used car prices

beattiesman

looking to buy a used car looked at the parker price guide also at aa price guide. the aa price guide seems to give a lot higher value not just a few £ but hundreds of £ any ideas why

harveybobbles

Cos they are a guide. Nothing more. nothing less.

They are out of date the time they are printed as they use last months figures.

aqueoushumour01

didn't realise aa did a price guide - do you have a link?

Garetha

aqueoushumour01 wrote: »

didn't realise aa did a price guide - do you have a link?

Try this: http://www.theaa.com/cbg/ManufacturerAction.do?SEARCH_CTGY=FOURTH_SEARCH&journey=fullValuation

harveybobbles

You can use a thousand guides, but non reflect reality.

DealDrivers_company_representative

Guides were produced in an effort to provide some sort of expected benchmark for used values based on condition and mileage and ownership history. They enable the market to measure prices as under or over Glasses/Cap etc

Like all newsagent shelf mag's, guides are printed and copy prepapred some time before they hit the shelves...i.e motoring mag's out now dated as the September issue on the cover, were on the shelves in early August and copy/pricing compiled for the printing would have been done in early July approx'...so as other posters have said...they are a guide of what was 'current' around 2mths previously and as you've seen the pricing varies wildly as all are based on that magazine owner's team of writers' own knowledge.

Like any second hand item, a used car is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it...and how many people are expressing demand for and engine/model. Use guides as a very loose idea of what might be achieved in a perfect world and set yourself a strict budget of an amount you are comfortable spending...always remembering a used car may need money spent on it in the first few months so keep your spend figure slightly lower to ensure you have some leeway if you need it once the car is in your possession.

A more accurate way to guage what prices are being commanded is to spend a couple of days watching an auction and benchmark prices for the type of car you want against what you see happen there...as that is the price the market is currently paying.

Hope that helps!

BenL

There is also a valuation system on the Vauxhall website

http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vaux/pages/finance/valueYourCar/index.jsp

aqueoushumour01

BenL wrote: »

There is also a valuation system on the Vauxhall website

http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vaux/pages/finance/valueYourCar/index.jsp

useful if you're trading in the car as this gives the part ex glass value