Cinch car-buying website: how does it work?

Cinch is a popular website to find and buy second-hand cars. Part of the same group as British Car Auctions and WeBuyAnyCar, its aim is to offer a ‘faff-free online car service’.

All used cars offered by Cinch are less than seven years old and come with a minimum of six months’ MOT. Each car goes through a 225-point inspection before sale, too.

The site lists around 9,000 used cars and customers can either buy online with free home delivery, or collect from their local branch of WeBuyAnyCar.

What does Cinch do differently?

While you can search for a car in the traditional sense, by make, model, mileage and so on, the interesting bit is the new way of finding what you need, with the ‘Help me choose’ option.

‘Help me choose’ assists buyers’ search based on their needs. You can narrow down choices based on statements such as ‘Compact and easy to park’ or ‘Ready for off-road’.

You then get a series of pictures that you have to select from, based on what vehicle types you like (e.g. hatchback or SUV). Last but not least, you can narrow down the list by selecting the car brands you prefer.

Hit the button and you have a list of cars that could suit you. For those not in-the-know, it could certainly help.

A hub for used cars

Cinch is primarily a hub for car supermarkets and dealers to show off their stock. Not only are all listed second-hand cars seven years old or younger, they also have less than 70,000 miles on the clock. 

“Every element of Cinch has been built in direct response to what the dealers and consumers have told us they want from the car finding, buying and selling process,” said Jonny Crowe, divisional CEO at Cinch.

“Many consumers currently arrive at dealerships without really knowing what they want and dealers get overloaded with undifferentiated enquiries.

“Cinch cuts through this inefficiency, empowering dealers with better-qualified leads that have a higher likelihood of conversion and helping consumers make the right decision.”

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