Dealer’s Diary
Use you nouse!
► One aspect of car buying and selling that’s changed significantly in recent years has been the rise of the car buying services. These are often referred to as ‘webuyanycar.com’ (in much the same way as vacuum cleaners are called Hoovers) because that’s the trade name of the biggest (325 branches) and best-known, though WBAC certainly aren’t the only player in this sector.
Within the motor industry, it’s an open secret that WBAC is part of the British Car Auctions group along with online retailer Cinch. Every week hundreds if not thousands of WBAC vehicles are sold at BCA sites nationwide under the UKCGR label. In fact, when BCA bought WBAC back in 2013, it was widely believed that the key objective, as well as acquiring a successful business that was profitable in its own right, was to secure for sale through BCA the significant volume of vehicles WBAC take in – and avoid a very major account going to a competitor.
Anyway, it all seems to have worked well for all concerned, and the business is certainly thriving. WBAC are quite open and honest in their advertising that they don’t match the prices people can get by selling privately. Rather, they’re targeting those who would rather have the extra time than the extra cash by offering a quick and easy no-hassle sale, and/or an alternative to the traditional trade-in.
So what does this mean from a trade buying perspective? Well, WBAC vehicles are a mixed bag and cover all ages and conditions from Select – which are the best late year/low mileage – to ‘no reserve’ cheapies through ‘trade’ which seems to cover a wide range of ‘everything else’ vehicles.
