British motorists are losing an average of £1,600 when selling their cars due to a common oversight: failing to check the vehicle's value before listing it. New research commissioned by Autotrader reveals that 45% of sellers are unhappy with the price they receive, with a quarter admitting they lost out because they did not know the true value of their car.
The study found that 44% of British drivers do not know what their car is worth or how to check it. This lack of knowledge could cost the average person £1,600 – equivalent to a month's salary after tax for many. Erin Baker, editorial director at Autotrader, said: “So many people worry they’re not getting the best deal when they sell their car, and the research shows that fear is justified.”
Misconceptions about car valuations are a major issue. Almost a third (29%) of those polled believe that getting a car valued takes several hours, when in reality it can be done in seconds. Meanwhile, 41% of drivers worry about finding out their car's real value, and 33% cite not knowing who to trust as their biggest frustration when buying or selling a car.
To address this, Autotrader has partnered with viral food duo SpudBros to open the Autotater drive-thru in Manchester. Customers can pick up a loaded jacket potato while getting their car valued in under 10 seconds using Autotrader's valuation tool, which uses live market data from millions of listings. Erin Baker added: “We partnered with SpudBros to make car valuations something people actually want to do.”
