[ttimbo]

I went through this recently selling our X1. I'm in Australia, so different geography and market....but globally, at present, there is a shortage of new cars due to COVID affecting suppliers of various components (especially semi-conductor chips) to the the carmakers, and factory shutdowns. This has lead to price rises here of c.30%+ in the used car market over the last 12 months. Dealers and the buyer groups such as you mention need stock, and are driving that demand. Of course, you can still get more selling privately, but there are all the risks you mention.

I sold to a buyer group. The price offered was within 5% of what I thought I'd get privately but most importantly, the buyer group made the whole process easy: vehicle inspection at my house; contract signed electronically; funds transferred to my bank account overnight; and car collected from my home by a transporter. Sooo much better than the various jet pilots, tyre-kickers, shifties and numpties you have to deal with when selling privately!!

Best thing is to get a few of the (reliable and trusted) groups interested (including your dealer), and then have them compete on price — bearing in mind they'll need to make a profit, so not too greedy.

Hope that helps and is relevant in the UK.