Helpful Hints - Car Valuation Online

There are numerous providers of valuation guides in the marketplace both on and offline – which we link to above. These guides are compiled from market data on car sales from a variety of sources and analysed by market professionals to give a snapshot of what a used car is worth. Market trends and good old fashioned “gut feel” is also applied to ensure that prices are as accurate as possible. There are paid for valuation services from both Glass’s and Parkers (powered by CAP), the biggest names in the industry who supply the vast majority of traders and dealerships with information. These will be the most accurate and up to date as they are subject to more regular revision. The free car valuations are essentially online versions of the newsagent publications but much easier to use.

You must familiarise yourself with the jargon and structure of car valuation guides to use them properly. The advertised price of a used car is seldom that which it is worth and in 99.9% of cases will be higher than that suggested in a car price guide!

• Know the make, model, year of registration
• Ascertain the mileage (to the nearest thousand) – in a published guide from the newsagent you will find mileage tables that help you adjust the paper valuation accordingly, however in an online car price guide this is done automatically
• Know who the seller is – are they trade or privat
• Know who the buyer is – are you trading you car in or selling privately?

KNOWING A REALISTIC PRICE FOR YOUR CAR WILL HELP YOU BUY OR SELL FOR THE BEST PRICE.

Dealers will always sell for a higher price than a private seller, as they have the overheads of a dealership to maintain as well as having a legal obligation to provide after-sales support that a private sale does not carry.

What a Car Valuation gives you.

A Valuation will give you 6 prices (mileage adjusted if online)

• Retail: (what you should pay on a dealer forecourt)
• Private - Good: (a well presented private sale with minimal wear and tear)
• Private - Average: (a clean car with some wear and tear)
• Private - Poor: (a poorly presented car with visible wear and tear)
• Part-Exchange: (what the dealer offset against another car you wish to buy)
• Trade: (what a dealer would expect to pay for a car at auction for re-sale)

Understanding where a car sits alongside these prices will give you an indication of a fair price for buying and selling a used car.