5 Million Cars Bought by webuyanycar, the UK's Fastest Car Buying Service

What buying 5 million cars has taught us

Five million owners have said goodbye to their cars at our branches, and here's what we've learned about them:

Some things you don't let go of easily

The Ford Fiesta remains the nation's favourite to sell to us, over 170,000 sold since 2015, still going strong despite production ending in 2023. It's easy to see why: it's cheap to run, reliable, and fun to drive. That kind of loyalty doesn't disappear just because the production line did.

You're holding on for longer than ever

People are keeping their cars for longer before saying goodbye. Nationally, the average car's age has risen from 6.7 years in 2005 to 9.5 years today, a 42% increase, according to SMMT figures.

Lively tales from our branches

No two days are ever the same at our branches. You're not going to believe some of the weird and wonderful things customers have left behind over the years.

A few finds carried sentimental value:

• A wedding ring.
• An ex-fiancé's engagement ring, still attached to a spare key. (Probably treasured once upon a time.)

We've had a few more unpleasant discoveries:

• A tin of beans, four years out of date, quietly expiring under a seat for the entire time its owner had the car.
• A bag of horse manure, after the new owner learned the hard way that the smell wasn't just ‘country air’.
• A pair of false teeth, sitting in a cleaning pot.

These were genuinely startling:

• An eerie doll that gave one buyer serious Annabelle vibes.
• A pack of 20 shotgun shells.
• A blood transfusion machine.

Our final pair aren't ‘things’ at all, but living, breathing surprises:

• A customer at our Torquay branch left her dog in the car; when she hurried back five minutes later, our buyer and the dog were enjoying an impromptu game of fetch. It's a dog's life!
• Another of our buyers in Merseyside found a grandmother patiently waiting in the back seat of a car a customer had just sold. Luckily, they swiftly returned to collect their missing gran.

The most memorable cars we've ever bought

Some cars carry sentimental value, a gift from a grandparent, a first car, or a much-loved runaround that's stayed in the family for years.

Others stand out to us for entirely different reasons: rare, high-performance, or just plain unusual. Here are a few of the most memorable, as told by buyers at these branches:

• Kingston Centre, Milton Keynes: An original VW Beetle, an original VW camper, and a VW Buzz.
• Dunmurry: A 1998 Saab with a pine interior.
• Bournemouth ASDA: A 1968 VW Beetle, a black splitscreen classic that had been in the same family for many years.
• Bradford, Five Lane Ends: A McLaren 570 GT, a Bentley Bentayga, and a Mercedes-Benz G Wagon.
• Bristol Imperial Park: A 1993 Land Rover Defender.

Customers who've made an entrance

We love all our customers here at webuyanycar (we really do!), but a few have stuck in our memories a little more than others, thanks to their unconventional outfit choices:

• One customer arrived straight from a hospital ward, in a gown (tied correctly at the back) and slippers, having left mid-stay to avoid paying the hospital's parking charges.
• Another turned up with a cockatoo parrot perched on his shoulder, and happily posed for a photo with it.
• A bride-to-be came in wearing her wedding dress to sell her car and cover some last-minute costs.
• A brave customer sold his car in a thunderstorm wearing a tank top, shorts, and sliders, then cycled home.
• An elderly gentleman arrived dressed as John Lennon, hairstyle and all, in vintage 60s clothing, his van decorated floor to ceiling with pictures of the Beatles.
• An 80-year-old customer arrived in pink flamingo shorts and a vest, while another came to sell a Range Rover wearing Snoopy pyjamas.

Our biggest moments (so far)

‘Where it all began’ (2006): From day one, we've been committed to offering a simple, reliable, and hassle-free alternative to a private sale or part-exchange. As it turned out, people liked the sound of that, and our business soon began to grow.

‘The breakdancing newsreader’ (2009): Our first-ever TV ad, set to a ‘webuyanycar.com’ rap jingle that's stuck in the memory of many viewers ever since. This was also the year we welcomed our 100,000th customer, and we weren't planning to slow down.

‘A Little Tikes hoax becomes PR gold’ (2013): A tweet with a fake letter about a Little Tikes car being rejected at webuyanycar goes viral with over 26,000 retweets. Instead of correcting, we leaned into the joke: webuyanytoycar.com launched within days, buying 100 Little Tikes for £10 each and donating £1,000 to road safety charity, Brake. We even ran a spoof job ad for a ‘Junior Vehicle Purchaser’ with duties including ‘inspecting Tikes for bumps and jam stains’.

‘100k reviews’ (2021): We reached 100,000 reviews on Trustpilot, a clear sign trust in webuyanycar was growing fast, alongside our retail footprint.

‘Just sold my car’ (2022): Our TV and radio campaign launches on Christmas Day, featuring TikTok's Mufasa and a reworked version of ‘Friday’ by Riton and Nightcrawlers. The jingle proved to be such an earworm that West Ham fans later adapted it into a creative chant: ‘Just sold my car, to Lucas Paquetá.’

‘Part exchange’ (2024): Enter ‘Fifi’, our most talented four-legged star yet, sealing the deal with a high-five and a victory dance.

4.5 million customers, and 300k reviews (2025): We hit two major milestones: 4.5 million customers and our Trustpilot reviews grew to 300,000. With an ‘Excellent’ rating to match, we're the car buying service you can count on.

‘20 years and 5 million’ (2026): Our 20th anniversary ad looks back to that first breakdancing newsreader, then fast-forwards to today, where customer Martin sells his car in no time at all. On 5 September, we welcomed our 5 millionth customer, a milestone two decades in the making.

5 million: under the bonnet

Richard Evans, Head of Technical Services at webuyanycar, says:

“Five million customers served, and behind each one there's a story. That's what's stuck with me most, not the number, but the cars and the people who brought them in.”

“Every one of those appointments meant someone handing over the keys to something they'd relied on, often for years, and trusting us to get it right. That's stayed the same from day one.”

“We've been around for 20 years now, and in that time, we've developed a simple, reliable car buying service that's faster than the alternatives. We've built a service people can trust: no dealers, no haggling, no pressure. Just a fair quote, a guaranteed sale, and a decision you're always free to walk away from.”

How we're celebrating

Five million customers is a big deal, and we've got a few surprises lined up to make it a milestone to remember:

• “Fancy a Million”: In the week commencing Monday 14 September, every customer selling their car gets a free pack of green Millions sweets, and a chance to win £500 by tagging us on social! Colouring sheets and family activities will be available too.
• On our socials, we'll be running a fuel voucher giveaway (TBC) and bringing you updates from our branches all week.
• A refreshed TV ad celebrating our 5 millionth customer!
• Postcard from 2036: a speculative look ahead at how the used car market may look a decade from now, landing a couple of weeks after the big day.

Trusted by our customers

Over 340,000 reviews, with an ‘Excellent’ Trustpilot rating to show for it. Behind those numbers, and our five million customers, are thousands of stories from people who found selling their car simple, straightforward, and worth every minute.

webuyanycar vs. other ways to sell

Two decades in, and five million people have chosen webuyanycar to sell their car.

We're not a marketplace, and we don't run auctions: we buy your car directly, offer a guaranteed sale, and get everything done in less than an hour. Our Immediate Payment option lets you get the cash in your bank within 15 minutes (fees apply).

Other services take a different approach. Motorway and Carwow both connect sellers with networks of dealers who bid for their car, which means waiting to see who comes back with an offer. Motorway has sold over 750,000 cars this way since 2017; Carwow has sold 235,000+ since its Sell My Car service launched in 2021.

Here at webuyanycar, we like to make selling simple. No bidding wars, no dealer auctions, no waiting to find out if a sale goes through, just one fast, reliable process, and five million people who've trusted us to get it right.

Please note: All reported competitor figures are drawn from their own published statistics, and were confirmed on 27 August 2026. These are third-party businesses we don't control, so figures may have changed since, please check directly with the provider for current figures.

A big thank you to our customers

We've met all kinds of sellers on the way to five million. Families upsizing, downsizers letting go of a much-loved car, fleets refreshing at scale, and van owners who came to us through our sister site, webuyanyvan.

It's been a pleasure meeting so many people along the way and hearing their stories. Thank you for being part of ours.