10:29 am, July 15, 2026
Used car auction platform Carwow has radically changed the way its daily auctions work overnight – leaving many dealers perplexed.
The auction site has removed reserve prices and instead switched to displaying retail prices only, with valuations provided by Autotrader and Brego.
Car dealers bidding in the auction now no longer have an idea of what the customer is willing to sell their car with reserve prices have been axed from view.
Up until these changes, the daily listings – which often top more than 1,000 cars for sale – would display a reserve to dealers.
While this was often higher than a typical value in trade guides, it gave dealers an idea of what they needed to bid to secure the car.
Now, dealers say they will be ‘bidding blind’ with no idea of what price is needed to secure the vehicle.
Carwow still agrees a reserve price with the seller and is hopeful the changes will lead to ‘more commitment’ to sell.
Most car dealers already work ‘retail back’ for their pricing. This uses the retail price as the start point, then removes prep costs, auction fees and transport, to work out an estimated margin.
This calculation will be different for all dealers, but whatever method is used, no dealers will know what price is likely to be accepted by the seller when they bid.
Dealer feedback
Several car dealers have been in touch with this publication to say they preferred the reserve price listings as it ‘gave some idea of what the seller wanted’.
Umesh Samani, chair of the Independent Motor Dealers Association and used car dealer, said: ‘Carwow’s platform was for dealers, to enable them to see customers’ reserves so they were able to make an informed decision. These changes are favoured to show ‘retail’, which is somewhat meaningless to dealers.
‘We don’t need to see what retail prices are and try and second guess what the customers’ reserves are! I think Carwow will lose many dealers with these changes.’
George Manning, director of car supermarket Hilton Garage, added: ‘This looks designed to push selling prices up and screen out anyone who won’t bid unless they can beat reserve.
‘But higher prices, higher buyer’s fees and more back-and-forth haggling after the ‘sale’ are the exact opposite of what I want from an online auction – the whole point is speed and certainty.’
However, some other dealers were not put off. One said in an online forum: ‘I don’t often buy off Carwow, but you don’t know the reserve at a normal auction.
‘When I have been on Carwow, the reserve can put me off chucking a bid on, so I think everyone will just bid their best bid and not be influenced by someone’s often unrealistic reserve. Personally I see it as a positive.’
The changes were rolled out this week with most dealers seeing them come into effect in today’s auction.
Last week, Carwow told its dealers about the switch in an email that appears to have been missed by many in the trade.
It said: ‘Autotrader retail pricing is in, reserve pricing is out. That means you’ll be able to put your best bid forward more accurately with retail back pricing instead of bidding against a seller’s expected price.
‘Because we’ll be helping set more realistic seller prices using Autotrader retail data, we’ll no longer be calling to negotiate bids below a seller’s agreed price. So lead with your best bid up front for the strongest chance of winning in the auction.’
Carwow added it believed it will now also have ‘increased seller commitment’ as they will ‘commit to the valuation provided by Carwow’.
‘If your bid beats this price, the car is yours,’ Carwow said. ‘That means a boost to seller commitment and less back-and-frorth post auction.’
Carwow has also removed Buy Now listings as part of the changes. Car Dealer has contacted Carwow for further comment.
Carwow comments
Carwow CEO John Veichmanis told Car Dealer: ‘When we’ve tested this, it drives a lot more bid activity. That’s the point.
‘If six people bid on a car and it’s nowhere near the reserve, we can go back to the customer and say: “You’ve had six bids and none are close to your reserve. This is the best you’re going to do.
‘Whereas if they put a high reserve on and get no bids, that’s not effective. It’s now much easier to have a quality conversation about a car’s value after the auction than before it. I think that’s better for dealers and sellers ultimately.’
He added: ‘Dealers should bid whatever they think the car is worth. Ultimately it’s an auction, so there’s competition between dealers, not between the dealer and the customer.
‘What we found in testing is that the reserve price often becomes a distraction. Dealers simply don’t bid on certain segments of cars. When we remove it, we get a much better distribution of bids.
‘There’s no difference to a Manheim or BCA auction where dealers bid without knowing the reserve.’
Veichmanis will be appearing as a guest on this week’s Car Dealer Podcast to talk about the changes more. You can catch that later this week wherever you get your podcasts.
Meanwhile, rival Motorway has continued to list its cars in its auctions with reserve prices, but has started charging consumers £29.99 to sell their car. This is on top of the fees paid for by the dealers to purchase the vehicles.
