Getting a car valuation is imperative if you’re thinking of trading in your old car for a new one. Verifying your car’s worth from an independent expert assures you that you’re not being ripped off, ultimately meaning you can spend less on your next car. Or, enabling you to get a better car for your money.
How to value your car
It’s easy. You can see what your car is worth in seconds with a free car valuation. A number of different websites offer this service. Some charge you (more on that below) for knowing extras such as the value with all of the added options on it. These options can affect prices by up to 30%, so a paid and bespoke valuation can be worth it if your car is especially packed with a kit or mega-low mileage.
You essentially type in your car’s make and model into the evaluator’s search bar. Some valuation services even just ask you to paw in your number plate. Once that’s done, usually, a few follow-up questions are asked, such as how many miles your car has on it and what kind of condition it is in.
Once you’ve done that it’ll pop up with a valuation. It really is that simple. Some valuations will offer you a few different choices. For instance, how much your car is worth on the private market and how much a car dealer would sell it for.
How does it work?
It depends on which valuation service you use. But most use an industry-trusted pricing data company. Their team of independent experts travels the length and breadth of the UK, hoovering up pricing data to try and gauge the real-life sale prices of thousands and thousands of cars. Most services monitor more than 1 million car sales every year.
Used pricing is updated every month to give you the most accurate possible price.
What if my car is old?
Typical data sets go back approximately 20 years. So as long as your car is below 20 years old you shouldn’t have a problem.
If you own a classic car, for the sake of argument, anything more than 20 years old, you have a few options. One would be to use a specialist classic car valuation service. Another would be to use a classic car magazine as they often have valuations in the back. And the third, and most thorough option, would be getting in contact with a specialist owners’ club. Their experts will be available to give you an extraordinarily detailed valuation. They will also offer a marketplace to sell the car.
Paid valuations
Most free valuations will give you one or two price ranges. Paid valuations have many more questions and are broadly much more accurate. They usually take into account mileage, optional extras, import/export cars, written-off cars and other specialised outcomes.
What if my car is damaged?
Generally, cars with minor damage, e.g., kerbed wheels, and panel gaps, will fall somewhere into the ‘poor condition’ category. However, if your car is a category S (structural damage) or Category N (non-structural damage) then there are so many other variables, it may be hard to assess.
