When someone close to you passes away, it can be a very difficult time and there may be a lengthy period of mourning before you feel able to settle their financial affairs. However, when you’re ready, it’s worth understanding the legal steps involved.
Before you can sell the car, here’s what you need to do:
You can also read our guide on how to sell a deceased person’s car.
Selling a loved one’s car after they pass can feel overwhelming, but we’re here to guide you through the process with specialist support.
We’ve partnered with Empathy, a platform supporting millions of people through loss and grief, to offer extra care once your loved one’s car has been sold. As the only UK car-selling platform with a dedicated bereavement team, we’re here to support you through the practical steps of selling a deceased person’s car.
Once the sale is complete, if our team believes it could be helpful, they may offer you access to Empathy’s services. Empathy provides you and your family access to bereavement care for up to two years, at no cost.
Through the Empathy platform, you can access:
Because while we can help ease the admin of selling a loved one’s car, we know grief doesn’t end there. This UK-first partnership ensures you’re supported not just through our process, but through one of life’s hardest moments.
Find out more in our FAQs.
Simply create a vehicle profile and more than 7,500 verified dealers from across the UK will compete to give you their best price to buy your car.
Approve your highest offer, and we’ll arrange a free collection of your car and fast payment.
Please do let our teams know about the circumstances of your sale, and we’ll ensure you receive support throughout your time with us.
When someone passes away, their affairs need to be sorted out, like paying any outstanding debts and dividing up their estate (if they have one) to the people who are meant to inherit.
This is called ‘Probate’ in England and Wales, and ‘Confirmation’ in Scotland. If no will was left and the person died intestate, this is known as ‘Administration’. They are all different names for very similar processes, and are handled by the person named as the executor in the deceased’s will (if they have one), or as Administrator under the rules of intestacy.
Part of these processes involves working out if any Inheritance Tax is owed and reporting it to HMRC, as well as applying for a grant which allows you to deal with all of the deceased’s property, assets, and money.
The executor or personal representative also has to value everything the deceased owned—including their car, if they had one.
Yes, you can — but only if you’re the deceased’s named executor or administrator, or you are acting on their behalf.
Legally, there are two types of property covered by probate:
As a chattel, you don’t have to wait for the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration to transfer or sell the car.
Valuing a car for probate means determining its market value at the time of the owner’s death. Several factors influence the value of used cars in the UK, including:
Motorway’s Car Value Tracker tool gives you an instant, real-time valuation for up to six vehicles at once, using live and historical sales data from across the UK.
Before selling or transferring an inherited car or van, you’ll need to prove you have the legal right to do so. If you’re selling a deceased person’s car on Motorway:
You can also find a wealth of information in our Bereavement Help Centre.
We’re here to support you every step of the way.
Everything to know about selling, valuing, and maintaining your car. Made simple.
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