Setting the Price

Setting the right price is the most crucial part of selling your car; set it too low and you'll find yourself out of pocket, set it too high and you'll get very little interest from buyers. However, a little research can help you to find the true market value for your car.

1. Researching the Price

To find out your car's market value, you'll need to have a look around at two things; what the official guide prices are for cars of your type and style, along with what other people are selling at.

Price Guides

Official price guides may be found either incorporated into motoring magazines or as separate books. There are also a number of guide that may be found free of charge online.

It's important to remember that these prices are only a guide; there will be a number of prices given for each model year and registration to cover differing conditions of car. However, there are also many other variables other than the car's condition to take into account (see below), which means an exact book price will be rare.

Classified Advertisements

Have a good look through classified adverts on websites, in magazines and newspapers to get a good idea of the kind of money that other sellers are asking for models similar to yours. This will help you to see what the going rate is for most cars; particularly popular models as there will be so may listed. Adverts are also a good place to look for older cars that may not be listed in standard price guides.

Owners Clubs

If you have an unusual or old car, it could be worth getting in touch with the relevant owners' club to ask them to help you to value it. You may have to join the club or pay a valuation fee, but you should end up with a fairly accurate valuation. Enthusiasts will have a good knowledge of your type of car, and will be able to account for any extras, as well as the overall mileage and condition. However, particularly with classic or unusual cars, the price will also depend on the right buyer being around at the right time.

Trade Ins

Even if you intend selling your car privately, it's worth visiting a local dealer to find out how much money you could get for your car by trading it in. This will give you an absolute rock bottom price at which you should expect to sell - anything above this can be regarded as profit.

However, don't look at the prices you see on the garage forecourt as an indication of what you could receive privately; these include a premium for warranties, guarantees and the legal protection dealerships can offer buyers from buying through them, rather than privately.