10:06 am, December 18, 2013
MANHEIM has announced it is to sell 400 vehicles per week through its wewantanycar.com service in 2014.
The company invested in the Staffordshire-based business The Car Group – owners of wewantanycar.com – in October 2013 and sold its first car through the service in November.
But now Manheim has revealed it has big plans for the service, which operates as a standalone business, and aims to sell 400 cars a week at its auction locations in Manchester, Colchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bruntingthorpe and Washington, with values ranging from £500 to £50,000.
Wewantanycar.com has 60 handover locations across the UK and employs more than 60 people. The deal with Manheim sees all vehicles acquired by the company remarketed though Manheim’s various remarketing channels.
Michael Buxton, chief operating officer of Manheim, said: ‘Our ability to turn a sales programme around to accommodate the additional volume from The Car Group in such a short time period is a great achievement that demonstrates just how powerful the integrated Manheim approach really is.’
John Bailey, Manheim chief executive, added: ‘This deal has already seen a considerable number of high quality vehicles coming into our auction lanes and online channels. Following our recent investments in Kingfisher, EVS Online, Motors.co.uk and Dealer Auction, this latest acquisition is great news for our buyers.’
The news has interested a number of users on the Car Dealer Forum. barriecrampton said: ‘I cannot see how this differs from having your own garage and being responsible for the cars mechanical well fare for three to six months, yet a car sold through an auction is sold as seen.
‘I personally think this is a loophole that should be looked into. There needs to be a level playing field where the auctions are separated for Trade and Private. All cars at the Private Sale should have been inspected, all the necessary checks carried out, the car should have a Warranty, and a buyer should get the chance to test drive it.’
Ian posted: ‘In my experience, the sort of cars that are bought by WBAC-type firms are ones that have been poorly maintained (if at all) and to be avoided.’
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