WBAC valuation of my 3.5is

[bigwinn]

I think they work on the desperation factor and 2-3 out of ten will accept the deal

My neighbour (80 years old) took his 09 Hyundai i10 fsh 22k miles after they offered £1850

He came home with it when they ended up at £950

Glad I prepped him to walk- he sold it a week later to a guy around the corner for £2k

[Deepseaskateboard]

I think they work on the desperation factor and 2-3 out of ten will accept the deal

My neighbour (80 years old) took his 09 Hyundai i10 fsh 22k miles after they offered £1850

He came home with it when they ended up at £950

Glad I prepped him to walk- he sold it a week later to a guy around the corner for £2k

What are their methods or criteria for reducing the price?

[Jasonn]

They offer one price on their "online calculator", then when you get there, they'll find every dink, minor scratch, scuff in order to lower the price. If you declared a minor dink they'll say the assessment didn't show it as being so bad.

They know that you've probably got insurance about to expire and play on your desparation to sell.

I had an 18 y/o RAV4 with 140k on the clock, dent in the corner of the plastic bumper, minor scratches around door handles, worn out clutch, engine management light coming on (dead cat), wet dog smell (used to take her to the forest) and worn out seat bolster, back of seats covered with stickers (kids), one owner (us) from new partial Toyota dealer history with stamps from my local mechanic for the remainder, 9 months left on the MOT.

WBAC quoted £400 (without telling them about the clutch and cat) - phoned a local scrapper and told him all the faults he came round, said it was better than described and that he'd be able to export it to Africa as 4 x 4 Japanese cars are popular there,he also said that he was very interested in my zed as he used to have one and would like to get another.

After a jump-start (I left the inside light on) we drove it onto the trailer and £350 later said goodbye, no silly games to lower the price and no risk on meeting that pillock Philip Schofield

[tiglon]

They always start with a low price, a certain percentage will take that because they need a quick sale. Then, a week or two later, they send the "your car has gone up in value" which is taken up by a percentage of the people who are tired of attempting a private sale after 2 weeks of silly offers.

At some stage there's usually the "your car is about to go down in value" to get you to panic sell. It's a very similar sequence for almost every car. Just basic psychology and a good understanding of their market.

It's a useful service for some people and no one has to take their offer if they don't want to.

[pvr]

They have their good side when I sold my Audi with a gearbox failure. Audi wanted £9k to fix it with unknown good will (out of warranty by 3 months) whilst wbac just deducted £1800 for that. All they wanted to know was if they could drive it to auction. No haggling about price at all.

[Pondrew]

It's a useful service for some people and no one has to take their offer if they don't want to.

Agreed. Thy don't prey on anybody. I'm not a fan of WBAC by any means; but they are providing a service for people who either don't want to, or can't, get rid of vehicles any other way. I know several lazy people who sold perfectly good cars worth £10k plus to them purely because they "couldn't be bothered with the hassle of selling privately".
Selling a financed car privately is also tricky (and strictly speaking illegal) so WBAC are useful for that market too.

[Silverstar]

Selling a financed car privately is also tricky (and strictly speaking illegal) so WBAC are useful for that market too.

It isn't illegal as long as the seller declares that finance is owing and the buyer pays what is owing to the bank direct to the bank and rest (if any) to the seller. It is the same process as if you sold a financed car to a dealer as a trade in or as a straight sale.

[obelix54]

I think most used cars are going up in value. I know our 3 cars have all risen in value since March.
I know someone who has access to CAP trade valuations.