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Is this a good price?

Enter a used car’s make, model, year, mileage and asking price. This compares it with the asking prices of similar cars for sale from dealers on Autoza and tells you whether it is a good price or a fair price, how far it sits from the middle asking price, the usual asking range and the cars it was compared with. It compares asking prices, not sold prices, and it is not a valuation. Where few close matches are for sale it says so and gives a rough guide from the model’s prices instead.

The year on the V5C, which can differ by a year from the model year in an advert.

The odometer reading, in miles.

The price in the advert, in pounds.

Cars only. Vans are left out because many van adverts are priced before VAT.

Enter the car and the price in the advert. You get a verdict (a rough guide where few similar cars are for sale), the usual asking range for similar cars on Autoza and the cars for sale it was compared with.

What the checker compares

It looks for adverts on Autoza for the same make and model as your car, first registered within 1 year of yours and with a mileage within about 35% of yours (never narrower than 15,000 miles either way). Those are the similar cars. Their middle asking price is what yours is measured against. It counts the adverts on Autoza now and the adverts from the past twelve months that have since come down (a car sold, or taken off by its dealer), at the last price they asked.

Good price
12% or more below the middle asking price of similar cars.
Fair price
Less than 12% below it, up to 15% above it.
No label
More than 15% above it: you see the figures, and the questions worth asking the dealer.

The first two are the words on the Good Price and Fair Price badges on Autoza’s search results, worked out by the same rule. The usual asking range is the middle half of those asking prices: a quarter of the similar cars are advertised for less, a quarter for more.

When there are not enough close matches

The checker tries these in order and stops at the first that has enough to go on, and the answer always says which one it used.

  1. Within 1 year of yours. The good price or fair price verdict above.
  2. Within two years of yours. If there are too few cars that close, the checker widens the years, gives the same good or fair verdict and tells you it has widened them. It does this only when the ages of those cars are spread evenly around yours, so a car is never judged against only older (cheaper) or only newer (dearer) cars.
  3. A rough guide from the model’s prices. If there are still too few but Autoza has advertised plenty of that model across several different years, the checker works out how asking prices for the model fall with age and mileage, and gives the usual range for a car like yours, a middle price and whether your price sits below, inside or above that range. It is headed Rough guide and carries no good or fair label, because it is not a comparison with matching cars. It does not guess beyond what Autoza has seen: if your car’s year or mileage is outside that, it says it cannot judge it.
  4. Not yet. Otherwise it says “We cannot judge this one yet”. Where Autoza has any of the model for sale it shows what that model is advertised for across all years, with a link to its page.

It matches on make and model, not on trim or engine. Where a model is sold in very different versions, a performance version beside a basic one, the range is wide and the verdict is a guide: the cars listed under the answer are exactly what yours was compared with, so read them.

It uses asking prices from dealers’ live adverts on Autoza. They are not sold prices, the checker is not a valuation and the answer is not a guarantee. If you want to know what your own car is worth, use the free car valuation.

Cars only. Vans are left out on purpose: many van adverts are priced before VAT and the advert does not always say so, so a van could be judged against the wrong money. If you are looking at a van, see used vans for sale.

A worked example

Made-up numbers to show the method. Not a real advert.

Say the similar cars for sale are advertised between £8,000 and £10,000, with a middle price of £9,000.

  • A car asking £7,800 is 13% (£1,200) below the middle price: a good price. It is worth asking why, as well as enjoying it.
  • A car asking £9,400 is 4% (£400) above the middle price: a fair price.
  • A car asking £10,800 is 20% (£1,800) above the middle price: no label, just the figures, so ask what the price includes. That does not make it a bad car, but it is a reason to ask what the extra pays for.

What else decides a fair price

A price compared with other prices cannot see the car. These can:

  • Mileage for its age. The checker allows for mileage in the cars it compares, but whether a reading is high or low for the car’s age is a separate question: the used car mileage checker answers it from MOT odometer readings.
  • Service history and MOT history. A full service history and a clean MOT record are worth money. Work out when the next MOT is due, and read the car’s past tests, advisories and failures with the free registration check.
  • Previous owners and the V5C. The logbook should match the seller and the car, and the number of keepers is a fair question to ask.
  • Condition and any known problems. A car the seller says has been written off or has a fault is not comparable with a clean one.
  • Specification. Trim, engine and gearbox: an automatic and a manual of the same model are different cars to compare; see used automatic cars for sale for the automatics.
  • Who is selling. A dealer’s price can include preparation, a warranty or a fresh MOT; a private seller’s usually does not. Check what the advert says the price includes.

What to do next

  1. Check for outstanding finance. Autoza’s registration check shows a car’s tax, MOT history and recalls. It does not show finance owing, a write-off or a theft marker. For those you need a paid vehicle history check from a provider such as HPI (the glossary explains what it covers).
  2. Ask the seller for the service history and to see the V5C before you pay a deposit.
  3. If the price is above the usual range, ask what it includes. If it is well below, ask why. Read what the advertised price has to cover and ask for the total in writing before you agree anything.
  4. Message the seller on Autoza, or keep looking: used cars for sale in the UK.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if a used car price is fair?
Compare it with what similar cars are being advertised for: the same make and model, the same age and a similar mileage. This checker does that against dealers’ adverts on Autoza and says whether the price is good, fair or above them, with the usual asking range. Then check the things a price cannot show: the service history, the MOT history and whether any finance is owing.
Is this a valuation?
No. A valuation estimates what one particular car is worth. This checks one advertised price against the asking prices of similar cars for sale on Autoza. If you want to know what your own car is worth, use the free car valuation instead.
Are these sold prices?
No. Every figure is a price a dealer is asking in an advert, live now or from the past twelve months. We see what sellers ask, not what buyers finally pay, so the price a car changes hands for can be different.
How is a good price decided?
Autoza finds the cars advertised for the same make and model, first registered within 1 year of yours and with a mileage within about 35% of yours (never narrower than 15,000 miles either way), takes their middle asking price and compares yours with it. It counts adverts on Autoza now and adverts from the past twelve months that have since come down, at their last asking price. Good price means 12% or more below that middle price. Fair price means no more than 15% above it. Anything higher is reported as above similar cars. It is the same rule as the Good Price and Fair Price badges on search results. If there are too few cars that close it widens to two years and says so; if there are still too few it gives a rough guide instead (see below). It matches on make and model, not on trim or engine, so for a model sold in very different versions the range is wide: read the cars listed under the answer to see what yours was compared with.
What does “Rough guide” mean?
It means there were not enough close matches for your exact car, so the checker worked from the model’s asking prices across all the years Autoza holds, allowing for age and mileage, and gives the usual range for a car like yours and whether your price is below, inside or above it. It is a guide, not a comparison with matching cars, so it carries no good or fair label. It only appears when your car’s year and mileage are inside what Autoza has seen of the model; beyond that it says it cannot judge.
Why does it say it cannot judge my car?
Because Autoza does not hold enough of that model, at an age or mileage near yours, to compare it with, even after widening the years and counting the cars advertised over the past year: a rare model, an unusual age or an unusual mileage. It would be misleading to give a verdict from one or two adverts, so it says so. Where Autoza has any of the model for sale it shows what that model is advertised for across all years, and points you to the model’s page to see what is for sale.
Does the checker work for vans?
No, it is for cars. Many van adverts quote the price before VAT and the advert does not always say which, so a van could be judged against the wrong money. Vans are left out on purpose.
Does it show if a car has finance owing?
No. Neither this checker nor Autoza’s free registration check shows outstanding finance, a write-off or a theft marker. For those you need a vehicle history check from a provider such as HPI, and you should ask to see the V5C and the service history before you pay a deposit.

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