How much is your car worth?
Whether you're looking for a trade-in or are just keen to sell your existing car for cash, it's vital to know how much your car is worth...
One of the most significant things to get right when selling your car is knowing how much it’ll fetch. It’ll likely sell much quicker if you underprice it, but you’ll lose money. However, if you overprice your car, buyers will simply ignore it.
It’s important that you know the real market value of your car before you sell it, but various factors can also affect how much you’ll get from its next owner. In this guide, we’ll share a few tips that can help you find out what your car is really worth.
Use a valuation tool:
Many companies offer valuation tools that let you enter your car’s registration number to see the typical value of the model. What Car?’s Free Car Valuation tool is particularly helpful, because we analyse the car's age, mileage and condition to give you an instant appraisal of its worth.
Using it is easy, too. Simply enter your car's registration number and we'll automatically identify the car. For an even more accurate valuation you can use intuitive slider bars to enter the mileage and condition. Next, all you have to do is click the 'Get Valuation' button.
Our free car valuation tool shows you:
- The dealer value – the amount you should expect to pay if you were buying the car with no part-exchange.
- The private value – the price you can expect to receive from, or pay to, a private buyer or seller.
- The part-exchange value – the value you should aim for when trading in your car for a different vehicle at a franchised or reputable independent dealership.
- The trade price – the amount a private buyer should expect to get when selling their car directly to a trader or dealership in a cash deal, with no part-exchange. This is a car's lowest value.
Check the classifieds:
It’s also worth checking out what other people are asking for similar cars to yours because seasonal fluctuations can influence prices. A glut of Mazda MX-5s on sale in the summer will depress values. Selling in springtime can reduce that effect. In contrast, demand for SUVs can soar in winter, so you could be better off waiting until then to sell yours.
Special or limited editions are tempting, but in practice their second-hand value usually isn't that much greater than the model they’re based on. Newer cars that are in short supply are another matter. These 'flavour-of-the-month' cars appeal to people who want to jump the waiting list, and sellers can sometimes command premiums higher than the new list price.
Finally, when judging how much your car is worth based on other examples for sale, it’s vital that you’re honest about the condition it’s in. It's far better to err on the side of caution.
Most buyers appreciate honesty and will be more inclined to go for your car if they think they're getting a bargain. Similarly, most buyers will walk away from a car that’s been talked up as soon as they see it.
How to increase your car’s value:
If you’re unhappy with how much your car is worth, there are ways in which you can boost its value. You’ll hardly be able to double a car’s asking price with a few small changes; however, there are a number of ways to make it more desirable to potential buyers.
These include:
- Give the interior a deep clean – whether you do this yourself or pay a detailing company, a thorough clean with a specialist interior cleaner can help to freshen up your car.
- Organise your service history – knowing how a car has been treated over the years is vital for many buyers. By making sure your car’s service history is straight, you can prove that you’ve carried out services on time and fixed any faults correctly. Many garages keep records of previous work they’ve conducted, so if you have any gaps to fill, try contacting them.
- Make sure maintenance is up to date – a fresh service, a new set of tyres and a 12-month MOT can all help to give potential buyers peace of mind that there’s less to go wrong with your car.
- Repair minor damage – small cosmetic issues can hamper a car’s value, but are often easily rectified. Specialist scratch removers and touch-up paint pens can effectively reduce or remove unsightly blemishes.
- Avoid modifications – despite some drivers spending thousands of pounds to give their car a personalised look, many cosmetic and performance modifications can actually worsen the value of your car, since they can increase the cost of insurance and may not be to everyone’s taste.
