Your house aside, a car is usually your biggest financial commitment. Even if you buy a car for £1,000, you’ve got to pay tax, fuel, insurance, and upkeep costs. Every car is worth something, so whether you’ve got a rusty old banger or a pristine sports car, finding out what it is worth on the market is important. Maybe you’re just curious to know what your car is worth, or maybe you’re planning on putting it up for sale or trading it in. Either way, once you know what your car is worth you can put it up for sale at a competitive price or know if a trader is offering you a good deal on a trade in.
How do I find out what my car is worth?
Well you don’t have to go far, enter your reg into our free valuation tool and let us do the rest. We’ll give you a value based on what the situation with the market is. Traders will always tell you that a car is worth whatever somebody is willing to pay for it and they’re correct to a point, but you should never part with your car for less than market value unless you are particularly desperate to see the back of it.
What are the different prices that I have been given mean?
We’ll give you a few different prices for the same car, but this is why:
- Trade-in price: Also known as the ‘book price’. This is how much the car is worth as a commodity. It’s not the price you’d ever buy a car for, but it is the price a trader would give you before that trader then went on to sell it at the…
- Sell Online Price: There are loads of companies out there who are keen to take your car off your hands and will do it with just a quick look around. This price is what an online car-buying service will give you, providing your honest with them about the condition and so on. What you’re paying for here is convenience and speed, as it often won’t be the best financial offer
- Private sale price: This will be the most interesting price for you if you’re planning on selling your car privately. Our valuation tool will give an upper and lower estimate for your car which reflects on what sort of condition it’s in. If you’re planning on selling privately, you’ll need to gauge the condition yourself. Yes, you may get more from a private sale, but the average car can take 7 weeks to sell privately.
On top of that, we’ll also create a valuation graph for your car so you can track it. Unless you’re one of the lucky ones, it’s likely your car will depreciate over time. A general rule of thumb is your car will half in price every 3 years up to a certain age where it will even off.
It’s important to also do a little market research if you’re planning on selling. See what other people are selling cars for (of the same make and model) in our used car section, which will indicate the cars that are priced well and those that are priced poorly.