From a life-size silicone baby doll, to pet ashes carefully stored in an urn and even £50 in loose pennies found in a vehicle sold further afield, new data has revealed the strange, sentimental and sometimes downright baffling items motorists across South London and the UK are leaving behind when selling their cars.
The UK’s go-to online car buying service, webuyanycar, analysed responses from branch teams across the UK over the past year, uncovering a revealing snapshot of everyday life left on back seats, tucked into boots and forgotten in gloveboxes.
While everyday essentials such as cables and chargers topped the list, found in almost a quarter of vehicles sold in the region (24%), it was the more unusual and deeply personal discoveries that really caught branch teams off guard.
Among the most memorable finds was a very realistic, life-size silicone baby doll at a Sunderland branch, which one team member admitted briefly looked like a real baby at first glance. Elsewhere, staff recalled discovering pet ashes still stored in an urn after the customer had already driven away.
Other forgotten belongings ranged from heartfelt to head-scratching. These included a marriage pendant engraved with a wedding date, later reunited with its owner, a wedding ring, a saucy Valentine’s card, and even a collection of Dolly Parton CDs complete with cowboy boots, which the seller later returned to collect.
The data also highlights just how often drivers across South London and the UK forget everyday items they might assume are safely back at home. Around one in five vehicles (22%) still contained CDs or cassettes and spare change, while one in five (20%) were sold with shopping bags or dashcams left inside. Meanwhile, 18% of vehicles still contained keys not related to the car.
More personal belongings were also frequently forgotten, with around one in 11 cars (9%) sold with a child’s car seat still fitted. Wallets or purses were left behind in around one in 17 vehicles (6%), while 5% of cars still contained a mobile phone.
Richard Evans, Head of Technical Services at webuyanycar, said:
“Cars quickly become part of everyday life, so it is no surprise they end up holding everything from shopping bags to sentimental keepsakes. What does catch us out is just how often people forget items that are valuable, personal or completely unexpected.
“From pet ashes and jewellery to items that stop our teams in their tracks, it really shows how easy it is to overlook what is still inside your car. Our advice is simple, before you walk away, check the boot, door pockets and glovebox.”
Although many customers are reunited with their belongings, with branches located just 11 minutes away from anywhere in the UK on average, some forgotten items are never collected.
The most forgotten items left in cars sold last year
• Cables and chargers (24%)
• CDs or cassettes (22%)
• Spare change (22%)
• Shopping bags (20%)
• Dashcams (20%)
• Keys not related to the car (18%)
• Child car seats (9%)
• Wallets or purses (6%)
• Mobile phones (5%)
The most unusual items left in cars sold over the past two years
A very realistic life size silicone baby doll (Sunderland)
Pet ashes in an urn (Bradford)
A marriage pendant engraved with a wedding date (Bearsden)
Wedding rings (Great Yarmouth)
Halloween decorations (Peterhead)
A full set of alloy wheels (Cambridge)
Potted plants (Streatham)
An Arsenal match programme and a can of KA Pineapple (Streatham)
Dolly Parton CDs and cowboy boots (Streatham)
A child’s fidget toy found under the bonnet (Stevenston)
£50 in pennies (Haverfordwest)
From weddings and new babies to major life changes, there are plenty of reasons to sell a car. Whatever the reason, taking a few extra minutes to check every compartment could help avoid any unexpected surprises.
webuyanycar has 20 branches across South London,