What goes behind the valuation of my car?
Selling your car online? One of the most important question on your mind right now is probably, how much can I sell my car for? In this article, we will bring you the truth behind how the valuation of my car works and how you could use this guide to price your car competitively but not lose out on value.
1) Check out the current market condition
To examine the current market price of your car, access the few popular cars portal in Singapore and pull out similar cars that are currently available to establish a benchmark. Be it make and model, mileage and the number of owners, all the variables make a difference to the pricing. It is definitely advisable to compare a few vehicles that are as close to your car’s specifications as possible.
Based on the age of your car, you should examine it a little differently. For 0-3 years old cars, you should compare it to the used car market as well as the new car market. For 3-9 years old cars, you can primarily compare your car to other used cars. As for 9-10 years old cars, you should calculate it based on the monthly depreciation of the remaining time period to set a more accurate benchmark. Lastly, you should base your benchmark on the current PQP (Prevailing Quota Premium) level if your car is a COE renewed car.
2) Pricing from Dealers
As much as we often shy away from selling our cars via dealers due to the huge amount of commission they take, most would approach them at any point in time. If you are selling your car via an online platform (non-dealer), you might want to price it lower than dealer’s pricing.
Most dealerships have the ability to offer lemon law coverage and even warranty, which are some reasons behind the premium pricing they offer. Not only do they take in high commissions, they protect the buyer’s interest for that premium. Hence, buyers would most likely make the purchase from them instead of you should you price it above dealerships.
3) Your Current Mileage and Owner Count
With a higher mileage and owner count, the attractiveness of your car would decrease. And to determine whether or not your car is classified as having a “higher” mileage and owner count, you should look at the average level of similar cars in the market.
The reason behind the lower attractiveness of higher mileage is that the car has been driven for quite a significant amount and therefore might have a higher probability of having issues.
Whereas higher owner count in a short period of time might indicate that there is a major disadvantage with the car that made people who drove it want to get rid of it. It also depends on the type of car you are selling. As some people (especially supercar owners) like to change their car regularly, 4 owners in 4 years might not be too much of an issue. However, if it is a common sedan car that has the same number of owners in 4 years, it could imply some problems that your car might have.
