Where Does Your Car Go After You Trade It In?

When you trade-in or sell your car to Motorama, what happens next isn't just about moving metal - it's about making the right call for each vehicle.

Every trade-in goes through a process that determines whether it's a good fit for our pre-owned vehicle lineup or better suited to another path.

We spoke to our experts in the Motorama Buying team about the what happens behind the scenes after you trade in your car.

The 110-point inspection

Once a vehicle is accepted for trade-in, it doesn't just go straight to the lot. It first heads to our workshop for a full 110-point inspection.

Our mechanics check over all the essentials: brakes, tyres, suspension, electrics, drivability, and general safety.

This step ensures we only retail vehicles that meet a high standard - not just for quality, but for reliability and safety.

Retail vs wholesale decision

After the inspection, we weigh up whether your vehicle makes sense for resale on one of our Motorama yards. This depends on a few key things:

Reconditioning Costs: If the car needs a lot of work to be up to standard, it may not be worth the investment. This includes big-ticket items like replacing missing headrests or 3rd row seats to bring the car back to its legal factory configuration.
Vehicle Appeal: Some cars, even if they're in decent condition, aren't the right fit for our customer base. For example, a vehicle with incomplete service history might not qualify for our Lifetime Engine Guarantee or capped price servicing - extras that make our pre-owned cars attractive. That can reduce its retail appeal.
Risk to Reputation: We take our name seriously. If there's any doubt about a car holding up for the next owner - such as gaps in maintenance history or safety items missing that can't be easily replaced - we won't take the risk.

If it ticks the right boxes, we recondition the vehicle and get it retail-ready. If not, it heads down the wholesale path.

What happens to wholesale vehicles?

Cars that don't make the cut for our retail lots aren't scrapped - they're sold through trusted wholesale channels. These include:

Wholesale buyers in our dealer network
Auction houses
Smaller used car yards

This ensures that every car has a purpose, even if it's not on a Motorama showroom floor.

Why this process matters to you

If you're selling a car, you want to know it's being handled properly. Our process isn't just about making us money - it's about protecting buyers and doing the right thing by every vehicle. And it works in your favour, too:

If your car qualifies for retail, we can often offer more
If it doesn't, you still get a fair wholesale price without the stress of private selling
You walk away knowing the vehicle will be used appropriately, not flipped in a rush

We pride ourselves on handling every part of the trade-in responsibly - from guaranteeing clear title and managing the change of ownership, to paying out any encumbrances promptly. You can trust that your vehicle's disposal is done the right way.

The bottom line

Not every car stays with us - and that's by design. We keep our standards high so our customers get reliable pre-owned vehicles, and you get a process that's honest from the start.

Are you looking for a high-quality, pre-owned car that you can rely on? Check out our range of hundreds of pre-owned cars available to drive away today.