How to value your car
If you’re looking to sell your car then one of the first things you need to know is how much it’s actually worth on the used car market. One of the simplest ways of finding a value for your car is to simply search the classifieds for a car that’s the same make, model and year with a similar mileage and condition to your own. When noting the price it’s important to note that advertisers will often price their car slightly higher than it’s actually worth. This is usually so that they’re able to accept an offer that’s near to the price that they actually want for the car.
Another option you have is to visit a car dealership and ask them to appraise and value your car. However, more often than not a dealer will give you a really low-ball offer as they need to consider their profit margin when looking to sell the car on themselves. It’s also vitally important that you do not use a dealer’s forecourt price to set the asking price of your car - if you are selling it privately. This is because a dealer knows that consumers are prepared to pay slightly more for their cars as they’re able to provide monthly finance deals and warranties. People that buy from a dealer also feel that there is more legal protection should anything go wrong so they’re also prepared to pay that little bit extra.
There are a couple of industry professional car evaluators available with the most popular ones being CAP and Glass’s guide. They will allow you to enter your vehicle details and then provide you with a rough estimation. Although you may have to pay for these services it may be well worth the expenditure if you can’t find a suitable valuation via your own research.
At the end of the day something is only worth what people are willing to pay for it and with cars this is no exception. Therefore, there’s nothing to lose by advertising it at a price that is a little over the market valuation. You can always decrease your asking price if no one is biting!
Value your car today by finding out what other people are selling similar cars for by searching and taking a look at the cars for sale on DesperateSeller.co.uk.