Trade valuation
Also known as: trade price, trade-in value, wholesale price
A trade valuation is the price a UK motor trader would pay for a vehicle as trade stock — typically the wholesale or auction value rather than the retail (forecourt) asking price.
In the UK motor trade, every vehicle has at least three reference prices: the trade price (what a dealer pays to buy the vehicle), the retail price (what a dealer asks on the forecourt), and the sold price (what the vehicle actually achieved). The trade valuation focuses on the first.
Traditional trade valuations have been published in monthly guide books by CAP and Glass's — editorial assessments based on auction data and dealer reporting. Modern trade valuation platforms like DealerPricing use live market data, updated hourly, from actual UK listings and recently sold prices.
A trade valuation is most useful when you are buying at auction, considering a part-exchange offer, or pricing your own stock for the trade-to-trade market. Retail customers typically pay between 10% and 25% above the trade valuation, depending on vehicle, location and condition.
How-to guides
- How to get a trade valuation for a carGet a trade valuation from live market data, not a monthly guide. Search the registration for trade poor, average and clean values, retail and part-exchange.
- How to value a part-exchange in under a minuteValue a part-exchange at the desk: run the registration, check MOT and keeper history, read the trade bands and the days-to-sell figure, then make your offer.
- How to price a used car to sell fastPrice used stock from live comparables: see what identical cars are listed at, what they sold for, how long they took, and where your car sits in the market.
- How to see what similar cars actually sold forAsking prices are not sale prices. See what identical cars sold for in the last 90 days and how long they were listed, then price stock and bids confidently.