PreHammer

Margin before the hammer · UK motor trade

UK motor trade · Chrome extension

Know the marginbefore you bid.

UK vehicle-appraisal Chrome extension with live comps, MOT history and a maximum bid calculated locally from your own costs and target margin.

  • PreHammer analyses AutoTrader, eBay and Gumtree listings in one click.
  • PreHammer returns BUY, PASS or DEPENDS verdict before you bid.
  • PreHammer gives one instant appraisal and four more after email confirmation.

No signup for the first appraisal · No card

What you see on every listing

Appraisal
Live comps
BuyLY21 ABC

Ford Focus ST-Line · 2021 · 38,400 mi

Current bid £10,100 · Grade 2 · 1.5 EcoBoost

Vehicle record · temporarily unavailable
MOT · Pass · last recorded 38,389 mi · mileage consistent

Retail anchor (8 sold comps)

Lower quartile · £13,500

Margin

Bid + fee + all costs£11,150
Retail anchor£13,500
Projected margin+£2,350
Maximum bid · £10,950 using your saved £1,500 minimum margin

How it works

Three steps. Same on every site.

No dashboard to learn. It lives on the tab you already have open.

1

Install the extension

Install from the Chrome Web Store and run one appraisal immediately. Confirm your email to unlock four more. No card.

2

Open any listing

BCA, Manheim, Copart, AutoTrader, eBay, Gumtree or Marketplace. Click the PreHammer button on the page you are already on.

3

Read the sheet

Live comps, MOT trail, margin table and a BUY, PASS or DEPENDS before you bid or message the seller.

The appraisal sheet

Everything you'd scribble on a notepad

One click. Same sections whether you're on an auction lot or a retail ad.

Verdict

BUY, PASS or DEPENDS, first

Not a wall of data. A straight call on whether the lot is worth your hammer, with the reasons underneath.

Retail comps

UK retail comps pulled now

Median and price band for that make, model and year, fetched when you click from live UK listing data, not a stale guide.

MOT evidence

Mileage trail and MOT history

Recorded mileage from MOT tests is checked against the listing. Listing says 67k but MOT says 94k? Flagged in red before you bid.

Margin table

Your maximum bid, calculated

Your saved buyer fee, prep, transport, selling costs and minimum margin are applied locally. Missing material inputs force DEPENDS.

Known faults

Expensive surprises, upfront

Model-specific fault list with typical UK repair bands and eBay parts links. DSG, timing belt, EGR, the usual killers.

Pass early. Bid with a number.

Real decisions the sheet is built for.

Pass£8,500

Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 · 2019 · 67,200 mi

Auction · Grade 3

MOT trail shows 94,100 mi at last test. Listing under-reported mileage. Retail mid £7,200. Walk.

Buy£10,100

Ford Focus ST-Line · 2021 · 38,400 mi

Auction · Grade 2

Eight sold comps. A £300 buyer fee plus £750 saved costs leaves £2,350 projected margin; maximum bid £10,950.

Actively buying UK stock?

Bring one live lot to a setup call

We are onboarding 10 founding traders personally at £29/month—only after PreHammer works on your real buying workflow. The concierge pilot includes a 30-minute setup call and direct access; the self-serve plans below do not.

Apply for pilot

One flip pays for the year

Try one appraisal instantly, then confirm your email for four more. Pick a plan when you're buying regularly.

Free trial

1 instant + 4 after email confirmation · no card

Install extension

Starter

£9.99/mo

or £99/yr · save 2 months

200 appraisals / mo

Side flips & one-offs

  • ▪Full sheet on any listing
  • ▪Live UK retail comps
  • ▪MOT history & clocking check
Subscribe monthly
Most traders

Trader

£19.99/mo

or £199/yr · save 2 months

500 appraisals / mo

Regular buying days

  • ▪Everything in Starter
  • ▪2,000 retail comp lookups / mo
Subscribe monthly

Ex VAT · Cancel anytime via Stripe

FAQ

What counts as a scan?+

One full appraisal, one scan. Re-opening the same listing uses cache and doesn't count. Allowance resets on the 1st of each month.

Does the profit table change for auction lots?+

Yes. Save your actual buyer fee in Deal assumptions. PreHammer keeps it in Chrome and applies it to each auction lot instead of guessing a generic premium.

How fresh are the retail comps?+

Pulled when you click from live UK sold and active listing data matched to make, model, year and mileage, not a printed price guide.

What if there's no reg plate on the listing?+

Margin and comps still run from the ad text. Registration-based evidence stays empty and the verdict flags what's unverified.

Any setup beyond installing the extension?+

No setup for your first appraisal. We host MOT and comp lookups. Subscribers paste the key from their checkout email once.

Can I cancel any time?+

Yes. Open the billing portal at prehammer.com/billing with your checkout email. Access continues until the end of your billing period.

Lost your subscription key?+

Open Account in the footer and sign in with your checkout email. You can copy your key there anytime. If you cannot sign in, use Recover key (email plus last 4 characters of your key).

Run it on your next lot

Install, open a listing, hit appraise. You'll know if the margin works before you bid.

Chrome Web Store →