As soon as you need an appraisal of your used car, you can choose from various options: You can rely on list prices, ask a used car calculator or hire a professional vehicle appraiser.
In addition, individual car dealerships offer a vehicle appraisal to determine the car value. The basics are often lists of Schwacke or DAT. Car clubs such as ADAC or official testing institutes such as KÜS, TÜV, DEKRA and GTÜ prepare used car check reports.
list prices
The classic way to determine the value of a used car is through list prices. The average values for your car are determined from such used car lists. Variations are then calculated using correction tables.
The Schwacke List
It contains the current used car prices and is the oldest basis. Since 1957, Schwacke has regularly published the so-called Schwacke List, which shows the approximate residual value of used cars based on vehicle type, year of construction, equipment and mileage.
You can enter your vehicle data online and receive a price suggestion based on comparable cars. Until 2020, car valuation was free for private individuals. Since then, however, a service fee of 7.90 euros has been due.
online provider
Using used car calculators, you can quickly and cheaply determine the value of your vehicle online. There are now countless providers with whose help you can carry out an approximate car evaluation with just a few clicks.
The current market price is determined based on the basic data of your car. The vehicle review then compares it with similar cars for sale online. Note, however, that the suggested vehicle price is a calculation of the average offer price from the current database inventory — i.e. a purely indicative value.