# How accurate are Parkers used car valuations?



## Don Barzini (Feb 7, 2018)

So I had to sell my car as it died. I'm currently borrowing my father in law's to get to and from work. I have a day off tomorrow and want to get it sorted then.

Seen a car I like at an independent dealer. The asking price is Â£2495. When I feed the details into Parkers (adjusting for mileage, as the mileage is low for the age of the car) they give a price of Â£1380 at an independent dealer!

What are people's opinions? I mean I know that dealerships will try and screw you if they can. But over Â£1000 at that price level seems a big discrepancy. Are Parkers valuations realistic? Or do "the trade" genuinely believe otherwise?


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## User62651 (Feb 7, 2018)

Parkers are reasonably accurate. Sounds like you need to look elsewhere unless you can haggle the guy way way down. Buyers market so dont be weak!


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## PhilTheFragger (Feb 7, 2018)

show them the Parkers valuation. and be prepared to walk away


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## Lump (Feb 7, 2018)

I would ask the trader why he believes his price is so much over parkers valuation. Be prepared for a load of waffle. Buy on condition, not mileage.


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## IanM (Feb 7, 2018)

I think it depends if you are buying or selling..... the dealer will give you some old nonsense regardless!


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## Slime (Feb 7, 2018)

Compare it to similar models for sale on Autotrader.


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## SaintHacker (Feb 7, 2018)

Probably building a big attractive trade-in into the price. Wave a few pound notes under his nose andand see what he says.


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## Hobbit (Feb 7, 2018)

I used Parkers to get a valuation for the wife's car. I then used Webuyanycar and Evans Halshaw to see what they would offer. WBAC were Â£1100 less than the Parker valuation, and EH was Â£250 against the Parkers valuation of Â£7000. Bearing in mind there has to be a profit in it for the dealers, I'd guess EH aren't looking at quite so much of a margin. WBAC may well be selling on which maybe why their offer was so low.


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## MadAdey (Feb 7, 2018)

Slime said:



			Compare it to similar models for sale on Autotrader.
		
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THat's what I do when looking at car prices.

IMO Parkers is a good guideline, but with older used cars the market tends to dictate the price. If your looking at something that is popular on the used market and hard to find good ones then you might find yourself paying a slight premium to get one as the dealer knows he will be able to sell it over book price.

Parkers look at the age and mileage, then feed that into a formula that then works out a price compared to it's original selling price. You need to decide how much you want it and how easy it will be to find another like it. If your looking at something like a standard Focus, then I would say leave it and keep looking as there are plenty of cars like that around. IF it's maybe something a bit harder to find then you might have to suck it up and open your wallet.


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## jim8flog (Feb 7, 2018)

IMO Parkers prices are very much based upon locations with high numbers of prospective buyers and sellers. They are about 30% out compared to prices in the West Country.

One thing that does depress prices is what the traders do when receiving a trade in - they offer a low price and lower the price of the car you are buying. That low price then ends up on data bases of sold cars.


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## USER1999 (Feb 7, 2018)

Hobbit said:



			I used Parkers to get a valuation for the wife's car. I then used Webuyanycar and Evans Halshaw to see what they would offer. WBAC were Â£1100 less than the Parker valuation, and EH was Â£250 against the Parkers valuation of Â£7000. Bearing in mind there has to be a profit in it for the dealers, I'd guess EH aren't looking at quite so much of a margin. WBAC may well be selling on which maybe why their offer was so low.
		
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WBAC is owned by British car auctions. All the cars they buy go to auction, and are mainly then bought by car dealers for retail. They need to low ball to make a profit.

That said, I sold a Qashqai there recently, and was only about 500 off what similar cars went for on autotrader. I needed a very quick sale, so it had to go. They are picky about minor dings, and really try to knock you down.


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## Smiffy (Feb 8, 2018)

Let me know the reg number and the exact mileage and I'll tell you if he is being greedy.
If you could also let me know what he is including with the sale, that would help.
Any warranty at all??? New MOT or service??? All of these things cost money.
And is that Â£1,380.00 you've seen the "trade" or "retail" price???


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## Smiffy (Feb 8, 2018)

jim8flog said:



			IMO Parkers prices are very much based upon locations with high numbers of prospective buyers and sellers. They are about 30% out compared to prices in the West Country.

*One thing that does depress prices is what the traders do when receiving a trade in - they offer a low price and lower the price of the car you are buying.* That low price then ends up on data bases of sold cars.
		
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That's done to save a bit of VAT.


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## pauljames87 (Feb 8, 2018)

I was always under the impression that the Parkers valuation is how much you could sell it for at a used car dealer etc... so if they are paying that for the car they have to make some kind of profit when selling it


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## Smiffy (Feb 8, 2018)

pauljames87 said:



			I was always under the impression that the Parkers valuation is how much you could sell it for at a used car dealer etc... so if they are paying that for the car they have to make some kind of profit when selling it
		
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Parkers (if I remember correctly) give you a trade AND retail price. That's why I asked the OP to confirm which price he was looking at.
If the Â£1,380.00 was a trade price, it's only fair that the garage have got the car up at Â£2,495.00.


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## Bunkermagnet (Feb 8, 2018)

Surely itâ€™s the garages prerogative to price a car at whatever they choose. If it doesnâ€™t sell, then thatâ€™s up to them, but perhaps they also price in the knock down that all punters assume they can get.
However ultimately itâ€™s their car to sell at what price they choose, and your money to spend what you want to pay. If the two donâ€™t marry up, then no sale.


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## Smiffy (Feb 8, 2018)

I love the generalisation that dealerships "will try to screw you".
Either the OP has been visiting the wrong dealerships, or I have been working in the wrong ones for 31 years....


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## Lincoln Quaker (Feb 8, 2018)

Smiffy said:



			I love the generalisation that dealerships "will try to screw you".
Either the OP has been visiting the wrong dealerships, or I have been working in the wrong ones for 31 years....
		
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That's been the generalisation of the motor trade forever, no matter how many training courses the manufactures do for the staff the outside world will always have the opinion.

The dealerships I worked for didn't make much profit at all on new cars but the assumption was always we were making thousands, if only they knew it was all reliant on back end bonus.


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## MegaSteve (Feb 8, 2018)

Smiffy said:



			I love the generalisation that dealerships "will try to screw you".
Either the OP has been visiting the wrong dealerships, or I have been working in the wrong ones for 31 years....
		
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I reckon nearly everyone who's purchased a vehicle from a dealership has been [or feels they have been] 'turned over' at least once...
And, generally we remember negative experiences over positive ones...

Me, I'd never ever enter another NetworkQ dealership...
If they still exist that is...


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## Bunkermagnet (Feb 8, 2018)

MegaSteve said:



			I reckon nearly everyone who's purchased a vehicle from a dealership has been [or feels they have been] 'turned over' at least once...
And, generally we remember negative experiences over positive ones...

Me, I'd never ever enter another NetworkQ dealership...
If they still exist that is...
		
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I think it's more of not having a good relationship with a dealer. I personally don't like the large gym palaces that most manufacturers and multi brand chain dealers have, and prefer a more old school smaller dealer to deal with.
A good personal relationship is vital to keep me returning to give them the service work that I know makes them money.


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## Smiffy (Feb 8, 2018)

Bunkermagnet said:



			I think it's more of not having a good relationship with a dealer. I personally don't like the large* gym palaces *that most manufacturers and multi brand chain dealers have, and prefer a more old school smaller dealer to deal with.
A good personal relationship is vital to keep me returning to give them the service work that I know makes them money.
		
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Don't you mean *GIN* palaces???


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## Bunkermagnet (Feb 8, 2018)

Smiffy said:



			Don't you mean *GIN* palaces???


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Who cares, you know exactly what I mean....sat in your glass and metal  wharehouse of a showroom


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## Piece (Feb 8, 2018)

It used to be Glass's guide that the indie trader's used to rely on, not Parkers. Maybe it still is? Parkers is OK for guide price.


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## Smiffy (Feb 9, 2018)

Piece said:



			It used to be Glass's guide that the indie trader's used to rely on, not Parkers. Maybe it still is? Parkers is OK for guide price.
		
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Haven't used Glass's for years. Most of the bigger garages use C.A.P. (Car Auction Prices) online nowadays. Some of the tiny back street garages might still use Glass's but I haven't seen one of those books now for about 20 years or so.


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## DaveR (Feb 9, 2018)

Bunkermagnet said:



			Who cares, you know exactly what I mean....sat in your glass and metal  *wharehouse* of a showroom


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Do you mean warehouse?   :rofl:


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## Smiffy (Feb 9, 2018)

DaveR said:



			Do you mean warehouse?   :rofl:
		
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## Bunkermagnet (Feb 9, 2018)

DaveR said:



			Do you mean warehouse?   :rofl:
		
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No, I meant wharehouse ....as that is just as wrong as the modern steel and glass motor dealerships.


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## Blue in Munich (Feb 9, 2018)

Bunkermagnet said:



			Who cares, you know exactly what I mean....sat in your glass and metal  *wharehouse* of a showroom


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DaveR said:



			Do you mean warehouse?   :rofl:
		
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If it's Smiffy should the "a" have been an "o"........ ?


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## Don Barzini (Feb 9, 2018)

Thanks very much for everyoneâ€™s responses on this. Apologies Iâ€™ve not been back and replied, hectic couple of days!

So, the evening of when I started this thread, the car asking price had actually come down to Â£1,995 anyway. So I was pretty optimistic. 

Sadly, when I got there it was a bit of a pig. Loads of dents and scratches on the bodywork (which wasnâ€™t apparent on the pictures), absolutely no record of any service history available, only one key and all four alloys scratched to buggery. 

So it wasnâ€™t the car for me. But the guys at the garage seemed good blokes. Absolutely no pressure, left me to have a good look, didnâ€™t try to hustle me. The kind of place Iâ€™d like to buy from, but they didnâ€™t have anything in at the moment of interest. 

So itâ€™s back to the drawing board for now!



Smiffy said:



			I love the generalisation that dealerships "will try to screw you".
Either the OP has been visiting the wrong dealerships, or I have been working in the wrong ones for 31 years....
		
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Apologies for my turn of phrase.  Wrote my OP in a bit of a hurry and probably would have phrased it differently if I wasnâ€™t in a rush. 

I think I must have been unlucky in the past though. Iâ€™ve had several annoying encounters with dealerships Iâ€™ve bought from - or tried to buy from...

At an Audi dealership. Guy offered me a pathetic and paltry amount for my BMW part ex and said that when heâ€™d run it through the system to get a price, it had flagged up that my car was an import, so worth much less. Heâ€™d even gone to the trouble of calling BMW to double check, nice fella that he was. They told him that yes, it was an import. So he did me a favour cos he felt sorry for me and managed to talk his boss into giving me an extra hundred quid for it, but only if I shook hands on a deal there and then. Really put the pressure on. Naturally I walked away and called BMW myself. They told me that it absolutely was not an import! What did flag up was that it had belonged to someone in the past who was located on an army base somewhere abroad, but it wasnâ€™t actually imported. When I did trade that car in elsewhere, I got around two thousand pounds more for it than the Audi conman offered. 

Ford dealership. Bought a well specced people carrier for my wife to accommodate our growing family. A couple of months later the sat nav broke down and took it back to them. Oh no, sorry sir, that isnâ€™t covered by our warranty. Had a bit of a disagreement on that with them and they agreed they would look at it. When they returned it to me, they said they couldnâ€™t fix it...but upon its return, absolutely none of the display was working so I couldnâ€™t control the radio, climate, Bluetooth or anything else i.e. it was worse than when I handed it back to them. They offered to put it right for fifteen hundred quid and I absolutely exploded at the bloke and said either sort this out or heâ€™d be hearing from my solicitors. A day later, I got it back completely fixed.

My last car, the one Iâ€™ve recently got rid of. Bought from an independent dealership. Lovely guy, until he got my money - over ten thousand pounds of it. Soon after I drove away I found out that the radio system didnâ€™t work properly. Then the engine management light came on. He didnâ€™t want to know about the radio system as apparently it was going to be three hundred quid for a new part. I argued my case with threats of consumer law and trading standards and he put it right. He also reluctantly took back the car for diagnostics and there was a fault showing with some sort of valve (sorry Iâ€™m not an expert on car mechanics) He re-set the system and said it would be fine. Several months down the line Iâ€™m getting engine faults again and this time took it to an independent diagnostic guy. He finds it riddled with historic electrical faults, he literally has no clue where to begin with it and suggests if I did go down the route of tying to sort it, it could run to several thousand quids worth of fees and I may still never sort I properly. Though the faults were â€œhistoricâ€ he couldnâ€™t give me exact dates. Naturally the original guy I bought it from doesnâ€™t want to know and of course I cannot prove that those faults were there at the time when he originally ran diagnostics on it. I obviously have my suspicions, but legally I donâ€™t have a leg to stand on. So I just sold the bloody thing to one of the webuyanycar type companies. 

So yes, maybe Iâ€™ve been unlucky, but my experiences have left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Hence my comment about dealerships trying to screw you if they can. Iâ€™m now in a position where I just donâ€™t want to spend silly money on cars and am looking for something cheaper but reliable. Smiffy, if Iâ€™m allowed to â€œbankâ€ your offer of having a look at asking prices for me, I may do so in the future!


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