A Simple Guide to Consumer Values

Since 1933, Glass’s Guide has been the motor trade’s favourite method of valuing a second-hand car. Surveys report that 4 out of 5 used vehicles sold in the UK are valued using Glass’s independent used car valuations.

What Glass’s Guide data looks like

The Guide values cars at an average mileage per year. Values assume a standard ‘Guide’ condition and basic specification, unless otherwise stated. We provide Guide subscribers (motor dealers, insurers, lenders and other bodies such as Trading Standards) with a series of tables to help them adjust values for mileage, and for the main optional extras which may be fitted.

The application of mileage and option adjustments gives Guide users our opinion on market value for a vehicle in ‘Guide’ condition. Guide users’ individual business needs define how they apply the final Guide value.

Why we have Consumer Values

As the name suggests, Glass’s Consumer Values provide private buyers in the market for a new or replacement used car, with an independent valuation of their existing car for part exchange purposes.

Glass’s started producing Consumer Values in 1998, following requests from both car buyers and our subscribers. Consumers wanted a reliable idea of the value of their car for use in advance research, while dealers wanted their customers to have a sensible starting point for their financial assumptions, based on a dataset trusted by the motor trade. in short, both parties wanted to escape the stereotype portrayed in the image above!

Via the online Consumer Values system, Glass’s use their unbeatable valuation experience to transform the industry-standard Guide values into a consumer valuation product, engineered specifically for a part exchange scenario.

How Consumer Values are made

After the consumer has selected the correct car from the drop down lists, or verified that the model selected by number plate lookup is the car to be valued, the online system asks the user for the mileage and any optional extras fitted to the car. It then adjusts the Guide values to account for this important information.

Once the adjusted Guide values have been calculated, the system employs algorithms to split the adjusted Guide Retail and Trade values into the full set of five values issued with every consumer valuation.

The three conditions of part exchange vehicle (Excellent, Average and Below Average) are derived from the adjusted Guide Trade price, while Dealer Retail and Private Sale come from the adjusted Guide Retail price. Note that the Consumer Retail is an expected asking price, whereas unmodified Guide Retail is regarded as a selling price.

Why Glass’s Consumer Values are the only ones to trust

When you buy a Glass Consumer Value on Glass.co.uk, you are dealing directly with the people who made that value. The values provided on this website are not supplied by a third party: they come straight from the same editorial team that supports trade subscribers.

Consumers may contact the Consumer Values Editor directly with any questions or feedback relating to our values. Glass’s Consumer Values are truly “an editor on your shoulder”.

Our current Consumer Values Editor has over twenty years experience in the motor trade, earned in car showrooms across the UK. The editorial team encompasses over a hundred years of combined valuations experience. They are supported by a company that has been the leading supplier of automotive information in the UK for over 75 years. No other consumer valuation service offers this level of expertise - at any price.

Why pay for something others hand out free?

Getting the best deal requires a little investment in both time and money. When it comes to negotiation, free facts are worth less. Do your homework properly: don’t let value-for-money misconceptions cost you a good result.

Buying a Glass’s valuation before you enter the showroom sends a positive message to a switched-on dealer. It says “I have done my research, I have a good idea what my car should be worth and I am keen to strike a deal.” No other brand talks to the motor trade in the same way.

Remember your Consumer Values ABCs:

Affordable Expertise: free facts are worth less. As the UK’s leading supplier of motor trade intelligence, we believe our expertise is worth a modest charge. The number one industry brand comes as standard with a Glass’s Consumer Value. No consumer can afford to deal without Glass’s Consumer Values.

Buy Direct: never rely on anonymous third-party values. Glass’s Guide is the UK’s only direct supplier of valuation data to both trade and consumers. Why deal with middle men when the manufacturer is just an email away?

Credibility: use a source that dealers trust. Glass’s Consumer Valuations are derived from the same used car valuation data the trade has subscribed to for over 75 years. Why enter a showroom with numbers a dealer is bound to ignore?

Talk a dealer’s language. Use the UK’s number one valuation brand: Glass’s Guide.