Car values
What is my car actually worth?
Three different numbers, and they can be thousands apart. Here is what each one means, and which gap is worth money to you.
See the gap on your car
Tell us your car. We will show what a dealer pays, what it is really worth, and what you pocket.
Enter it and the figures below are worked from your car's actual offer instead of an average.
You pocket an extra
on top of the trade-in price, for no extra work
Indicative only. A guide to the size of the gap, not a valuation, appraisal or offer. Your actual figures depend on your specific vehicle, its history and the market at the time. We give you a real assessment, free, before you commit to anything.
Your car does not have one value, it has three. The trade-in price is what a dealer will pay you today. The private sale price is what someone who wants to drive it will pay. The dealer retail price is the windscreen figure on a lot, which includes reconditioning and a warranty you cannot offer privately. The gap between trade-in and private sale is the money at stake in how you choose to sell.
The three values, and why they differ
1. Trade-in value (wholesale)
The lowest of the three, and the easiest to get. A dealer buying your car has to recondition it, cover any statutory warranty obligation, photograph and advertise it, carry it on floor plan finance while it sits, and pay a salesperson. Their offer is set to leave room for all of that plus profit, and to survive the possibility that the car takes four months to sell rather than three weeks.
2. Private sale value
What a buyer who intends to drive the car will pay. They have none of the dealer's costs, so they can pay closer to what the car is genuinely worth. This is the realistic ceiling for you as a seller, and it is usually thousands above the trade figure on a vehicle worth $20,000 or more.
3. Dealer retail value
The price on the windscreen. Do not benchmark against this. It includes reconditioning already done, a statutory warranty the dealer is legally providing, and their margin, and even then, the car often sells for less than the sticker after negotiation.
How to find your real number
Online valuations are a starting point, not an answer. They cannot see your service history, damage history, specification or condition, which are precisely the things that move the price. The reliable method is simple:
- Get a written, standalone offer to buy your car, not a trade figure bundled into a new car deal, which is frequently inflated and recovered from the discount on the car you are buying.
- Get two or three, including one buyer who is not also trying to sell you something.
- Compare them against what genuinely comparable cars are actually selling for privately, being strict about year, kilometres, specification and condition.
How to ask for a standalone offer · How to tell whether an offer is fair · How to spot an inflated trade figure
What to do with the gap
Once you know your trade figure and roughly what the car is worth privately, you have a decision rather than a guess. You can accept the convenience and take the trade. You can do the work yourself and chase the private price. Or you can have someone run the retail sale for you against your offer as a protected floor, and split what they achieve above it 50/50.
That third option is what TradeBeat does. If we cannot beat your number, there is no fee and you keep your car. See how it works, or compare all three routes side by side.
Car values: common questions
How much is my car worth?
Your car does not have one value, it has three, and they can differ by thousands.
- Trade-in (wholesale), what a dealer will hand you today. The lowest of the three, because they carry the cost and risk of reselling it.
- Private sale, what a buyer who wants to drive it will pay. Usually the highest realistic figure for you.
- Dealer retail, the windscreen price on a lot. Not achievable privately, because it includes reconditioning and a statutory warranty you cannot offer.
The one that matters is the gap between the first two. That is the money at stake in how you sell.
Are online car valuations accurate?
They are a rough guide at best. An online tool cannot see your service history, damage history, specification, tyres, or how the interior has held up, and those are exactly what move the number.
Use one to sanity-check a figure, never to set your expectations. The only number you can rely on is a written offer from a buyer who has actually inspected the car.
How do I find out what my car is really worth?
Get a written, standalone offer to buy it from a dealer or vehicle buyer, one not tied to you purchasing another car. That is real money someone will hand over, so it cannot be inflated.
Get two or three. A single offer reflects that dealer's stock position on that day, not your car's value. Here is how to ask.
Why is my car worth less as a trade-in?
Because a trade-in is a wholesale price. Before the dealer sees a cent they have to recondition the car, cover any statutory warranty, photograph and advertise it, finance it while it sits on the lot, and pay someone to sell it. Their offer leaves room for all of that plus a profit.
It is the price of convenience rather than a rip-off. The full breakdown is here.
What affects how much my car is worth?
In rough order of impact: model and variant (a high-spec version can be worth nearly double the base), age, kilometres, condition, and completeness of service history. Then colour, specification, damage history and how many similar cars are currently for sale.
Service history is the one people most underestimate. On a European or prestige car especially, a documented history can be the difference between a quick sale and a stalled listing.
Should I accept the first offer I get?
Not without a second one. Offers vary widely between buyers because they reflect that buyer's stock position, not your car. A dealer who actually retails your make will usually pay more than one who would wholesale it straight on.
And once you have a genuine offer, you have a benchmark, which is the point at which we can tell you whether it is worth trying to beat. Send it to us and we will give you a straight answer.
By model
What buyers pay for your car
Before you trade it, TradeBeat it.
Get your dealer offer first. Then give us the chance to beat it. If we do not, you have lost nothing.