Hi Chris,

Right, let’s get the value of the Qashqai sorted first of all – and for a 172-plate diesel with that sort of mileage, you should be looking at anything between €19,000 and €23,000; the latter price for high-spec cars, which you indicate yours to be (SVE, perhaps?). Assuming you’re not doing a PCP, which will complicate matters if you’re looking to downgrade, you have to accept that either a dealership (which may buy the car off you, depending on how much stock they have) or one of the ‘we buy your car’ companies is going to offer you below the market value; as they are intending to sell the car straight on to another buyer and make a profit from the transaction. This is just a fact of life and there’s not much you can do about it – but what they do offer is a hassle-free service, so you don’t have to worry about selling your car to a private buyer and all that entails. You have to weigh up whether you’re in greater need of a quick sale or more money in your pocket, and then go from there. Accept, though, that the car-buying company and/or a dealership is going to offer you something like €15,000-€18,000 for the car.