1. Mechanical Condition
Giving the car a test drive is the easiest way to gauge the mechanical condition. Some factors are easier than others when conducting a test drive eg does the vehicle pull to one side, are there any knocking noises when driving over bumps, how’s the braking? By finding these conditions, the value of the car will be lessened by the price of the replacement part plus the labour cost.
2. Exterior Condition
The saleability and value of the car will obviously depend on the condition of the exterior. When approaching a car, the first observation will be that of the exterior. Scuffed wheels, for example, have an average restoration price of £60/wheel, possibly including both wheels to be painted on the same, other factors would be paintwork, scratches, rust, bumps and dents. Sometimes what looks like a mere scratch can turn out to require the whole door being replaced rather than the touching up you thought it owuld, with the average price of a door/panel starting from £100. Then we have trims and badges that can start from £100. Visit car valuation site for a better look.
3. Interior Condition
We see a lot of vehicles with a vast mixture of interior condition, some notable conditions are; a scratched dashboard (this has to be factored into the sale price as it can’t be repaired), hard to replair floor and/or seat fabrics (reupholstering price typically starts at £75 a section). If the car seats need a shampooing from dog smells, a professional interior valet job could cost upwards of £50 easily.
4. Mileage
There is an obvious correlation between the higher the mileage the lower the retail value of the vehicle.
5. Previous Owners
The resale price of the vehicle is affected by the number of previous owners- the desirability of the vehicle is lower the higher number of previous owners. Lowering the price of the car is the usual method of combating this.
6. Service History
If the amount of previous owners is high, service history may be a deciding factor; vehicle desirability is lessened with little to no service history. However, one should consider that if a vehicle has been serviced 5 times, it may just be the result of 5 previous owners each servicing it when bought, making this a potentially misleading figure.
7. MOT
{A vehicle with a short MOT will highly affect the ability of a vehicle to be sold and the value|The value and saleability of a vehicle will be highly affected by a short MOT|the ability of a vehicle to be sold at its full value will be high affected if it only has a short MOT). First, we must take in to consideration the price of a test. Starting from £50, anything from brake pads, discs on any of the 4 tyres for example is an unknown risk of what could fail and quickly spiral upwards of £300. To help sell your car and avoid suspicions we suggest sorting out the MOT so that the buyer knows the value for money they’re getting.
8. Specification
When considering a vehicle purchase there are different varieties of model; a vehicle with greater specs will hold its value for longer and will be greater as a long term investment.
9. Saleability
The Saleability of a vehicle is the ability for it to be easily sold. Factors can include engine size, fuel consumption, fuel type, engine transmission type (automatic or manual), if a vehicle can enter Ultra Low Emission Zone or a certain tax bracket and insurance group. These may be important factors to consider for some but not others, meaning the vehicle could be hard to sell unless it was offered for the right price.
10. Vehicle Colour
A vehicle’s colour can affect the vehicle re-sale price in a major way, Certain coloured cars have much less of an appeal to the general public.
Conclusion
To understand how much your car is worth, a full vehicle appraisal will have to be undertaken. This may seem daunting but to a dealer, this is an everyday scenario, from an appraisal a true value of you car can be given. Click on over to this sell my car link if you are looking for an estimation. For greater clarity, we offer 3 different valuations pertaining to the various factors described above, and how they should be taken into consideration in affecting the price.
