Glass's valuations

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Sun 8 Feb 2004 00:30
Glass's valuations - HectorG
I recently had 2 trade-in offers on my Golf GT TDi PD130 against a Honda Accord Tourer.These were £9800 and £10250.

I was somewhat taken aback by the low offer and thought I would use the Glass's valuation service, linked from this site, to check these offers.

Glass's came up with a valuation of £11650 for my car ( trade in 'excellent'- 46000 miles )

Because of the very large discrepancy between the Glass's valuation and the actual offers I received, either Glass's is hopelessly optimistic or the dealers are trying it on by starting with very low offers.

Have any other backroomers used the Glass's link from this site
and had a similar result? Are actual trade in offers usually grossly below book or should I hold out for an offer nearer to £11650?

HectorG
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Sun 8 Feb 2004 07:13
Glass's valuations - Orville
Hector G wrote:
Because of the very large discrepancy between the Glass's valuation and
the actual offers I received, either Glass's is hopelessly optimistic or
the dealers are trying it on by starting with very low
offers.


I'd be surprised if the low offers were from Honda dealers who would retail your Golf themselves. Have they discounted the Accord by much to compensate?

On the other hand, if the Golf was simply underwritten by another dealer then the offers can be very disappointing indeed. I remember trying to part-ex a Freelander and the dealer offers were miles out from the guides - even CAP.

Have you tried the What Car valuations, linked to the Auto Trader site? They can differ widely from the Glass's figures, so you may have another idea of value there.

The simple advice is to shop around and hunt further afield. I got my best offer from a supersite that would retail my Freelander themselves. In addition, the cost of the car I was buying was very good too.
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Sun 8 Feb 2004 07:37
Glass's valuations - M.M
Hector,

Do you mind saying the age/plate of the Golf?

M.M
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Sun 8 Feb 2004 09:17
Glass's valuations - midlifecrisis
I've got januarys edition of Glasses guide from a relative who's in the trade. If you give me the year/plate and mileage and give you the actual 'book' value.
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Sun 8 Feb 2004 10:18
Glass's valuations - nick
The trade in price is pretty irrelevant. You need to look at the cost to change and then compare the dealers' offers.
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Sun 8 Feb 2004 13:09
Glass's valuations - HectorG
MM and midlifecrisis thanks - my Golf is a GT TDi PD130 51 reg (September 2001). 46000 miles. Extras include electric sunroof and leather seats.

Looking forward to any furthur enlightenment either of you can give me on a fair and realistic trade in value.

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Sun 8 Feb 2004 14:14
Glass's valuations - Dave N
I guess the real value is what someone else is willing to pay for it. Never mind what glass's, CAP, best friend or mates sisters husband that used to work at an auction house reckons.
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Sun 8 Feb 2004 14:33
Glass's valuations - midlifecrisis
It may be only worth what someone else is prepared to pay, but on the basis that it can't hurt, the values are:

3dr Trade £10600 Retail £11600
5dr £11100 £12100
These are after adjustment for the mileage and someway off the excessive prices asked for by my local VW Dealer
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Sun 8 Feb 2004 14:47
Glass's valuations - M.M
I'm broadly in agreement with mlc's values...and Dave's comments!

I've assumed a 5dr and would say a trade-in range of £10,000 to £11,250 depending on the condition, ranging from average to excellent.

I think the problem here is two-fold....

You're trading in against a Honda and their dealers can be very hard on price.

Also your mileage is higher than they would like which gives an excuse to push their vauation down to the average value. I think you will struggle to get the excellent figure ever unless the mileage is nearer 12k/yr.

Good luck.

M.M
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Sun 8 Feb 2004 18:15
Glass's valuations - Smartdealer
I guess any of the price guides can sometimes be a bit generous on certain models. However, I reckon it's more likeley that the Honda dealers are factoring in a bit of "insurance" for their part-ex prices.
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Mon 9 Feb 2004 01:06
Glass's valuations - HectorG
Thanks mlf,MM,HJ etc. I'll visit a few more Honda dealers and see if it's Honda dealers that are the problem.

From the replies I've received I suspect the problem is a combination of 1)short supply of Accord diesels; 2)a hard-nosed appproach by Honda dealers; 3)the fact that the dealer will not want to retail my car through their site and will rely on getting offers from a third party dealer.

I hope I don't have to buy another VW to get a good trade-in!
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