How we compare

They work for the dealer. We work for you.

Every major car platform in the UK is funded by the motor trade. Dealer fees, sponsored listings, lead generation, commissions. Their job is to help dealers sell. Our job is to help you buy well. That's not a marketing line. It's a completely different business model.

FeatureMMCATCGMWHCAUCI
Independent of the motor tradeMMC takes zero from dealers. Every platform listed here is funded by the trade.
Proactive vehicle discoveryWe find vehicles for you based on your criteria and push them to you. You don’t search. We surface.
Curated intelligence, not a search engineThey give you thousands of listings and a search bar. We give you only the vehicles that passed our filters, with the full story behind each one.
Capped membership per regionEvery other platform wants as many users as possible. We deliberately limit seats so the intelligence stays valuable and the deals don’t get crowded.
Dealer pressure signalsStock ageing, sales slumps, quarter-end patterns. Signals that tell you when a dealer is motivated to sell.
Dealer behaviour profilingEvery platform focuses on the car. We’re the only one that profiles the dealer’s behaviour, pressure, and motivation to sell.
Full price history on every vehicleWe track every price change from day one. CarGurus shows price history and days on market. Most others show the current price only.
Estimated savings & negotiation rangeSome platforms show basic deal ratings (good/fair/high). MMC goes further. We calculate how much room you have to negotiate and what to offer.BasicBasicBasicBasic
AI-powered negotiation scriptsOur AI Negotiator builds personalised email, phone and face-to-face strategies.
Dealer due diligence (Companies House, FCA, reviews)We check the dealer, not just the car.
Alerts before mainstream sitesWe surface opportunities directly from dealer websites, often before they hit the aggregators.
Vehicle watch with instant price drop alertsAutoTrader and CarGurus offer saved-vehicle price alerts. heycar and AutoUncle offer saved searches only.BasicBasic
No sponsored or promoted listingsAutoTrader has “Promoted” placements, CarGurus uses sponsored “Best Match” ranking, AutoUncle runs ad placements in the interface. heycar does not currently offer sponsored listing positions.N/A
No commission on salesMotorway charges both sides: a dealer fee on purchase plus a seller service fee. Cinch owns and sells its stock directly, earning the retail margin.N/A
Educational content (negotiation, finance, timing)The Briefing Room: 68 lessons written from real trade experience, not marketing content.GenericGenericGenericGenericLimitedGeneric
Works for you, not the dealer

Based on publicly available information, company filings, and platform terms as of July 2026. “Basic” indicates a simpler implementation than MMC. Platform features may change.

Deep dive:AutoTrader·CarGurus·Motorway·heycar·AutoUncle·Cinch

Follow the money.

The simplest way to understand any platform is to ask: who's paying them? If the dealer is the customer, you're the product.

AutoTrader

Dealers pay monthly advertising subscriptions. Premium packages include “Promoted” placements that push vehicles to the top of search results. Revenue exceeded £600M in FY25, the vast majority from dealer packages.

MMC vs AutoTrader

CarGurus

Dealers pay for tiered subscription packages and sponsored listings. The default “Best Match” sort factors in paid status alongside engagement. Their Deal Rating is separate from paid placement, but the dealer is still the customer.

MMC vs CarGurus

Motorway

Now charges both sides. Dealers pay a fee when they buy a car through the platform. Since May 2025, sellers also pay a tiered service fee (£29.99–£99.99) on completed sales. A seller-side marketplace, not a buyer tool.

MMC vs Motorway

heycar

Owned by Volkswagen Financial Services after the original parent went into liquidation in 2025. Dealers pay on a lead-generation basis. Also acts as a credit broker for VWFS. The selection is limited to paying dealer partners.

MMC vs heycar

AutoUncle

A meta-search aggregator that monetises through B2B tools: lead generators embedded on dealer websites, marketing automation, and data APIs. When you click through, they earn from the referral.

MMC vs AutoUncle

Cinch

Owned by Constellation Automotive (who also own BCA and WeBuyAnyCar). They buy and sell cars directly. They are the dealer. Revenue topped £1bn in FY25, but they lost over £100M pre-tax.

MMC vs Cinch

The MMC difference.

✓
Zero dealer revenueNo listing fees, no commissions, no sponsored placements. Ever.
✓
Member-fundedOur only incentive is helping you land a better deal.
✓
Full price historyEvery price change, every date, from the day we first spotted the vehicle.
✓
Dealer pressure signalsStock ageing, sales slumps, quarter-end pressure. 28 signals that tell you when to move.
✓
AI NegotiatorPersonalised scripts for email, phone and face-to-face. Built on real trade experience.
✓
Dealer due diligenceCompanies House, FCA register, Google reviews. We check the dealer, not just the car.

We're not like everyone else. We are all about you.

Ready to see what they're not showing you?

Join MMC for free. No credit card. No dealer affiliations. Just the intelligence you need to buy well.

Join MMC

Free membership. No credit card required.