How to value your used car before selling

Set the wrong price and your ad sits for weeks. Set it right and you'll field serious offers in days. Here's a straightforward way to value a used car in South Africa without paying a dealer to do it for you.

1. Start with TransUnion or AutoTrader Book Value

Both give a free estimated retail and trade-in price. Retail is what a dealer would sell it for. Trade-in is what they'd pay you. Your realistic private-sale price usually sits between retail and trade-in, closer to retail — you have no dealer overheads, but you also can't offer a warranty.

2. Check live listings for the same year, model, and mileage

Search Tradeza, AutoTrader, and Cars.co.za. Filter tightly: same model year, same transmission, mileage within 20,000 km, same province if possible. Ignore the prices at the very top (unrealistic sellers) and very bottom (likely problem cars). The middle cluster is your market.

3. Adjust for condition honestly

• Full service history: add 5–10%.
• Non-smoker, garage-kept: add 2–5%.
• Accident repairs, even minor: subtract 5–15%.
• Bald tyres, cracked windscreen, worn clutch: subtract the repair cost plus a bit more — buyers always over-estimate repairs.
• Outstanding finance: you must disclose it. Many buyers will walk. Settle first if you can.

4. Price slightly above your target — but not too much

Most buyers expect to negotiate 5–10% off. Price in line with that. Pricing much higher signals you're unrealistic and filters out serious buyers. Pricing below market makes everyone suspicious.

5. Set "price negotiable" on your Tradeza listing

This signals you're open to reasonable offers without encouraging lowball messages. Pair it with a clear, honest description of condition — buyers reward transparency.

6. Before you post

Wash it, vacuum inside, take photos in natural light from 8 different angles (front, back, both sides, engine, boot, dashboard, odometer). Clean cars always sell faster at a better price than dirty cars at the same price.

Lastly — be ready to move. Your best buyer usually shows up in the first 10 days. After that, attention drops off. If you're still getting messages after 2 weeks but no offers, your price is probably 10–15% too high.