How to sell my BMW – the complete guide

The good news is that BMWs models are posh and desirable, so it should be easy to get yours sold. You have a few different options for selling your car, so what's the best choice for you?

We'll break down the different ways you could sell your BMW. This includes selling to dealers or selling privately, as well as online auctions or even a part-exchange. By the end of this guide, you should have a better idea of what kind of sale suits you best.

How to sell my BMW

1. Use an online tool to get a free valuation on your BMW
2. Decide what matters most to you – would you prefer a quick sale or getting the most money?
3. Choose the type of sale that best fits your priorities
4. Get your car ready for sale – consider fixing small issues, and present it clean and tidy
5. Complete the sale with your chosen buyer
6. Use the money to buy another car or for something else

Let's have a closer look at the four main options you have when selling your BMW:

• Selling your BMW to a dealer
• Part-exchange your BMW
• Selling your BMW to an online auction
• Selling your BMW privately

Selling your BMW to a dealer

Selling your BMW to a dealer might be the easiest way to move your car on. Most large dealer groups and car-buying services have online valuation tools so you can get an estimate of what they'd pay for your car. Once you get your initial valuations, you can pick the best ones and take your car for the dealer to inspect it. You'll get a final valuation after this inspection and can complete the sale if you're happy with the figure.

Selling to a dealer or car-buying service is the best option for a fast, easy sale. You'll have a good idea of how much your car is worth before committing to an inspection appointment, so you may only need one meeting to complete the sale, versus dealing with lots of potential private buyers. There's a little cost to the convenience here, however, because you'll usually get a bit less money for your car compared with selling it privately.

Part-exchange your BMW

Part exchanging your BMW is another easy way to sell the car. It may even be simpler than a straight sale to a dealership, since you're also organising the purchase of your next car in one convenient operation. Whatever your old car is worth goes directly towards the price of your new car, and you can swap over on the same day. Dealerships and car retailers can even arrange a part exchange for a car on finance, so you can put any positive equity towards the deposit on your next finance agreement.

You should consider a part exchange if you know for sure that you'll be replacing your old car with a new one. It streamlines both the sale of your previous vehicle and the purchase of your next one by rolling it into one operation. Like a straight sale to a dealer or car-buying service, you'll probably get a little less total money for your car, but it'll be much easier than handling a private sale.

Selling your BMW to an online auction

There are a number of online auction sites where you can list your old BMW. This includes general car auctions open to the public through the likes of eBay. There are also auction services that focus on helping you sell your car to dealers – for example, Motorway.

This is a fairly easy option for selling your car, comparable to the effort of taking it to a dealer to be sold. A possible downside is that these sales routes don't always give you a clear idea of how much your car is actually worth until the auction finished. Depending on the auction service you choose, you may even be obliged to complete the sale at whatever price the car ends up at if you didn't set a lower reserve price.

Selling your BMW privately

Selling your BMW privately is the most labour-intensive option here. You'll be responsible for listing the car, which will include taking photos and writing a description for the vehicle. Some of the biggest listing sites also charge a fee for your advert, which eats into your profits. And you'll also be in charge of meeting potential buyers, answering their questions and handling any price negotiations.

The upside here is that, once you've done all the legwork to get the car listed and sold, you might earn a little more money for it in total. Private sales cut out the dealership middleman and their profit margin from the process. It'll be down to you to decide whether it's worth the extra time and effort to sell your car yourself.

What’s the best way to sell my BMW?

The answer here depends on what your biggest priorities are for selling your BMW.

Choosing to sell to a dealership or car-buying service is, by far, the easiest option. You'll go into the sale with a clear idea of how much your car is worth, and you should be done in just a few hours. A part-exchange is a similarly strong option if you want to roll the purchase of your new car into one job.

However, if you're not in a rush and don't mind a little hard work, a private sale might work better for you. You'll have a lot more admin work to carry out – not to mention dealing with the (occasionally weird and wacky) general public – but you might earn a little extra for your car in exchange.

Do BMWs hold their value?

BMW is a cool, desirable brand and its lineup is stacked with popular models. As a result, residual values are fairly strong, especially for high-demand bodystyles like SUVs.

Do yourself a favour and take good care of your BMW if you want to get the most money when you sell it. That means getting it serviced on time, arranging repairs promptly when needed, keeping it clean, and resisting the urge to modify it.

Sell your BMW to Motorpoint

Get a free, fast, competitive valuation – sell your BMW to Motorpoint today! Over 99% of our final valuations are paid out with no changes.