Glass's v Parker's Guide?

[RobTwin]

Back when I was a lad, just getting into cars, you always heard talk of Glass's Guide - the trade's bible for used car values.
For us mere mortals tho, there was Parker's Guide, which I used to buy occasionally, if looking at getting a different (daily) car.

From what I remember, people 'in the trade' would only go by Glass's and would dismiss any mention of Parkers cos it wasn't what the trade used.


So a question for anyone in the know - does anyone go by any of these guides these days? Or do they (traders) just put a car up for what they think they can get away with?


I'm looking into getting a used car from a dealer (not a main dealer tho) and I'm just wondering whether I dare mention prices I've seen in Parkers, or will I be laughed off the forecourt ?

[latil]

I think Glass' is still trade only. Parkers can be bought in WH Smith and has different "trade prices". Knowing how most stuff like 6 yr old Peugeots are in the very low hundreds,what you see on the forecourt is profit and enough to cover things when they blow up within 3 months of sale
There's also CAP which can be very different to Glass'.
This tells a few facts..
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=984735

Parkers used car prices
Parkers Guide – Parkers used car prices – Anyone who goes to the car auctions clutching a copy of the Parkers Guide to Used Car Prices sticks out like a sore thumb and motor trade professionals mark them down as a novice. As a result the Parkers guide has a reputation in the trade as being for the general public only and is therefore not really taken seriously. Whether or not a Parkers car value is better or worse than any other used car valuation is open to debate but the Parkers guide itself does have a good pedigree. The Parkers Guide started out as a car price guide in 1972 and is now the longest-running price guide available to the general public. It has expanded over the years to offer reviews, technical data and marketplace intelligence along with used car pricing. Parker’s also offers valuations for commercial vehicles and motorbikes. Parker’s is now owned and published by Bauer Media Group a large German publishing company based in Hamburg, which operates in 15 countries worldwide. In addition to Parker’s Bauer media also owns and operates the following brands within the automotive sector; Car, Classic Cars, Land Rover Owner International, Max Power, Practical Classics, Classic Car Weekly, AM (Automotive Management), Fleet News and Sewells.
What Car?

[Bryan]

i don't think you need to worry about either of those these days with the internet.

You can see what sort of prices cars go for via ebay.

[RobTwin]

Thanks, yes I though the books might have become a bit redundant, or outdated, now everything's 'online'.
You can still use Glass's and Parker's online but you have to pay to use both.

Or like you say, just compare what's for sale on t'net, like fleabay.

Which would be ok, if there were any others for sale....

And no I'm not after a 6 year old Peugeot, thanks Steve

[andyrob]

autotrader searchers are real life asking prices but not selling prices
look on here if you want the real bad news but is dealer buying prices
trust me it is the real value
http://www.dealerupdate.co.uk/

[latil]

That works well and is accurate I bought a Skoda Yeti Elegance last week,only 43K miles, seems I paid £3k under dealer price

[Carl]

Put my registration in and comes up "No match"

[Dave999]

i have always found any reference to a guide only occurs when you are trying (i.e doing your damndest get more than the £1000-2k offered) to get the best you can for a trade in.

but thats probably a symptom of the cars i buy

buy em at 3 years old, and sell or trade when they get to 100K miles or so. Buying outright or turning up with a big wad of cash appears to make no odds these days (someone has to go to the bank with it). Allways pressure to take the finance and the extra warranty and the breakdown cover but obvioulsy less risk than a private sale, however you are paying for the fact that a warranty however short has to be included.