1. Mechanical Condition
You can most simply gauge the mechanical condition by taking it on a test drive. During a test drive there are many factors to check with some easier than others eg are there scraping noises going over bumps, is there an obvious tug to one side, any problems with the braking? By spotting the potential replacement and labour costs involved with detecting such problems early you can factor that into the price.
2. Exterior Condition
The value and saleability will depend a lot on the condition of the exterior, first impressions are crucial. The first observation of a car will be that of the exterior. This could include scuffed wheels (with an average price of £60 per wheel for restoration, with a suggestion of both wheel on the same side to be painted), other factors include scratches, dents, rust, bumps and scraped paintwork. 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. The same goes for trims and badges which can also start from £100. Visit car buyers site for a better overview.
3. Interior Condition
There is quite the mixture of interior conditions on the many vehicles we see, some notable conditions are; a scratched dash (which will be reflected in the sale price as it can’t be repaired), torn floor fabrics which are hard to repair, torn seat (with a reupholstered price starting 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 desirability of the vehicle will descrease as the number of previous owners goes up which will affect the resale price of the vehicle. Being more realistic with a lower vehicle price is the simplest way to deal with this issue.
6. Service History
When considering a high number of previous owners, service history can become a deciding factor; with little to no service history the vehicle desirability is lessened. 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). Firstly, we need to look at the actual cost of the MOT 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. For this reason we recommend sorting out the MOT first so that the buyer knows they are getting the best value for money.
8. Specification
When buying a vehicle there are different model variants; a vehicle with greater specs will hold its value for longer and will be greater as a long term investment.
9. Saleability
The ability of a vehicle to be sold is called its saleability. Factors can include fuel type and consumption, engine transmission type (manual v automatic) and size, insurance group, tax bracket, whether a vehicle can enter Ultra Low Emission Zone. Although these factors may tick all boxes for one it may not for others, meaning it could be tough sell for a certain price without one or more of these factors.
10. Vehicle Colour
Another major way a vehicle’s resale price can be affected is it’s colour, non-neutral coloured cars can be a real turn off for some people really affecting its saleability.
Conclusion
in order to understand your car’s worth, you need to undertake a full vehicle appraisal. 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 buy my car link if you would like an estimation. For greater clarity, we offer 3 different valuations pertaining to the various factors described above, and how they shoud be taken into consideration in affecting the price.
