Why live market data beats guide books
Trade guide books from CAP and Glass's have been the UK trade standard for decades, but they update monthly. In a market that can shift 5-10% in a week — driven by fuel prices, model launches, used-car demand cycles — a monthly guide is a backwards-looking reference, not a forward-looking valuation.
DealerPricing replaces that monthly cycle with an hourly one. Every trade valuation reflects the actual asking prices on 680,000+ live UK listings and the actual sold prices from the past 90 days. When the market moves, the valuation moves with it.
What a DealerPricing trade valuation tells you
Every valuation returns four numbers — trade buying price, average forecourt asking price, recently sold price and our suggested retail position — plus the supporting comparable vehicles you can audit yourself.
- Trade price: what a trade buyer should pay for the vehicle
- Forecourt average: what comparable vehicles are listed for right now
- Recently sold: what comparable vehicles actually achieved in the last 90 days
- Suggested retail: where to position your own asking price
- Days-to-sell estimate: how long similar vehicles take to clear
- Supply level: how many comparable vehicles are in the market
Filter by spec for tight, accurate valuations
The default valuation matches make, model, derivative, year and mileage. For tighter accuracy, filter by transmission, fuel type, body style, doors, colour and engine size — the platform reruns the valuation against the narrower comparable set.
This matters most on high-spec or unusual derivatives, where a generic "BMW 5 Series 2017" valuation could be wide of an actual 520d xDrive M Sport Touring by thousands of pounds.