Why we pay more
Why we can pay more for some cars than a UK buyer can
Any buyer who tells you they pay more than everyone else should be able to explain why. Here is our reason, in full, so you can judge whether it holds up.
The market
We supply buyers in Cyprus
Cyprus drives on the left. Right-hand-drive cars are not a curiosity there, they are the standard, and because the island has a small domestic market almost everything is imported. The UK is one of the main sources, for the obvious reason that our cars are already the right way round and there are plenty of them.
So a well-kept, high-specification, right-hand-drive premium SUV is not a difficult car to sell in Cyprus. It is exactly what the market is looking for. That demand is real and it is steady, and it is what sits behind our offers.
Cyprus is the market we currently supply. We would rather name one market we actually sell into than list a continent we do not.
Background on the Cyprus market and its reliance on UK right-hand-drive imports: DriveClick Cyprus.
What it means for you
Why that turns into a bigger number for you
A UK trade buyer prices your car against what a UK retail buyer will pay for it, minus what they need to make. That is a perfectly reasonable way to run a business, and it is why most offers land in a similar place.
We are not pricing against the same buyer. When a car is going to Cyprus, the relevant question is what it is worth there, not here. On the models that market wants, that is a higher number, and the difference is what lets us pay above what a general buyer can justify.
It is also why we are specific about which cars we chase. We buy anything, but we do not pretend every car benefits from this. Most do not.
The limit
Why it only applies to cars under five years old
The economics only work on younger cars. Once a car is past about five years, the cost of moving it stops being justified by what it fetches at the other end, and the export route closes.
That is worth saying plainly, because it sets your expectations correctly. If your car is older, we will still buy it and we will still collect it free and pay before it leaves. The offer will simply be priced against the UK trade, like anyone else's — we will not dress it up as something it is not.
The models
Where this makes the biggest difference
To be clear about what this page is: we buy cars of any age and in any condition, and most of what we buy has nothing to do with export. This page explains why the offer on some cars is stronger. It is not a list of what we accept.
These are the models the exporters we work with ask for. Younger examples in good specification are where our offers are strongest.
Find out what yours is worth.
One registration, 2 hours, one firm number. No obligation to accept it.