Wren & Barrow Motor Co.
Car keys handed across
Since 2011

Three days. Two hundred miles. Our insurance.

You cannot learn a car in twenty minutes with a salesman beside you. So we let you take it home instead, and we don't hold a deposit while you've got it.

How it works

Four steps, and none of them are difficult

Come and pick one

Wander the yard. Sit in things. Ask for keys and we'll bring them out. Nobody will hover — we've all been on the wrong end of that.

Twenty minutes of paperwork

Driving licence, a utility bill, and a signature on a one-page agreement. We add you to our trade policy on the spot. That's it — no deposit, no card held.

Take it away

Three full days, up to two hundred miles. Fill it with whatever it takes and bring it back at the same level. Weekends count as one day, which is how most people use it.

Say yes or say no

Bring it back and tell us either way. If it's a no, that's genuinely the end of it — we won't ring you, and you won't go on a list.

What you get

Included, no asterisks

  • Fully comprehensive cover on our trade policy for the three days
  • Breakdown cover — if it stops, ring us and we'll come and get you both
  • The car's full service history to take away and read at the kitchen table
  • Our workshop check sheet, including the things we didn't fix and why
  • An MOT history printout, because you shouldn't have to take our word for it
  • Two hundred miles. Nobody has ever been charged for going a bit over.
What we ask

Reasonable things, honestly

  • You're 25 or over with a full licence held for two years, and no more than six points
  • Nobody else drives it — if your partner needs to, bring them in and we'll add them
  • It doesn't go abroad, and it doesn't go on a track. Both have been asked.
  • No smoking and no dogs in the boot without a blanket, which we'll lend you
  • Bring it back on the day and roughly at the time — we've usually promised it to someone else
  • If you put a mark on it, tell us. We'd far rather hear it from you.
The interior of an older car

“About a third come back unbought. That's not a failure — that's the whole point of the thing working properly.”

Priya, who does the handovers and the paperwork
Questions we get asked

The usual ones

Do you really not take a deposit?

Really. We take a copy of your licence and your address, same as a hire company would, and that's all. Holding money makes people feel obliged to buy, and a person who feels obliged is not a person we want to sell a car to.

What if I damage it?

There's a £500 excess on our policy, and that's the most you'd pay for accident damage. For kerbed alloys and car park dinks we use common sense — in fifteen years we have charged someone for a wheel refurbishment exactly twice.

Can I take it to my own mechanic?

Please do, and tell us what they say. If they find something we missed, we'll fix it or take it off the price. Several local garages know us well enough to ring us directly.

Can I do the three days on a car I've already reserved?

Yes — reserving just takes it off the page. The clock doesn't start until you drive it away, and reserving costs nothing.

What if I want longer than three days?

Ask. If nobody else is waiting on the car, we'll usually say yes. The record is eleven days, a Vauxhall, and a customer who was waiting for a house sale to complete.

Do you do this on the cheaper cars too?

Every car on the yard, including the £3,650 one. It would be a strange rule that only applied to people spending a lot.

The fine print, such as it is: cover is subject to our motor trade policy terms, which we'll hand you a copy of. We can't cover drivers under 25 or with a licence held under two years — not our choice, our insurer's. Fuel used is yours; any fine or charge picked up while the car is with you is yours as well.

Pick a car to try Or just come and look