[Technology] Car Valuations

[Iggle Piggle]

Afternoon all, after some help.

A mate of mine is emigrating and he is looking to flog his wife's car which ties in nicely with the end of demise of my Mrs car which is at deaths door.

In terms of valuing the car, we are having a spot of bother between us. Obviously, we can work out the fire sale value from sites such as webuyanycar and Motorway but even those have a huge discrepancy between the floor value. I've also looked at Parkers - albeit the free version - and What Car seem to throw up variances between them. Further confusion is added by seemingly really high values in the private market (autotrader, Piston heads etc) which I assume is fuelled by the previous lack of new cars and that this car is relatively rare (It's a 2013 JCW Mini). Depending where you go, there is a variance of around 6K between the upper and lower valuations.

Is there anything which is considered a bible in the industry that anyone on here knows about? From my perspective, I am trying to find a fair value rather than mugging someone off.

 

[Springal]

Not really. Just because a car is on autotrader for a set price, doesn’t mean that’s what it is worth. Does eBay ‘completed listings’ throw up anything ?

Used car prices are generally high at the moment due to supply / demand issues and long lead times on new car manufacturer.

I’d be tempted to get 3 quotes from webuyanycar type sites and use the average

 

[The Grockle]

I think a fair price woukd be thr lower estimate you'd get from a car value website. WBAC and the like woukd offer a lower price due to the convenience of selling and a painless (in theory) payment.

We are selling a car where the difference of private sale and dealer price is about 3.5k.

The dealer price is 22.5- 24k, private 19-21k WBAC offer around 17k. If I was selling to a friend I'd offer 19k

 

[PeterT]

There are some independent mini specialists around, they might be worth asking:

Richard Williams Classic Mini's – Classic Mini's for Sale

www.rwclassicminis.co.uk

Home - Gc Minis

gcminis.co.uk

 

[Iggle Piggle]

Not really. Just because a car is on autotrader for a set price, doesn’t mean that’s what it is worth. Does eBay ‘completed listings’ throw up anything ?

Used car prices are generally high at the moment due to supply / demand issues and long lead times on new car manufacturer.

I’d be tempted to get 3 quotes from webuyanycar type sites and use the average

Ebay was a bit weird. The variance there was huge. My guess is that some were marketed better than others.

 

[beorhthelm]

Parkers price guide used to be the bible for car prices, not sure how much that hold now or how free/subscription it is online. would certainly have a look. for a rare or sports model Mini i'd lean to the prices on Pistonheads as thats the market.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Although Parker’s guide was the lay persons bible, I thought the traders generally used Glass’ guide for pricing.

Not sure if that is still the case but they do have an online service.

You could also maybe see what a mini dealer would offer as a baseline for negotiations.

 

[Triggaaar]

ties in nicely with the end of demise of my Mrs car which is at deaths door.

So you need a new car - but would a JCW be your first choice? It's quite a specialist car.

And I'm not sure 2013 Minis are very reliable

 

[Triggaaar]

I’d be tempted to get 3 quotes from webuyanycar type sites and use the average

The wbac sites make selling a car easy, but the prices are low. If I was selling a car, it wouldn't be with them, I'd rather get more money for it, so I don't think and average of those sites is fair to the seller - they may as well just sell to the highest of those sites.

Somewhere between there and what they recon you'd get on autotrader would be fairer - less money than the seller could get, but a lot less hassle too.

 

[Springal]

The wbac sites make selling a car easy, but the prices are low. If I was selling a car, it wouldn't be with them, I'd rather get more money for it, so I don't think and average of those sites is fair to the seller - they may as well just sell to the highest of those sites.

Somewhere between there and what they recon you'd get on autotrader would be fairer - less money than the seller could get, but a lot less hassle too.

Yes but autotrader is full of speculative sellers trying it on at the moment driving prices up because of demand. I can put my car on there for £50k doesn’t mean it’s worth that.

 

[Triggaaar]

Yes but autotrader is full of speculative sellers trying it on at the moment driving prices up because of demand. I can put my car on there for £50k doesn’t mean it’s worth that.

That's what you could put your car on for, but if you actually enter the details of this car, to create an ad, it will suggested a fair price for it.

 

[StonehamPark]

Can’t help with a specific valuation, but I have had 3x minis including a JCW. Super fun car, but really not worth the premium over a Cooper S in my opinion.
Add in the motor issues from that generation, I wouldn’t recommend mini in general.

Consider saving a few thousand on a Cooper S, or still save whilst getting a more reliable car.

If you’re determined and want that car, I wouldn’t use WBAC at all as a fair estimation as they’ll offer bottom dollar.

Just use AutoTrader, find 3x JCW’s of similar age and mileage(from private sellers), and find the average, for the fairest price.

 

[Triggaaar]

Can’t help with a specific valuation, but I have had 3x minis including a JCW.

Which ones (inc year, doors etc) have you had?

 

[StonehamPark]

Which ones (inc year, doors etc) have you had?

2003 Cooper
2006 Cooper S
2002(?) JCW - I’m not 100% on the year, but it was the factory upgrade kit. Absolute go kart.

All 3 door manual hatchbacks.

 

[golfingseagull]

Two things.....
Tread carefully with a ten year old mini...buyer beware and all that
Valuation...look up "sold" cars on eBay.....shows all the prices

 

[zefarelly]

I think a fair price woukd be thr lower estimate you'd get from a car value website. WBAC and the like woukd offer a lower price due to the convenience of selling and a painless (in theory) payment.

We are selling a car where the difference of private sale and dealer price is about 3.5k.

The dealer price is 22.5- 24k, private 19-21k WBAC offer around 17k. If I was selling to a friend I'd offer 19k

This

I'm looking for a new car, 3-5 years old, prices on autoreader and the like are fairly consistent, but use some private listings for reference. The we buy types are extremely low ball

example, 2010, 96k alfa giullietta, wbac £1k, dealer £2k, I can't find one for sale for less than 4k.

 

[Triggaaar]

Apologies for borrowing the thread:

2003 Cooper
2006 Cooper S
2002(?) JCW - I’m not 100% on the year, but it was the factory upgrade kit. Absolute go kart.

All 3 door manual hatchbacks.

Thanks. I test drove a Cooper a couple of weeks ago, but I'd like a bit more power. I've got a Cooper S test drive booked (both 3 door). If money were no object I'd like the Clubman JCW which I test drove last year (4wd, >300 bhp).

You said to the OP that you'd save money and get an S instead of the JCW, but you describe the JCW as an absolute go kart, so you must feel it's quite different to the S?

 

[banjo]

Afternoon all, after some help.

A mate of mine is emigrating and he is looking to flog his wife's car which ties in nicely with the end of demise of my Mrs car which is at deaths door.

In terms of valuing the car, we are having a spot of bother between us. Obviously, we can work out the fire sale value from sites such as webuyanycar and Motorway but even those have a huge discrepancy between the floor value. I've also looked at Parkers - albeit the free version - and What Car seem to throw up variances between them. Further confusion is added by seemingly really high values in the private market (autotrader, Piston heads etc) which I assume is fuelled by the previous lack of new cars and that this car is relatively rare (It's a 2013 JCW Mini). Depending where you go, there is a variance of around 6K between the upper and lower valuations.

Is there anything which is considered a bible in the industry that anyone on here knows about? From my perspective, I am trying to find a fair value rather than mugging someone off.

The AA??

 

[Iggle Piggle]

So you need a new car - but would a JCW be your first choice? It's quite a specialist car.

And I'm not sure 2013 Minis are very reliable

Bear in mind, this is my wife we are talking about. She wants a black car and it's black. What else is there to think about?

From a personal perspective, I used to drive a Clio sport and it's the best car I've ever had. I like the idea of having a go in it every now and again as a counter to the functional family wagon.

 

[Triggaaar]

Bear in mind, this is my wife we are talking about. She wants a black car and it's black. What else is there to think about?

In that case, a JCW isn't really the most sensible option. It's more expensive than the alternative, it's a fast car, with a firm ride, and relatively poor fuel economy.

Now if you're friend was offering it to you at whatever WBAC offered him, so it was a bargain and you know the history, then it could make sense, but if you both want the exchange at a fair price, then I'd think she's better off getting a 1.5 Cooper. It's not slow, it's quite fun, it's cheaper and more economical. Or the Cooper S if you want it to be a bit more sporty.

From a personal perspective, I used to drive a Clio sport and it's the best car I've ever had. I like the idea of having a go in it every now and again as a counter to the functional family wagon.

The Cooper S could work for you then. Pop to Mini and test drive them all.