- A contact form asks the seller to wait. Most people are comparing you with someone who has already shown a price.
- An instant valuation is a provisional price from the registration and mileage, confirmed when you see the car.
- The price has to be yours, on your site, in your name. A lead that belongs to a marketplace is not your customer.
What is the seller trying to do?
They want a price and a next step. They do not want an account, a call centre, or a form that says someone will be in touch. By the time they are on your site they have usually looked at two other options.
A "sell my car" form collects a name, a number and a registration, then stops. You ring them later. Sometimes they answer. Often they have already booked a visit with the dealer who showed a figure while they were still on the page.
What does an instant valuation change?
The seller enters the registration and the mileage, and sees a price. Under it, in the same breath, you say the price assumes the history and the condition they have described, and that you will confirm it in person.
That is not a gimmick. It is the same appraisal you would do on the phone, done in an order the seller can follow: number first, inspection second, payment when you have seen the car.
The dealers who get caught out are the ones who show a hopeful number and then cut it for no new reason. The part-exchange guide is the same discipline: the figure has to survive contact with the car.
What should the page include?
Keep it short enough to finish on a phone.
- Your dealership name and town, not a buying brand they have never heard of.
- The registration, mileage, and a way to add photos if you want them.
- A price, or a clear message when you do not want that car.
- A time to bring it in, or a time you will come out.
- What to bring: the V5C, spare keys, and any service history.
The buying from the public guide covers the checks once they arrive. The page's job is to get the right people to that visit.
Where does Buying Desk fit?
This is the job the product is for. Sellers use a buying site in your name. They see a price from your rules and book a slot. You are not renting a lead from someone who also sold it to the dealer up the road.
Common questions
What is wrong with a 'sell my car' form?
Nothing, if the seller is happy to wait for a call. Many are not. They fill in two or three forms and talk to whoever replies with a number first.
Is an instant price a promise?
No. It is a price for the car they described. You confirm it when you see the history, the condition and the V5C. Say that next to the number.
Do I need a national buying brand?
No. Local sellers want a nearby dealer who will see the car and pay them. Your name and your town do that job better than a logo they do not know.
See what the fees come to on the auction cost calculator, or try the live demo.
