What actually affects your car's resale value (and what doesn't)

People assume a hundred things affect their car's resale value. Most of them barely move the needle. A handful matter a lot. Here's an honest list.

The big ones (£1,000+ swings)

Mileage

Bigger than most people think. The cliff edges are at 60,000, 80,000, and 100,000 miles — a car at 79,900 miles will be worth noticeably more than the same car at 80,100. Above 100,000 the curve flattens, but the perception ‘this car has done 100k+’ shaves a chunk off.

Service history

Full main-dealer history adds hundreds (often over £1,000 on premium cars). No history at all takes 5–15% off. There's a full guide to this on our service history page.

Outstanding finance

Doesn't affect price exactly, but if the settlement is more than the car's worth, you have negative equity, which you'll have to top up. Read our guide to selling with finance outstanding.

Major mechanical issues

A failing turbo, a slipping clutch, a knackered DPF — these knock thousands off because the buyer is going to fix them. Disclose them upfront; a buyer who finds out post-sale is going to back out or claim a refund.

Accident damage / insurance writeoff history

A Cat S or Cat N marker takes 30–50% off the car's value, full stop. Make sure you know — check your car on gov.uk and any HPI-type check.

The medium ones (£200–£1,000 swings)

• Cambelt change documentation. Many cars need this every 60–100k miles; missing receipts cost you ~£500.
• Number of previous owners. Going from 1 owner to 2 doesn't matter much; going from 4 to 5 hurts.
• Colour. Black, white, grey, silver sell easiest. Bright colours (red, yellow, orange) take longer to shift and the price reflects that.
• Transmission. Automatics typically command a small premium over manuals on the same car.
• Optional extras. Heated seats, panoramic roof, factory sat nav, parking sensors — each adds a couple of hundred. Aftermarket bolt-ons (window tints, aftermarket sound systems, etc.) don't add much and often reduce value because they suggest a previous owner who modified the car.

The small ones (under £200 each)

• Clean vs dirty interior at viewing time
• Tyre tread depth (anything below ~4mm starts to deduct)
• Spare wheel present or not
• Locking wheel nut key present
• Number of physical keys (£200 to replace each missing OEM key)
• MOT remaining duration

Things people worry about that barely matter

• Small kerbing on alloys. Everyone has it. Buyers expect it.
• Stone chips on the bonnet. Age-related. Doesn't move the price.
• Whether the car has been recently washed. Looks nice for photos, but condition is condition.
• One small dent. We won't deduct for it unless there are several.
• The exact week of the month you sell it. Pretty much irrelevant.
• The weather. There's a tiny seasonal effect (convertibles do slightly better in spring), but it's noise.

Want to know what your specific car is worth?

Drop the reg on our home page. A real person will come back to you within 24 hours with a fair, human-calculated valuation. No fees, no on-the-day downgrades, same day BACS if you accept.