The book is wrong...

▶ Once upon a time ‘the book’ – aka Glass’s Guide – was God so far as most motor traders were concerned. In fact, it was often referred to as ‘the bible’. All genuine traders – but only genuine traders – had a subscription and flicking through a copy in the auction-hall was as much part of the dealer’s uniform as a sheepskin coat or a set of trade plates under the arm. In time a rival publication, CAP, was launched, and while this too, was trade only, it was generally easier to qualify – in fact there were often people selling subscriptions at auction.

Nowadays of course printed guides are history, though car pricing information is still very much available from both organisations – CAP and HPI are now under common ownership, Glass’s are part of Autovista, and both provide a wide range of information services, not just prices. It is, though, all done online – there are no printed books.

BUT…. And this is a personal opinion, albeit based on personal experience; an awful lot of price guide prices have little basis in reality. For example, I’ve just paid £3800 for a car with a CAP Clean valuation of £2600, and a CAP Retail of £4300. Both figures are nonsense; in reality; clean cars of this kind typically sell for anything from the £5500 to £62-6300ish! I’m not going to say what type of car it is as it’s a new line

I’m looking at doing a few of, but it is by no means the only example. Just try buying a half-decent small auto for anything like what ‘the book’ says you should be able to, and you’ll likely to be very disappointed…

At the other end, though, whereas once upon a time unpopular stuff sometimes changed hands within the trade for ‘behind book’, I’ve yet to see anything where this is happening enough to be considered normal. Currently it seems that CAP Clean is the minimum benchmark price for pretty much anything, even cars which realistically are average at best, and the only time you see stuff go for less is if it’s likely to be a dodgy trade entry or has disclosed mechanical issues.

My advice at present is not to take much notice of book prices when buying. Instead, look at what cars are actually selling for – which isn’t necessarily the same as what they are being advertised for – and work back from that. And don’t forget to factor in the Buyer’s Premium and any other non-optional extras such as the cost of an engineer’s report.

Guide prices do, though, still have one valid use; because dealers still generally base part-exchange offers on ‘the book’, main dealer auction reserves are usually based on CAP or Glass’s valuation. Less helpful, they are also what a write-off offer/ valuation will be based on, if you have motor trade insurance.