When it comes time to sell your car there is usually only one question that the seller will need to ask themselves – what is my car worth? It is no secret that cars depreciate over time. In fact, the AA state that the average car loses about 20% of its value for every year after it was first made. This means that the vehicle will be worth approximately 40% of its initial value when it is only three years old.
With that in mind, it is important to be fully aware of just how much your car is worth when it comes time to sell, especially if you want to put the money towards another vehicle. Here are three ways that you can find out.
Using an Online Calculator
If you are simply considering selling your car but have yet to make a final decision, or if you are simply curious about its worth, it may be worth looking at an online calculator.
There are a number of calculators that will be able to provide you with a baseline value to work from. While the actual price you eventually get will depend on a number of factors, correctly valuing the vehicle will make it more attractive to buyers and will increase the possibility of a quick sale.
Bear in mind that you will need to work out the valuation as close to the sale time as possible to be completely accurate, else you may end up overvaluing and putting people off.
Speak to an Online Buyer
There are a number of companies, such this one, who are more than happy to purchase practically any car, regardless of age and condition.
In the majority of cases all the company will need from you is information about the make and model of the car, in addition to the year it was built. All of this should be fairly easy to find in your vehicle’s manual. As long as the information provided is correct, such companies will be able to give you a price very quickly and can make an offer immediately based on their findings.
Furthermore, selling a car online brings with it a host of advantages. According to the DMV, in most cases the process will be much quicker and far less expensive than if you were to take out adverts or hunt for buyers elsewhere.
The Kelley Blue Book
If you want to avoid the hassle of trying different websites to get an approximate valuation, you could instead try the Kelley Blue Book.
The company, which is now owned by Autotrader, is recognized as providing one of the most trustworthy and reliable ways to value a vehicle. In fact, the company has been named as the Online Auto Shopping Brand of the Year by the Harris Poll EquiTrend® Study for three years running as of 2014.
As long as you are completely honest in answering the questions asked of you when using their website, you should be able to easily answer that ever-elusive question of “what is my car worth?” This, in turn, gives you more control over the direction of any future negotiations.
