Where UK dealers get used stock: car auctions for traders
Independent UK dealers do not get retail stock from one place. Car auctions for traders (BCA and Manheim) still supply the volume. Motorway and Carwow add private-seller and part-exchange cars. Salvage yards such as Copart and Synetiq sit to the side. Part-exchange from your own forecourt sits underneath all of it.
Trade auctions: BCA and Manheim
BCA and Manheim are the backbone: finance returns, fleet de-fleet, manufacturer programmes, dealer overspill. If you only work one of them you are choosing to miss a supply mix. See BCA vs Manheim for UK dealers.
Motorway and Carwow
These are not replacements for the auctions. They are retail-condition and part-exchange channels with a different price and condition story. Motorway for dealers and Carwow trade covers the practical differences.
Salvage: Copart and Synetiq
Dealers who prepare or break cars also buy salvage. Copart and Synetiq are the names most traders already know. Reco does not list Copart today. Read Copart vs BCA vs Manheim if salvage is in your mix.
Part-exchange and dealer-to-dealer
Your own PX and local dealer swaps never show up on a multi-platform shortlist. They still matter for mix and for days-in-stock. Reco is not trying to own that conversation.
Covering the lot without four tabs
The constraint is time. Four platforms means four filters to maintain. Reco sits on top of the live ones — BCA, Manheim, Motorway, Carwow — and ranks listings from your purchase history. You still buy on each house.
How Reco works with each live source: BCA · Manheim · Motorway · Carwow. Salvage roadmap: How Reco will work with Copart.
