Car manufacturers and the iPhone generation

599 More

Earning the right to be successful

581 More

Knowledge is power

676 More

Selling cars – it’s all about timing

959 More

Truemag

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Valuing trade-ins by the book, but which book?


The motor trade use a variety of methods to arrive at car valuations, two of them being The Glasses Guide and Cap’s Black Book. Although, as any car dealer will say, they are only a guide to a cars value, they are both integral parts of the everyday workings of the car business. Today however the guides have seemingly parted company with each other in terms of agreement on the values of many cars. In the last few months events have taken everybody by surprise but in reality what we have seen has been more of a correction from the freefall in values which occurred in the last few months of 2008. Glasses’ has been more reluctant to chase the market whilst Cap has now, according to many commentators, gone too far the other way.
The auctions and many re-marketing and leasing companies traditionally value their stock by “Cap average” which is more mileage and condition specific, whereas many franchised and independent dealers value by way of Glasses’. The interesting and slightly confusing thing, however, is the dealers valuing wholesale and customer part-exchanges are unsure whether the massive profit gains they have achieved at auction on their non-retailable trade-ins will continue at current levels.

Usually if a Ford garage is presented with a Vauxhall part-exchange they would ask a franchised dealer to underwrite the value of that car in order to complete the sale. In the past they may have said ‘’it books at x what would you give for it?” Now though more dealers, when obtaining intercompany values, are likely to say ‘it Caps at x’’ knowing that in some cases it could be valued at £2,000 more than Glasses’.

Until the business settles down used car values will be very subjective and could vary hugely from dealer to dealer, and from a customer’s point of view when searching on-line for a used car, do not be surprised to see a potentially large swing in asking prices between seemingly similar age, mileage and specified cars.

It may also be rather advantageous to ask your dealer how they intend to value your current car because if it is Glasses guide it could be worth much less than if it’s Cap!

Many dealers have decided to take the two and split the difference.

Apr 30, 2009In51der
  • Trade guides are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to valuing cars
  • Motor Trade Insider reporting from the front-line
  • Do dealers need to rethink the way they value trade-ins?
  • Maximizing trade-in values in a bullish used car market
  • Trade guides move up but the picture’s still confusing
  • Motor trade recession – everyone’s a haggler
  • LDV Vans apply for administrationChrysler on the brink
    In51der

    Motor Trade Insider - Bridging the gap between the customer and the Motor Trade

    13 years ago Blog, Consumerbook prices for used cars, car buying book price, car trade ins, car values, glasses used car book prices, motor trade black book, motor trade ins, motor trade prices book, motor trade recession, parkers book for valuing cars, part-exchange, profit, Used car, used car book price, used car book prices, Used car buying, used car price guide book, used cars533
    Most viewed
    Top 100 UK Dealer Groups
    39,483 views
    The car sales process and the “9 point plan”
    11,504 views
    webuyanycar review – They will buy any car but beware of the asterisk
    6,014 views
    Most commented
    Car sales and the power of silence…
    25 Comments
    Car dealers still not prepared to play the “we buy any car” game
    23 Comments
    A Traders Tale – Part Four
    22 Comments
    Win a pre-loaded Ipod Shuffle!
    19 Comments
    Bargain of the Week – StreetKa 1.6i Luxury
    14 Comments
    Bridal Hair Berkshire
    Fox Body to 2018 Mustang Parts
    and Accessories
    About MTI

    Motor Trade Insider
    is written by people working actively in the motor trade for people on the inside and people on the outside.

    Our aims
    Build a bridge between consumers and the trade, create Interesting and informative content, break down barriers and create better understanding, expose bad practices and rip-offs and promote outstanding products and service.
    Have something to say?
    We are always looking for experienced writers who can write good original quality posts on motor-trade-insider.com. Please contact us if you would like us to consider you. Make sure you give us details of your own blog or a link to some articles you have written.
    2017 © Motor Trade Insider
    Truemag theme by StrictThemes