Car value 2 February at 11:15AM in Deaths, funerals & probate 24 replies 1.2K views

Jo101

Father owned a 2008 car.  It has been SORN for 5 years.  Mileage is very low.  During his lifetime servicing was sporadic, at best.  Central locking hasn't worked for years.  Have tried several times to start the car but does not start, possibly battery?  Car looks nice.  How do I value it?

baser999

Tried Autotrader or similar, who I believe give various values for differing vehicle conditions. Then take account of what it might cost to fix and adjust value accordingly.
Am assuming it’s a normal car, rather than a classic? 

Would there be an owners forum you could refer to?
Non-start and locking are indicative of main battery and or battery in key fob

Jo101

Thanks for your reply baser999. It's a Ford.  I looked on eBayUK and the prices vary so much.  Will try Autotrader and will also try an owners forum.  I know father had tried several times over the years to replace battery in key fob but it still didn't work.  Even though my father had long stopped driving it, it was still his pride and joy and he would never have sold it in his lifetime.  

baser999

As regards owners forums, you’ll likely find one specific to the car and model, rather than just Ford

Jo101

Ah, okay, thanks.

poppystar

For a very realistic valuation I’d contact Motorway or similar - they were the closest to what I actually got as they took into account the lack of MOT, SORN etc. unless you’re planning lots of work to get it on the road then finding a value for the current state is best. I was dealing with a car that looked good but didn’t start and with an MOT that ran out very soon. What are you intending to do with the car? 

Jo101

poppystar I don't plan to do any work to it.  It's not a car I want to drive.  Motorway sound interesting, will have a look.  Thanks.

tightauldgit

Hard to value it when it's not starting and been unused for years - probably start with the scrap value as a base point?

I'd see if you can get a new battery in it and see if it starts. If it does then take it for an MOT. At that point you can probably get at least an idea of value and what work if any might need to be done to get it roadworthy.

Those online valuation things are not going to be much use for a non-starting non-running car with unknown faults. If you really just want rid of it then you can put the reg into an online scrap value comparison site and you'll get some offers. 

poppystar

Jo101 said:

poppystar I don't plan to do any work to it.  It's not a car I want to drive.  Motorway sound interesting, will have a look.  Thanks.

I ended up giving the car to charity - charity gained, no cost to me and no hassle either, they just collected. I feel bad I didn’t get an MOT sorted, new battery etc as the car was loved but at the end of the day I found the car was far more hassle than the house and I didn’t want to get into doing any possible expensive MOT repairs. 

Tucosalamanca

The vehicle has no MOT, does not start and has been standing for a period of time.
I would be inclined to value it as scrap, so possibly £300-£500. I can't imagine probate having an issue with this.

Keep_pedalling

Tucosalamanca said:

The vehicle has no MOT, does not start and has been standing for a period of time.
I would be inclined to value it as scrap, so possibly £300-£500. I can't imagine probate having an issue with this.

To scrap a car you often need to pay someone to take it away. When valuing chattels it is quite OK to bundle it all in with a nominal sums unless you have some high value items.