Cartime

What Cartime does

Cartime is a privately held used car supermarket founded in 2012 in Bury, Greater Manchester, operating as Car Time Motor Company UK Limited under founder-owner Matt Kay. The business sells over 1,000 used vehicles from 30+ manufacturers through four physical showrooms — Bury (headquarters and specialist 4x4 centre with 250+ vehicles), Rochdale (opened 2019), and Nelson (opened February 2025) — supported by a transactional e-commerce website with virtual viewings, online reservation (£250 refundable deposit), and a 100-mile price match guarantee. Cartime serves individual UK consumers across the budget-to-prestige spectrum, with a particular focus on the North West region.

The company's revenue model combines one-time vehicle sales (the primary stream) with finance intermediation (HP, PCP, and 0% APR products brokered through FCA-authorised status, FCA No. 661105, via appointed representative ITC Compliance Limited and panel funder Evolution Funding), warranty and maintenance attach (Lifetime Warranty, Care Plan Plus) sold on financed vehicles, and an in-house service centre offering tiered Gold/Platinum/Diamond servicing packages to both Cartime and non-Cartime vehicles. Marketing is driven by the website as a digital showroom, content marketing, referrer incentive (£500 off plus a weekend away), and earned media via industry awards (UK Car Supermarket of the Year, two consecutive years).

Cartime runs on third-party technology — Click Dealer dealer management software and Evolution Funding's ClickCreditCheck for soft credit searches — with no proprietary platform or AI/ML capability of its own. The business is FCA-authorised for consumer credit activity, regulated under ITC Compliance Limited for insurance intermediation, and operates with over 100 employees across sales, preparation, and service. Strategic expansion has been deliberate and geographically focused: one new showroom per ~3 years (Rochdale 2019, Nelson 2025), with continued leadership hiring into operations roles (Head of Vehicle Preparation, June 2026) supporting the founder's stated ambition to become one of the UK's largest car supermarkets.

Name

Cartime

Legal name

Car Time Motor Company UK Limited

Website

https://cartime.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cartime is a privately held, founder-led used car supermarket founded in 2012 operating four showrooms across Greater Manchester and Lancashire (Bury, Rochdale, Nelson) with 1,000+ vehicles, serving individual UK consumers through direct sales, finance intermediation, warranty attach, and in-house servicing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Vehicle Sales: Primary revenue stream from the sale of used cars and vans. The business stocks over 1,000 vehicles across multiple brands, with prices ranging from budget vehicles to supercars.
2. Finance Intermediation: As an FCA-authorised credit broker (FCA No. 661105), Cartime earns commission from finance lenders for introducing customers to HP, PCP, and 0% APR finance products. Commission is disclosed to customers and is either a fixed fee or fixed percentage of the amount borrowed.
3. Warranty and Maintenance Plans: Care Plan Plus and lifetime warranty packages offered on vehicles, covering maintenance, repairs, and breakdown assistance. These are add-on products generating additional revenue per vehicle.
4. Servicing: On-site service centre offering Gold (£99+), Platinum (£179+), and Diamond (£259+) servicing packages for all makes and models, including cars not purchased from Cartime.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cartime is a used car supermarket that sells second-hand cars and vans from over 30 manufacturers across four Greater Manchester showrooms, with combined in-house stock of 1,000+ vehicles. It bundles retail vehicle sales with brokered car finance (HP, PCP, 0% APR), part exchange, a lifetime warranty, and tiered servicing packages, plus a specialist 4x4 centre and an on-site Service Centre.

Product overview

Cartime is a prestige used car supermarket founded in 2012, operating as a single unified sales platform with modular add-on services. The core product is the sale of quality used vehicles from over 30 manufacturers (Abarth to Volvo), with over 1,000 cars in stock across four showrooms in Bury, Rochdale, Nelson, and a specialist 4x4 centre. The offering integrates the vehicle sales platform with complementary finance products (0% APR Finance, Hire Purchase, Personal Contract Purchase), warranty packages (Lifetime Warranty, Care Plan Plus), and supporting services (Soft Credit Checker, Part Exchange, Car Reservations, Referral Scheme, Servicing packages). The company positions itself as a one-stop shop for used car purchases, combining vehicle sales with financing, warranty, maintenance, and customer support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Used Car and Van Sales Retail sale of used cars and vans from over 30 manufacturers across four Greater Manchester showrooms, with 1,000+ vehicles in group stock, each prepared to a 120-point mechanical check and supported by a lifetime warranty and same-day drive-away.
• Hire Purchase (HP) Finance Vehicle finance product where customers borrow to spread the cost of a used car from Cartime over monthly instalments, arranged via broker Evolution Funding with decisions in minutes for prime customers.
• Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) Finance PCP vehicle finance product arranged through Evolution Funding, with optional final balloon / part-exchange settlement, targeted at customers who want lower monthly payments on a used car from Cartime.
• 0% APR Finance Promotional 0% APR finance option available on selected used vehicles at Cartime, brokered through Evolution Funding, allowing buyers to spread the cost interest-free subject to eligibility.
• Lifetime Warranty Package Mechanical warranty coverage that accompanies eligible Cartime vehicles, intended to limit the customer's exposure to unexpected repair costs for as long as they own the car.
• Care Plan Plus Extended protection and maintenance package sold with Cartime vehicles, providing additional cover and servicing benefits beyond the standard warranty.
• Part Exchange / Car Valuation Service where Cartime values a customer's existing car online and applies that value toward the purchase of a vehicle from Cartime, simplifying the upgrade process.
• Gold Servicing Package Entry-level scheduled servicing package delivered at Cartime's Service Centre, providing routine maintenance for used vehicles.
• Platinum Servicing Package Mid-tier scheduled servicing package at Cartime's Service Centre, offering an expanded scope of maintenance and vehicle checks beyond the Gold plan.
• Diamond Servicing Package Top-tier servicing package at Cartime's Service Centre, providing the most comprehensive level of scheduled maintenance and vehicle care.

Quantifiable outcome

• Drive away on the same day
• +5 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Evolution Funding LimitedcoreTechnology or IntegrationEvolution Funding Limited is the UK's largest motor finance broker powering Cartime's ClickCreditCheck soft search eligibility tool. It requests data from Experian and Equifax credit reference agencies and uses sophisticated algorithms to generate eligibility scores for car finance applications.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Cazoo: Online-first used car retailer offering home delivery and a 7-day money-back guarantee in the UK. Comparable because it targets the same used car buyer with finance and warranty offerings, but competes via digital channels rather than physical showrooms.
• Carwow: UK digital car marketplace connecting consumers with dealers for new and used car purchases. Comparable as it serves the same UK used car buyer and competes for digital attention, though it operates an aggregator model rather than holding inventory.

Direct peers

• Motorpoint: UK's largest independent used car supermarket chain operating multiple showrooms with high-volume inventory. Directly comparable to Cartime in business model (large physical showroom footprint selling used cars with finance and warranty add-ons), though at significantly greater national scale.

Broad incumbents

• Pendragon: Major UK automotive retailer operating multi-franchise dealerships with significant used car operations. Comparable because it competes in the same UK used car retail market, though with a franchised dealer model rather than an independent supermarket model.
• Lookers: UK automotive retailer group with franchised new and used vehicle operations across the UK. Comparable as it competes for the same consumer used car demand but operates a different (franchise) model.
• Inchcape: Global premium automotive retailer distributing and selling new and used vehicles in the UK. Comparable as it operates in the same UK automotive retail market and serves similar premium/used vehicle buyer segments.
• Arnold Clark: UK's largest independently owned car retailer with over 200 dealerships selling new and used vehicles across Scotland, England and Wales. Comparable because it operates a similar physical-showroom-based used car retail model, but it is substantially larger and includes new car franchises.

Regional players

• Evans Halshaw: UK-based volume car retailer operating dealerships across England, Scotland and Wales selling new and used vehicles. Comparable because it operates multi-site used car retail in Northern England (some proximity to Cartime's footprint), though at significantly greater scale.
• Sytner Group: UK premium car retailer group operating dealerships across the UK focused on premium brands. Comparable because it serves overlapping higher-end used car buyer segments (premium vehicles similar to Cartime's supercar/SUV inventory) though it operates a franchised dealer model.

Others

• Auto Trader: UK's largest digital marketplace for new and used vehicles. Comparable because it is the dominant platform where UK used car buyers (including Cartime customers) research and discover vehicles, and it influences competitive dynamics across the used car retail value chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cartime_uk
• Facebookfacebook.com/cartimeuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cartime

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cartime