A lot of mystery and misconceptions surround the so-called “Book values”. Book values in South Africa are published by Trans Union.
It is known as the Auto Dealers Guide and is distributed solely to subscribed dealers and it is copyrighted.
Trade value is based on the cash value of the vehicle or wholesale price, where retail value is an indication of a retail price for selling with finance and related services in a dealership environment (These values are all VAT inclusive).
These values are very important to financial institutions and insurers for obvious reasons. The values are adjusted and published monthly.
Adjustments mostly consist of the monthly depreciation, as well as an odd adjustment across the board now and then.
The values are issued purely as a guide, as explained in the introduction of each book. It is accompanied by an adjustment scale at the back of the book for adjustments according to general mileage and condition.
The book-values are limited in its functionality and purpose. Even though it corresponds to a great extent with what’s going on in the market, there are still a great deal of exclusions and deviations, where the book values are not remotely reflective of reality.
Case in point would be Landcruisers and Chanas.
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