I`m sure plenty of folks on here have experience dealing with We Buy Any Car. Took my 2010 plate Jag XF along this morning to get a firm offer, the on-line price they gave was £3310 which seemed reasonable, I’m under no illusions about its value despite the condition being very good and the mileage low, it’s a big car that’s 14 years old. Nice lady looked at the documents, checked the mileage reading, walked around the car, didn’t seem inspect it in detail, noted a few stonechips and marks on the alloy wheels. She actually missed the tiny dent at the base of the C post (I didn’t bother pointing it out) but she saw the tiny chips of missing paint on the rear bumper where I`d parked it too close to a brick wall (twice) where I used to live.

Back in the office, typed a few things into a tablet then hit me with an offer of £2894. The paint/body is being rated as grade 3 which is crazy, and £400 is being knocked off the offer accordingly. Wheels could do with some refinishing (no chips or cracks) but only £12 is being knocked off for this!

I suspect the process is set up to always knock significant amounts off for stone chips and very minor paint imperfections, I believe the lady simply went through the motions, checking there were no dents or proper scratches, then rated it grade 3 as I suspect all cars will be rated. The car’s 14+ years old, minor imperfections are inevitable and that should be reflected in the trade value.

I`ve had a text asking for feedback and reasons for not selling to them. I gave a brief reply stating I disagreed with the basis for reducing the valuation.

Here’s my question: are they likely to come back to me with an increased offer? I could wait to find out but I`d appreciate comments based on first-hand experience. I know they’re renowned for lowballing, when I questioned the offer with the young lady her answer was ‘but it’s got scratches’………I didn’t debate it but I felt she was reading off script! As a polite mature gentleman (honestly!) I thanked her for the offer, stated it wasn`t enough, and bid her good-day.

I used to enjoy the experience of swapping cars, nowadays I`d get as much pleasure from replacing a fridge-freezer or dishwasher, it’s almost a distress purchase and the process is a pain in the arse.

My beloved Jaguar XF, a full-cream 3 litre diesel I`ve owned since 2011, is finally getting swapped for something newer. Couldn’t keep it forever, and despite the low mileage it had a few problems last year, one of which (electric parking brake) cost over £900 to fix thus demonstrating the money-pit potential of an ageing up-market motor. Car’s still in great condition but the next big bill could be just around the corner, shelling out a grand last November to get it MOT’d has certainly focussed my mind!

After much soul-searching I`ve (almost) decided on a BMW 320i around 3 years old, fast enough for real-world motoring and (hopefully) nice enough to fill the empty space left by the Jag. Got my eye on a couple of cars and got first refusal on one of them. I dislike SUVs with a passion, don’t want an electric car, won’t buy anything with only 2 doors, prefer rear-wheel drive, so by process of elimination the Beemer looks like the best option and there’s plenty to choose from around this age and spec. Diesel’s a no-no, the short runs I do aren’t good for a diesel so it has to be petrol, not ready for an electric car yet. I ended up taking the Jag out for longish runs just to keep it healthy which is not ideal.

I`ll miss the Jag, bought it at 11 months old for a good price, colour (both inside and out) was exactly what I wanted. Sad to see how much it’s depreciated but that’s what happens to big cars over a long period, they end up not worth a lot. Could’ve fancied a Jaguar XE but the uncertainty around future values and dealer support, coupled with scarcity of nice examples put me off, a shame because I do like ’em.

I`ve owned 2 Jags and enjoyed them, shame the way the brand has progressed in recent years but they have made a habit of shooting themselves in the foot over the past 20 years.

Owning a Beemer is almost like going over to the dark side for me, but if you can`t beat ’em join ’em! Almost feels like supporting a rival football team because your own side has gone bust and ceased to exist.

A short rant:

Folks send me watches to fix and don’t send their full contact details, when the job’s done how am I supposed to return it?

Or maybe they’ll put a semi-legible scribbled postcode on the outside of the package, maybe they’ll include a hand-written note I can`t read. I end up messing around trying to contact them to confirm the address etc. which is OK provided they access the forum frequently or have e mail alerts when receiving a PM. If I`m struggling to make contact a phone number would be v. helpful but all too often I don’t get one. I always check that the owner is around to receive the watch prior to return but if they don’t access the forum or see the PMs the watch is delayed with me.

I never ask for payment till the watch is returned, but maybe that needs to change. Currently struggling to contact a guy who signed for his watch last Saturday and has disappeared off the radar, non payment, no communication. If I had his phone number I`d ring him, I’ve found his company details but no contact number. If he reads this he’ll know who I mean!

Rant over.