Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, completely free. You can get a full valuation across all three sale routes (private sale, part-exchange, instant buy), view your car's MOT history, see mileage analytics and a price trend, all without paying anything or creating an account. For finance, theft, write-off and mileage records you can buy a full history check from our affiliate partner carVertical (code movalue gives 20% off), but that is entirely optional.

No. You can run an unlimited number of valuations without signing up. An account is only useful if you want to save valuations, compare up to four cars side by side, or come back later to track price changes.

For common UK cars (hatchbacks, saloons and SUVs from the last 10 years), our estimates are most reliable because these cars have the most market data behind them. Every valuation is an estimate, not a guaranteed price. Accuracy is highest when we have a recent MOT with odometer, confirmed service history, and honest condition answers. For older cars, unusual trims, or heavily modified vehicles, the range is wider because those markets are thinner.

We combine multiple sources: DVLA Vehicle Enquiry API (for official registration data), DVSA MOT History API (for every MOT test and odometer reading), and our own pricing model, which starts from typical UK market prices for each make, model and year and is calibrated against current UK used-car asking prices. We review and recalibrate it regularly.

Cars lose value as they age and add miles. In our October 2026 analysis of used-car asking prices from large UK online car dealers, each extra year took about 5 to 6 percent off the asking price, and each extra 10,000 miles about 5 percent. Our valuations reflect today's trade and private-sale values, which are what you can realistically get for the car in today's market. They are not the same as retail forecourt prices (what a dealer lists your car at), which include their margin.

Online instant car-buying services need to make a margin when they resell your car. Their offers are usually below what you could get privately. We show you what the car is genuinely worth on the private market, not just the instant-buy offer. If the difference matters, you can choose to sell privately instead.

We support cars registered in the UK with a valid UK registration plate. This includes most common car types: petrol, diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric. We do not currently value motorbikes, vans over 3.5 tonnes, classic cars pre-1990, or imports that were never registered in the UK.

An instant-buy service is a company that buys cars directly from consumers, often completing the sale within 24 to 72 hours. They offer speed and simplicity, but typically pay less than a private sale because they need to resell the car and take their margin.

Part-exchange (also called px or trade-in) is when you hand your current car to a dealer as part payment for a new (or newer) car from them. The dealer deducts the agreed value from the price of your new purchase. It is convenient but generally the lowest of the three sale routes because the dealer needs to resell your car, often at auction.

Private sale means listing your car directly to another consumer, usually through an online advert on a classified ad site. You typically get the highest price (usually more than an instant-buy offer), but it takes longer, two to six weeks, and involves some effort: writing a listing, fielding calls, arranging viewings and handling payment.

We only use your registration plate to query public DVLA and DVSA records. We do not sell your data to anyone, ever. If you create an account, we only store your email, hashed password, and the cars you choose to save. You can delete your account at any time. See our Privacy Policy for the full details.

Yes. On the offers page we show the complete official MOT history for your car, every test, the result, the odometer reading, and all advisories. This data comes directly from the DVSA MOT History API. It is useful for spotting recurring faults, verifying mileage, and seeing how well the previous owners looked after the car.

Only if you choose to continue to one of them after seeing our comparison. If you contact a buyer, you deal with them directly on their own website. We do not proactively share your phone number, email or address with buyers.

We have affiliate partnerships with some of the car buying services shown in our comparison. If you sell your car through one of them after finding us, they pay us a small referral fee at no extra cost to you. We do not let those partnerships tilt our valuations. If a non-partner service offers more, we still show that.

Yes. Running another seller's registration through moValue tells you what the car is really worth, so you can spot overpriced listings and negotiate confidently. You also get the full MOT history, which is useful for checking the car's condition history before making an offer.

Yes. Our valuation model handles EVs including Tesla, Nissan Leaf, Polestar, Kia e-Niro, Hyundai Ioniq, MG ZS EV, BYD, and most other EVs sold in the UK. EVs have different depreciation curves from petrol/diesel cars (faster in the first three years, then flattening out), and our model accounts for that.

The DVLA registration database does not record whether a car is manual or automatic. It has been a long-standing gap. We ask you to confirm because transmission type affects valuation: automatics are generally worth a bit more on petrol models, and most EVs and plug-in hybrids are effectively automatic.

If you are not actively planning to sell, every 3 to 6 months is plenty. If you are getting ready to sell, check weekly in the last month, prices shift noticeably with the seasons. Spring and early summer tend to be the strongest period for used car values in the UK.