Know Your Car Valuation

Jun 2021

When deciding to sell or even trade in your car for a newer model, it’s important for you to know what your car valuation is. Your car valuation can be influenced for better or worse by many factors.
A car valuation is important, as it gives you a price for your car which is in line with up-to-date market data. This is helpful when you want to attract potential buyers to sell your car faster. When you are buying a car, you will know its real worth, which is vital during the negotiation process and may even help you get a better price.
Car valuations can be done online on various websites. You only need the vehicle’s VIN number, the registration year and the car’s mileage (km). Some websites may also require the following information:

• The make and model of the car
• The fuel type of the car
• Transmission of the car
• The body shape of the car

Certain factors may negatively affect your car valuation:

• Multiple previous owners
• Major wear and tear
• Non-functioning features
• Gaps in service history
• Missing spare keys
• Worn tyres and/or no spare tyre
• A police record on the car

While there are various factors which can negatively impact your car valuation, there are also factors which can increase its valuation:

• Few previous owners
• Lower mileage on the car than the market average
• Popular and professional factory-fitted features and vehicle trimmings
• A complete service history
• Certain coloured cars are more in demand than other colours
• Good to excellent condition of the car with no major damage or broken parts

When thinking of selling your car, one of the important factors you need to consider is how to get the best possible price out of the deal. Wondering what to do to up your car valuation? Here are a few tips:

• Make sure you clean the car, preferably by a professional cleaning company that can clean the car on the inside and outside.
• Ensure that all parts of the car are working properly.
• If there are parts of the car that are broken or need to be fixed, take the car to a professional to repair it.
• Ensure that the car’s service history is up-to-date and that you can show all the documents to prove it.
• Make sure that the car’s paperwork is in order, and that, should you sell the car, the handover of these documents occurs smoothly and without a hitch.

Wondering why a car valuation is important?
We have four reasons to convince you to get that car valuation today!

• Getting the best deal for YOU: When you know the value of your car, you are able to negotiate the best price for yourself.
• Protection against shady practices: Private buyers and dealerships always try to buy at the lowest prices, which means that you may get far less than your car’s actual worth. Knowing the worth of the car you are selling helps you to see through these shady practices.
• Getting the best deal in an exchange offer: If you decide to trade in your car for a newer model, knowing the car’s valuation may lessen the deposit amount on the new car. Also do your research before settling on a dealership. Always try to find the best price according to the car’s valuation.
• Confidence during negotiations: Knowing its value gives you the confidence to negotiate the best price for the car you are selling. Speaking with confidence, and having the service history report and the inspection certification ready will help you to negotiate the best price.