Used car platform Cazoo has officially opened for business as it looks to disrupt the used car sector.

All Cazoo cars have passed a through 150-point inspection and been fully reconditioned before being sold

The start-up, the latest venture from property website Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman, enables customers to buy, finance or rent a used car online and have it delivered it their door within 48 hours; it claims to be effectively ‘Amazon-ing’ the used car market.

Founded a year ago, the business signed up BCA to provide vehicle logistics, refurbishment and disposal requirements six months ago and has now launched with more than 1,500 cars in stock, including EVs, aided by a further £25m of funding today, taking the total raised to date to more than £80m.

Buyers can inspect high quality, 360-degree images from the comfort of their home as well as the car’s features and history. Every car comes with a seven-day money-back guarantee, as well as having passed a through 150-point inspection and been fully reconditioned before being sold. All cars have recent MOTs and full-service history and each one also comes with 7 days’ free insurance and a free 90-day warranty and RAC roadside assistance.

Alex Chesterman, founder and CEO of Cazoo, said: “Used cars are one of the last remaining consumer markets yet to benefit from any digital transformation. Cazoo makes used car buying simple and convenient like buying any other product online today. We take away the need to travel, to haggle, to spend countless hours at a dealership and to risk any buyer’s remorse.”

Cazoo’s official launch has been welcomed by online new and used car retailer BuyaCar.co.uk, even though they operatate in the same space, because it raises the profile of internet car buying.

Andy Oldham, CEO of BuyaCar, expained: “An Amazon-like experience for the car buyer is good for consumers, many of whom find the traditional way of buying cars to be time-consuming, inconvenient and stressful.

“But many people remain wary of buying big ticket items online, without seeing them first. Credible new entrants into the market, such as Cazoo, will help to change that.”

Oldham, who expects to see more specialist internet car retailers launch in the next two years, added: “Automotive is a £50bn industry that has been unusually slow to embrace e-Commerce, even as BuyaCar.co.uk has grown to more than 5,000 unit sales a year. The launch of Cazoo can only help to spread the word among car buyers that there is an easier way to buy cars.”