Where can I sell a mobility or wheelchair accessible vehicle?

    Your mobility vehicle is an important tool in supporting your lifestyle and giving you the freedom of movement you need. However, eventually, the time will come when you need to update your vehicle. 

    If you have a mobility car or a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) leased through Motability ­– or a similar scheme – you can usually just hand it back and take delivery of a brand-new car. 

    However, if you own the mobility car or WAV yourself, selling it could be much more complicated and time-consuming. However, it doesn’t have to be. Read on for our tips on the best ways to sell your mobility vehicle.

    How to sell your mobility vehicle:

    Understanding your market
    Selling your mobility car or WAV privately
    Selling your mobility car or WAV privately offline
    Selling your mobility car or WAV directly to a dealer
    Selling your mobility car or WAV the Motorway way

    The specialised nature of WAVs may give them less mainstream appeal, potentially making them harder to sell.

    Understanding your market

    The resale price of modified vehicles can often be difficult to gauge. When setting a selling price, remember to factor in things such as the adaptations, as well as mileage, damage, the car’s service record, tyre condition, and the length of the remaining MOT.

    Depending on how specialised your car is, it may have limited appeal. However, it is often worth investigating what comparable model vehicles with similar modifications are selling for on websites like AutoTrader and eBay. Or, assessing whether or not it would be worth your time and money to have the modifications removed. 

    If you decide against the expense of having the modifications removed from your vehicle, you could try contacting a specialist mobility and WAV seller like MotaClarity. Alternatively, you could contact Motorway’s Customer Service Team, who will be able to advise you on your car’s resale value based on how it has been modified, using their own real-time sales data. Mobility vehicles have sold for an average of £7,700 on Motorway, with the highest deal fetching £22,000 for the seller. There is certainly money to be made when selling a WAV but knowing which method will get you the most money will require a little investigation.

    Selling your mobility car or WAV privately

    If you want to get the best price for your mobility car or WAV, then selling privately might well be the solution for you – although it can involve a lot of hard work and many hours of your time. With no guarantee of success. 

    Placing a car ad on online marketplaces like AutoTrader or eBay has been popular for many years. With thousands of cars for sale and millions of monthly site visits, they have established themselves as a powerful force in the UK used car market.

    As a specialist online car marketplace, AutoTrader allows buyers and sellers to connect directly with each other. Which, in theory, should make it easy to find a buyer. However, as with all private sales, there are no guarantees. Finding the right buyer online can take a long time and can be frustrating – a situation that is often exacerbated when it comes to modified vehicles. With eBay, you can pretty much sell anything, which means that if you’re selling something out of the ordinary – like a modified vehicle – it can be a great place to add a listing. 

    However, with both AutoTrader and eBay there is the cost of advertising to consider. With AutoTrader, for example, if your car is over a certain value, you’ll need to buy an advertisement package to place it on the site. The fee you pay will be dependent on your car’s value, and the package you choose.

    If you’re able to generate interest in your car, you’ll also have to show potential buyers the car yourself and make sure you keep all the essential paperwork in order. This can be a long and drawn-out process. In the case of mobility vehicles, there are many considerations to factor in when thinking about visits and test drives.

    eBay offers a very different way of selling your mobility car or WAV privately. As well as simply placing a classified ad and waiting for potential buyers to contact you, eBay allows you to create a reserve price and auction your car off to the highest bidder.

    In theory, this means you should be able to find the market value for your vehicle. As long as enough real buyers see your listing, the final auction price should reflect its true value.

    If you’re worried about the auction process, there’s also an option to use the ‘Buy it Now’ feature – allowing you to set a fixed price for your car.

    Citroen Berlingo sellers have made over £30,000 with Motorway

    Selling your mobility car or WAV privately offline

    Of course, if you’re looking to sell a mobility car or WAV privately, but don’t want to place an online ad, you still have plenty of options.

    Try word of mouth. If you have connections that might need a car with similar modifications to yours, you could start by asking them.

    Placing adverts across your local community could also work. Community newspapers are still popular, so why not place an advert in your local paper? Alternatively, how about placing an ad in a corner shop, supermarket, coffee shop, or pub?

    You could also simply place an ad in your car window. You could then park it somewhere with a lot of passing traffic. However, there are laws around doing this, so be careful.

    Selling your mobility car or WAV directly to a dealer

    Selling your car to a dealer can be an easy option, but most dealers will be wary when it comes to modified vehicles, because they’ll be aware that they offer limited interest to most car buyers.

    Many dealers will make you an offer based on what they think is the car’s value but will adjust the price based on the amount of money they will have to spend to have the modifications removed, so that the car is more sellable.

    Make sure to bring your ‘A-game’ to the negotiations. Dealers are out to make a profit, and they might be looking to find flaws in your car to ‘chip down’ the price. You’ll need to make sure you have a clear understanding of your car’s value, to get a good deal. 

    Think selling to a dealer is your best bet? Check out our handy guide to selling to dealers.

    The Volkswagen Caddy has made Motorway sellers over £39,000

    Selling your mobility car or WAV the Motorway way

    From modified mobility cars to rear-passenger and internal transfer WAVS, if you’re thinking about selling quickly and easily, Motorway offers a simple – and completely free – method of getting the best price. 

    Just enter your reg on Motorway’s website and you will be provided with an instant estimated sale price based on up-to-the-minute market data. They’ll then ask you a few easy questions about your car and guide you through the photos you need to take to complete your vehicle profile. It can usually be done right from your phone – in a matter of minutes. 

    After you’ve received your estimated sale price, call Motorway’s Customer Service Team and let them know exactly how your vehicle has been modified – as they may need to update the sale price depending on the adaptations that have been made to it. 

    If you choose to enter your modified car or WAV into their daily sale, it will be shown to Motorway’s nationwide network of more than 5,000 verified dealers looking to add to their stock of used cars. Interested dealers will then compete to buy your car, offering you their best price. Motorway has made mobility vehicle sellers more than £495,000. It couldn’t be easier to add your WAV to those sold with Motorway.

    In as little as 24 hours you will receive your best offer – and, if you choose to go ahead with the sale, your car will be collected for free by the dealer and the money will be quickly and securely transferred to your bank account.

    Is it time to sell your car?

    Want to learn more about owning, maintaining, and selling your car? Check out more of our guides here, covering everything from finding buyers, to negotiating a good price, and completing payment safely.