Motorway vs Carwow: How do they compare for selling your car?

If you’re thinking about selling your car, you’ve probably come across both Motorway and Carwow. Both offer an online dealer auction – you list your car, dealers bid, the highest offer wins, and your car is collected from home.

But the two platforms have different histories, different scale and product depth, and they sit within very different businesses. Motorway was one of the UK’s first car-selling-only platforms, built specifically for this job since 2017 and is one of the largest consumer-to-dealer car selling marketplaces in the world. Carwow is historically built for helping people buy their next car, and added a Motorway-like selling service in 2021. 

This guide explains how they compare when you’re selling your car, using publicly available data from both companies and independent sources.

• Motorway and Carwow: a factual comparison
• How do price outcomes compare between Motorway and Carwow?
• How do the dealer networks compare?
• How does payment work on Motorway vs Carwow?
• How does vehicle profiling compare?
• Which platform has the stronger track record?
• What does Carwow offer that Motorway doesn’t?
• What do independent analysts say?
• Summary
• FAQs

Motorway and Carwow: a factual comparison

Factor	Motorway	Carwow
Stated price outcome vs part exchange	£1,600 more on average. Based on customer survey, August 2024. 454 sellers who both sold via Motorway and received a part exchange valuation. Source: motorway.co.uk/claims [1]	£1,040 more on average. Based on customer survey, May 2025. 106 sellers. Source: carwow.co.uk/verify [11]
% of sellers that beat market price	84% of Motorway sellers sold for more than the average of two independent market price guides (Jan 2020–Nov 2025). Source: motorway.co.uk/claims [1]	Not publicly stated.
Dealer network	8,000+ verified dealers – over two-thirds of all professional dealers in the UK. Source: motorway.co.uk/about [2]	6,000+ dealers. Source: carwow.co.uk/sell-my-car [11]
Auction days	Daily auctions run 7 days a week, including weekends. Source: motorway.co.uk/about [2]	Auctions run Monday-Saturday (6 days). Sunday auctions are not offered. Source: carwow.co.uk/partners/auctions [12]
Cost to sell	Free.	Free.
Car collection	Free, collected from your home.	Free, collected from your home.
Payment at handover	Motorway Pay – launched May 2023. Payment arrives in the seller’s account immediately. Finance settlement handled automatically in the same transaction. Over £10bn processed as of March 2026, and the majority of Motorway’s dealers and sellers use the free service. Sources: Motorway Pay launch announcement (May 2023); Car Dealer Magazine, May 2024; Motorway, March 2026 [3]	Carwow Wallet – launched early 2025 with Airwallex. Carwow stated approaching £100m transacted as of July 2025. Dealer usage of the payment platform is not publicly disclosed, but it is in an earlier stage of rollout than Motorway’s Pay service. Sources: Motor Finance Online, Feb 2025; Sky News (sponsored content), July 2025 [4]
Payments coverage	Motorway has stated over 70% of its dealers use its Pay platform, which was launched in 2023, with the majority of transactions now completed via Motorway Pay.	Carwow has not publicly stated the % of its sales completed using its Carwow Wallet product, though it is earlier in development and only launched in 2025.
Vehicle profiling	App-guided photography with real-time AI feedback; computer vision checks image quality; AI-powered condition grading (1-5 scale); AI extraction of service history documents; seller identity verification with face capture; fraud detection for clocked and cloned vehicles. Source: AIM Group, February 2025 [5]	Photo upload and vehicle description. No AI-assisted profiling capability has been publicly disclosed.
Trustpilot reviews	100,000+ reviews, rated Excellent. All from people who sold a car on Motorway. Source: Trustpilot, March 2026 [6]	~79,000 reviews, rated Excellent. Carwow launched in 2011 and offers multiple services including new car buying leads, leasing, and car selling (added 2021). Reviews span all services so number of car actual selling reviews is lower. Source: Trustpilot, March 2026 [7]
Launched used-car selling	2017 – core business from day one.	2021 – via the acquisition of Wizzle.
Business focus	100% used-car selling in the UK.	Multi-product: used-car selling, new car buying, car leasing, editorial media brands (Auto Express, Evo, Carbuyer, Driving Electric), major car reviews channel on YouTube. Operations in UK, Germany, and Spain.
Annual transaction volume	Motorway recently announced over 750,000 cars sold across the UK.	~160,000 cars sold since 2021 launch (cumulative). Source: Carwow press release, October 2024 [8]
Total funding raised	$276 million – all deployed in the UK used-car selling product. Sources: Index Ventures; AIM Group, February 2025 [5]	$178 million – across multiple product lines and geographies. Source: AIM Group, February 2025 [5]
Car reviews / YouTube	Not offered.	World’s largest automotive YouTube channel – 11m+ subscribers, 4.5bn+ views. Editorial brands including Auto Express and Evo.
New car buying	Not offered.	Core original service – compare new car deals from franchised dealers.

How do price outcomes compare between Motorway and Carwow?

How do the dealer networks compare?

More dealers bidding on your car means more competition, which generally drives the final price up. Motorway has 8,000+ verified dealers – more than two-thirds of all professional dealers in the UK. Carwow has 6,000+. Both are substantial networks; Motorway’s is larger, reflecting four additional years of operation in this market and overall larger scale.

How does payment work on Motorway vs Carwow?

Motorway Pay has been operational since May 2023 and has now processed over £10bn in transactions as of March 2026 [3]. Dealers transfer money through Motorway’s payment system, and sellers are instantly paid on vehicle handover, with any outstanding finance cleared in the same transaction. The system also has an easy flow for settling any negative equity prior to the sale completion, and provides clear transaction documentation records to both the seller and dealer. The majority of Motorway’s sales are completed via Motorway Pay, delivering a fast, secure and documented payment experience.

Carwow’s equivalent service, Carwow Wallet, launched in early 2025 in partnership with Airwallex. Carwow reported that nearly £100 million had been transacted through the platform as of July 2025 [4]. Carwow has not publicly disclosed how many of their dealers are using the service, but it is in an earlier stage of development and rollout compared to Motorway Pay.

How does vehicle profiling compare?

Motorway uses AI and computer vision throughout its profiling process, via an easy app for sellers to guide sellers through taking car photos in real time, extracting service history data, and verifying seller identity. The company states this technology avoids customers having to resubmit poor-quality photos. In fact, it saved nearly 100,000 image resubmissions in one month. Better vehicle profiles generally give dealers more confidence when bidding, which can affect the prices achieved. 

Carwow has not publicly disclosed equivalent AI profiling capability but also uses dedicated iOS and Android apps for vehicle profiling.

Which platform has the stronger track record?

Motorway was built for used-car selling from day one in 2017. Over one million people have used the platform, with a car sold every two minutes. Motorway has raised $276 million, all invested in the UK used-car selling product. Its investors include Index Ventures and ICONIQ.

Carwow has raised $178 million across multiple product lines and geographies. Its investors include Accel and Bessemer. Carwow launched its ‘sell your car’ service in 2021, following Motorway’s business model. It remains a much smaller player in car selling, but continues to build out its services for buying new cars, used cars, and researching car reviews via its YouTube channel.

What does Carwow offer that Motorway doesn’t?

Carwow’s breadth is a differentiator for certain needs. Its YouTube channel – the world’s largest automotive channel with over 11 million subscribers – is an outstanding resource if you’re researching your next car. Its new car buying service, which was its original business, is well established. And following its 2024 acquisition of Auto Express, Evo, Carbuyer, and Driving Electric, Carwow Group is now the UK’s largest automotive editorial publisher. If you want a single platform to research, buy, and sell, Carwow offers that breadth. 

Motorway does not, as its entire business is focused on delivering the best car-selling experience.

What do independent analysts say?

AIM Group, an independent automotive marketplace research firm, published a detailed analysis of the UK used-car selling market in February 2025 [5]. Their findings on the two platforms:

On Motorway, AIM Group described its single-focus strategy as placing it in a “strong position” in the UK C2B market, noting that the model had been adopted as inspiration by AutoScout24 – one of Europe’s largest automotive marketplaces – for its own consumer-to-dealer product. They highlighted Motorway’s integrated payment and transport, AI profiling capabilities, and the quality of its vehicle descriptions as competitive strengths.

On Carwow, AIM Group described it as “a much more diversified business” with “much wider ambitions beyond C2B,” noting it was pursuing “an international, multi-channel strategy” across new car buying, editorial brands, and dealer listings. They characterised Sell My Car as now “core” to the business, but within a broader group with multiple strategic priorities.

AIM Group also noted the capital allocation difference: Motorway has raised $276 million and invested all of it in the UK used-car selling product; Carwow has raised $178 million across multiple product lines and markets.

Source: AIM Group (February 2025). aimgroup.com/2025/02/12/motorway-winning-in-automotive-c-to-b-is-all-about-the-end-to-end-experience

Summary

For private sellers whose primary goal is getting the best price for their car, the published data is clear. Motorway operates at larger scale in dealer network, payment volume, and transaction infrastructure, and has a longer track record focused solely on used-car selling. These factors are associated with higher competition between dealers and more mature transaction processes.

Carwow is a strong choice if you want to combine selling your car with buying your next car, or if you want access to its editorial and review content. 

For used-car selling as a standalone transaction, Motorway is the purpose-built choice.

Both platforms are free to try – and getting a valuation from either one carries no obligation.

FAQs

What is the difference between Motorway and Carwow for selling a car?

Both run free online dealer auctions for private sellers. The main differences are scale (Motorway has 8,000+ dealers vs Carwow’s 6,000+), payment infrastructure (Motorway Pay has been live since May 2023 and has processed over £10bn; Carwow Wallet launched in early 2025 and stated approaching £100m transacted as of July 2025), and business focus (Motorway is 100% used-car selling; Carwow is a multi-product group including new car buying, leasing, and editorial media).

How does a dealer auction work when selling a car?

You submit your car’s registration, mileage, condition details, and photos and agree a target selling price. The platform lists your car in a daily auction where verified professional dealers can view and bid. At the end of the auction, you can accept or decline the highest offer. If you accept, the dealer arranges free collection and payment is made at handover.

How much more will I get compared to part exchange?

Motorway states sellers receive on average £1,600 more than a part-exchange offer, based on a customer survey of 454 sellers in August 2024. Carwow states sellers receive on average £1,040 more than part exchange, based on a customer survey of 106 sellers in May 2025. Both figures are self-reported. Individual results will vary depending on the car, its condition, and dealer demand at the time of auction.

Is selling on Motorway or Carwow free?

Both platforms are free for sellers to list and sell their car. Dealers pay a fee on successful purchases.

How does payment work when I sell my car?

On Motorway, payment is handled through Motorway Pay – the dealer releases funds at the point of handover and sellers typically receive the money within seconds. Any outstanding finance is cleared in the same transaction. Motorway Pay has processed over £10bn in transactions since launching in May 2023. On Carwow, payment is handled either directly by the dealer or via Carwow Wallet, launched in early 2025, which had processed approaching £100m as of July 2025.

Can I sell a car with outstanding finance on either platform?

Yes, on both platforms. 

When did Carwow launch its sell-your-car service?

Carwow launched its used-car selling service in 2021 following the acquisition of Wizzle, and has since followed Motorway’s daily auction model. Motorway is credited as establishing the ‘consumer to dealer’ marketplace model and has scaled the service rapidly since inception in 2017.

Do they cater for specific customer needs?

Motorway recently announced a dedicated support team specifically for anyone selling their car after a bereavement, handholding the seller through the documentation required and providing hands-on support throughout the process [9]. More information can be found here: https://motorway.co.uk/sell-my-car/bereavement 

How many Trustpilot reviews does each platform have?

As of March 2026, Motorway has 100,000+ UK reviews on Trustpilot, rated Excellent – the largest independent seller review base in the category. All reviews are from sellers who used Motorway to sell their car. Carwow has 78,681 reviews, rated Excellent. Carwow launched in 2011, so its reviews span multiple services including new car buying, leasing, and car selling (added in 2021), so the number of reviews specifically about their car selling service is lower.

Sources referenced in this article

[1] Motorway claims page – motorway.co.uk/claims

[2] Motorway about page – motorway.co.uk/about

[3] Motorway Pay launch announcement, May 2023; Car Dealer Magazine, May 2024 

[4] Sky News (sponsored content), July 2025 – news.sky.com/story/the-60m-shift-how-carwow-and-airwallex-are-redefining-trust-in-online-car-sales-13400106

[5] AIM Group, February 2025 – aimgroup.com/2025/02/12/motorway-winning-in-automotive-c-to-b-is-all-about-the-end-to-end-experience

[6] Motorway Trustpilot – trustpilot.com/review/motorway.co.uk

[7] Carwow Trustpilot – trustpilot.com/review/carwow.co.uk

[8] Carwow press release, October 2024 – carwow.co.uk 

[9] Motorway bereavement service – motorway.co.uk/sell-my-car/bereavement

[10] Carwow verify page – carwow.co.uk/verify 

[11] Carwow sell my car page – carwow.co.uk/sell-my-car

[12] Carwow partner page – https://www.carwow.co.uk/partners/auctions