Three ways Motorway will get you the most value when selling your car in Preston and the North West

Car Value Tracker gives you insights into changes in your car’s ongoing value, so you have context behind your pricing at any given time. Picture – supplied

Research by Motorway reveals that, although over 8 million used cars are bought and sold in the UK every year, a whopping 65 per cent of us knowingly accept a bad deal for our car.

As the UK’s fastest-growing used car marketplace, Motorway has transformed how quick and easy it is to sell your car online for free. Now, you can also benefit from their other free services to ensure you’re getting the most value out of your car.

As a Motorway customer, you can sell your vehicle from home, for free, to a verified dealer; track the ongoing value of up to six vehicles every month; and check your ULEZ and Clean Air Zone compliance, all for free. You can even earn referrer rewards, and you don’t have to sell your car first. Read on to find out more.

Car Value Tracker lets you know how competitive the market is for your vehicle. Picture – supplied

Choose the best time to sell with Car Value Tracker

It’s important to never make assumptions about your car’s value – there is simply no rule of averages that applies to depreciation.

Cars lose, hold, and gain value in very individual patterns, based on mileage, age, and condition, as well as factors influencing the market. In recent years, these included new car shortages, changing emissions regulations, and the cost of living crisis – all of which caused big changes to car values.

The one trend you can normally expect to see is a quick drop in value for brand-new cars in their first three to five years, followed by a slower rate of depreciation. However, it’s impossible to know exactly how much value will be lost in that first period.

It’s key to know whether to expect fines if you drive through the UK’s Clean Air Zones such as Greater London’s ULEZ. Picture – supplied

Motorway’s free car valuation tool shows the historic valuation of your vehicle on a graph over two years, and updates you each month. You can see exactly when your value is going up, holding steady, or dropping. In other words, you can pinpoint the perfect time to sell to get the best price for your vehicle.

You can use Car Value Tracker to follow the values of up to six vehicles for free. All you need to do is enter your reg and create a free Motorway account.

The valuations you see in Motorway’s Car Value Tracker are based on real-time sales data coming from Motorway’s sales platform, where thousands of offers are placed on vehicles every day. When you’re logged in, you’ll see personalised insights that help you make the most of your car’s value.

Check your compliance to keep running costs manageable

Luckily, Lancashire drivers aren’t subject to any charging Clean Air Zones (CAZs) even if they’re driving older, higher-emission vehicles. The closest zones are Bradford and Sheffield, which charge non-compliant vans but not passenger cars.

However, if your car isn’t compliant with the standard regulations that are controlled in other cities around the UK, it could still mean that you face rising running costs.

If you don’t realise your car is non-compliant and you drive through a zone that charges, you could face getting a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) through the post, worth hundreds of pounds.

To check your compliance instantly and for free, just enter your reg into Motorway’s ULEZ Checker tool.

If your petrol or petrol-hybrid car scores lower than a Euro 4 on its engine compliance, or your diesel or diesel-hybrid car scores lower than a Euro 6, you will be charged to enter the CAZs that regulate cars around the UK, including Scotland’s four Low Emission Zones.

You may also experience an increase in your road tax (VED) rate from 2025. The UK’s car tax bands are based on the g/km of CO2 that your vehicle emits and older cars are likely to have higher emissions.

Finally, an older, non-compliant vehicle may be costlier to maintain and repair than a newer vehicle, which run cleaner. However, new, compliant cars tend to retail at higher prices than their fossil fuel counterparts, so it’s not always easy to weigh up the best financial choice – especially if you’re not following your car valuation closely.

Upgrade your car on Motorway

If you do realise your value is strong and it’s worth upgrading your car, then get started and enter your car into Motorway’s online daily sale.

When you approve your best price from one of the 5,000+ verified dealers in Motorway’s network, you’ll get free collection from your home or work, no matter where you’re located in the UK.

Your buyer will turn up at an agreed time to inspect the vehicle and make payment straight into your bank account, before driving your car away. If your car is financed, they’ll clear the remaining balance directly with your lender, no bother. And that’s it – easy!

Keep getting rewarded with Motorway

Do you have a friend looking to sell their car? The best-kept secret about Motorway is that you can share a unique referrer link with your friends and family, and share rewards when they sell their car. Just sign up on Motorway’s refer a friend page to get started.

And, until the end of January 2024, Motorway is offering double their usual referral rewards! When a friend follows your MentionMe link and successfully sells their car on Motorway before 31st January, you and the friend will each get a £100 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card.

After this date, the rewards will revert to their usual level of £50 each for the referrer and the friend. So, ring in the holidays with double rewards and let your friends know all the ways they can make the most of their vehicle with Motorway.