Ever wondered how car-buying companies such as Best Car Buyer arrive at providing a specific valuation on your vehicle?
Well - almost without exception - respected car buyers across the country are heavily influenced by data from the trusted source of both Glass’s Guide or CAP widely recognised as the two industry-standard 'Bibles’.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no ‘dark art’ at play here. Both of these companies have been woven into the fabric of the UK motor industry for decades and their valuation data is based on careful analysis of a dizzying array of market activity ascertained from a variety of industry sources, ranging from auction houses to the retail and fleet sectors.
Since going ‘digital’, both Glass’s and CAP now update their figures daily to reflect price fluctuations in depreciation, with the previous month’s market activity, presiding economic factors and short-term market sentiment all influencing factors.
But car valuing isn’t an 'exact science', evidenced by the fact that Glass’s and Cap can, and regularly do, disagree on what a particular vehicle is worth and, of course, there are many other external factors at play.
Of course, brand, model and year of production will always dictate the broad price range your vehicle will achieve, whilst all sellers are aware that a lower mileage on any car will increase its desirability and help bump up its price. But after that, what else?
Condition
The general condition of a car is another fairly obvious factor. This includes how much 'wear and tear’ a car has, not to mention any actual damage. It should be noted that, whilst a small door scratch or as cuffed alloy may not impact the price too much of an ageing hatchback, it can markedly reduce the price on an expensive prestige vehicle.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s more cost-savvy to replace things like broken headlights than run the risk of seeing the vehicle heavily marked down in price. Also never underestimate the presentation of your vehicle - a perfectly clean and polished car always helps.
Colour
There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to colours but, as a general rule of thumb, car-buying companies would always give more for enduring popular metallic such as black, silver and grey. Some colours come and go in popularity - white being a prime example right now - whilstdiffering shades of blue are usually well received too.
Certain colours can be verydesirable on certain models (think red on a sports car) but less well-received on the whole. Good luck trying to receive a 'top book’ price on a green, yellow or brown vehicle.
Modifications
Don’t assume expensive modifications automatically bump up the price of a vehicle - they don't. Most car-buying companies generally prefer unmodified vehicles, with things like over-bearing alloy-wheels and bad DIY jobs on stereos particularly off-putting. Some extras like leather seating and sat-nav can increase value but only negligibly.
Service history
Without a documented service history, there is always the suspicion that a car hasn’t been maintained properly, thus car-buying companies will always be more cautious in their price offer.
As a car gets older and its value drops, service history is less important but even a vehicle with partial service history will always fetch more than an equivalent car with nothing at all.