Practical
How to get a genuine written offer on your car
The right way to ask, so the number you get is real and usable.
Ask a dealer or vehicle buyer for a standalone written offer to purchase your car, with no new car purchase attached. Say plainly that you are not buying today and you want to know what they will pay for the vehicle. Get it in writing with an expiry date, and get two or three so you can see a real range rather than one dealer's position.
Ask the right question
The question is not "what will you give me for my car on a new one?" It is: "I am not buying a car today. What will you pay me for mine, in writing?"
That wording matters. It removes any possibility of the figure being inflated and recovered from a discount elsewhere, and it produces a number that reflects what your car is genuinely worth at wholesale.
Have the car ready
Clean it properly, inside and out. It sounds trivial and it is not, a clean car with a tidy interior reads as a cared-for car, and valuers are human.
Bring the service history, both keys, the owner's manual and any receipts for recent significant work. Missing books and a single key both cost real money on a valuation.
Be straight about the car
Disclose damage history, finance owing and anything mechanical you know about. It will be found on the history report or the inspection anyway, and an offer that gets revised downward later is worse than a slightly lower honest offer now.
It also matters for your benchmark: a figure given on an incomplete picture is not a figure anyone can rely on.
Get it in writing, with an expiry
Ask for the offer in writing and note the expiry date. Most offers last days rather than weeks, and knowing exactly how long you have is essential if you intend to test the retail market before accepting.
An offer with no stated expiry is not a firm offer.
Get more than one
Two or three offers from different buyers give you a range rather than a point, and the range tells you far more. Include a dealer who retails your make, and at least one buyer who is not trying to sell you a car.
The highest genuine standalone offer is your benchmark, the number to beat, and your floor if you decide to test the retail market.
Where TradeBeat fits: get a standalone dealer offer on your car, then give us the chance to beat it. We run the whole retail sale and you keep your offer plus your share of anything above it, split 50/50. If we do not beat it, there is no fee and you keep your car. See how it works or get a free estimate.
Common questions
Can I get a trade-in offer without buying a car?
How long does a dealer trade-in offer last?
Does getting a valuation cost anything or affect my credit?
General information only, current as of August 2026, and not financial, legal or tax advice. Vehicle values and market conditions change. Figures used in examples are illustrative and are not valuations or offers.
Keep reading
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Before you trade it, TradeBeat it.
Get your dealer offer first. Then give us the chance to beat it. If we do not, you have lost nothing.