Courts often allow online valuations from We Buy Any Car or similar in divorce proceedings but, most of the time, these online trade valuations are not suitable for use in divorce proceedings, or in any other sort of legal process. Here’s why.
Online trade valuations for everything from modern hot hatchbacks and SUVs to more valuable supercars are generally unsuitable for use in court divorce proceedings because they typically reflect low trade or wholesale prices, often geared toward quick, distress sales. These prices don’t represent what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller in a proper, open-market, arm’s-length transaction.
Why Online Trade Valuations do not work for Divorce
- Trade Bias: These valuations are usually purposed by a trade purchase service looking to buy low and sell high. the valuatiopns are NOT market valuations. They are dealer or auction valuations specifically designed to allow a quick profit. These valuations do not reflect what the car would fetch in a fair private sale.
- Lack of Detail: Classic cars and valuable supercars often have unique histories, specifications, and conditions that significantly affect value. Online tools do not take these into account.
- No Market Context: Court valuations created to the very specific requirements of Family Procedure Rules Part 25 require context, such as recent comparable sales, rarity, provenance, and demand. Online tools provide none of this nuance.
- Not Independent or Forensic: Online valuations are prepared by a preset algorithm aimed at a specific function. In the case of We Buy Any Car or similar, the background valuation system is adjusting actual market data downwards for an offer to buy at the lowest possible level. Such valuations are not prepared by an independent expert with a duty to the court. A proper valuation must be evidence-based, transparent, and capable of being tested in court.
In divorce proceedings, the goal is to establish the true market value of the marital assets, not their lowest possible trade purchase price. That’s why a properly qualified expert is needed, using recent comparable sales and a reasoned, professional judgment.
The one instance when WBAC valuations may be suitable
There is one instance where a WBAC valuation may be suitable. This is when both partners own a very similar make and model of car with similar mileage and provenance. So let’s say each side has a premium SUV – one might have an Audi Q3 and the other a BMW X3. In such a case, where the parties own vehicles from the same market sector at roughly the same age and mileage, WBAC would work. But in any other case, I would strongly advise against carrying a WBAC value into court.
Case Study: £100k adrift on 5 modern supercars
I was recently asked to consider a collection of vehicles including a 10-year-old Porsche 911 Turbo. The We Buy Any Car valuation was £67,402, while the general retail asking prices for this make and model averaged over £90,000. If this was the only vehicle, and the final value was somewhere in the region of £90k, the difference from one to the other was some £22,500 – so £11,250 to each party.
However, in this case, it was not the only vehicle: there were 5 fairly modern supercars and 3 classic cars that could not be valued using We Buy any Car. Just in the five modern cars, and using the Porsche as a baseline, we have a £100k discrepancy (£50k to each party) in where the true values lie.
Remember, when WBAC values are on the table in divorce negotiations, tread carefully. The numbers are framed as free valuations, and the courts are far too ready to accept the valuations, but the reality is that they could be costing one party thousands in underpaid settlement.
Read more about my expert classic car valuations in divorce proceedings. I value all cars and motorcycles.