the car was collected took a blurry photo of the chassis number under the carpet. They checked this photo on day 4 (the day payment was due) and decided to contact the BCA auction site where the car is to ask them to check the number. Nothing from BCA, so no indication from WBAC when this will take place and when we might be paid.

So in summary, no car and no payment. WBAC’s f-up and we’re left out of pocket with no vehicle. And now it’s the weekend, no one at their office to respond to my increasingly miffed emails. Any thoughts on what I should do?

[TeamG]

Final final update. They paid up - took some chasing, but a regional manager stepped in and sent someone to drive to the BCA auction site to photograph the chassis number to allow them to release the payment.

My experience was probably very much an exception, but a real hassle since they won’t pay until everything is in order, even if it is their cockup.

Would I use them again? Yes, but probably pay the extra for a quicker payment.

And as they’re paying loads for faultless cars currently, am tempted to do this…. They’ll pay me £23k for my XC-60 and I’ve seen an identical one at a dealer with only 1000 miles more for £20k. A quick switch, £80 to transfer the plate and £15 to transfer the insurance with the best part of a few grand profit.

[Donmac]

Used WBAC about two years ago when the seat of my Audi A3 3.2 Quatro gave me a sore back culminating in sciatica after three weeks - I needed to change car quickly before I ended up going sick from work.

True to what I've read above they started at 'bottom book' and worked their way down for every single mark. In honesty though, they showed every point of the calculation but, not the one where they should have added a few pounds for having half the average mileage for year. After a tense few minutes I said I was declining, WBAC man asked 'how much?' and 'why?' , made a phone call and agreed. Overall experience - neutral to minus.

OTOH A year ago I was waiting to collect my UK supplied 53 Plate V70R manual from the local Volvo dealer where it was being serviced and, while waiting asked about one of their young low mileage ex-Volvo owned V40's. The trade-in value mooted was perhaps £2k but would have to do more checks first. (And yes, he confirmed hew knew it was a UK supplied V70R). I left with an ominously numb feeling and sold it over the phone to a dealer for £4.7k

If selling again I know where to find a better measure of openness and honesty........

[Turbodave]

Originally Posted by Donmac

The trade-in value mooted was perhaps £2k but would have to do more checks first. (And yes, he confirmed hew knew it was a UK supplied V70R). I left with an ominously numb feeling and sold it over the phone to a dealer for £4.7k

If selling again I know where to find a better measure of openness and honesty........

But again, like WBAC... a main dealer will have little desire to own a 2003 V70R and will drop kick it to auction as fast as they possibly can whilst working on book values, which as we all know, aren't reflective of market values for anything a bit niche. The sensible owners of such cars seek out specialist sellers or sell to anoraks first, then go in to buy something with a bigger wad of cash.