What did the car originally cost?

[500x]

Is there a way to find the original price of a car by using the reg number?

I'm asking because when I bought my current car as usual the dealer listed the standard spec and nothing more regarding optional extras fitted. I don't think they realised extras were added. When I saw the car in person I knew it had £500 quids worth of extras on it. Then after i bought it I was driving home and noticed an amber light in the wing mirror, Unbeknown to me the car had lane assist, etc fitted, another £950 option. I was very happy.

With advertised cars in some cases the reg numbers are showing and the dealers are not giving much spec information. For all I know one of these could have a sunroof, night vision camera, or upgraded sound and I'd be none the wiser.

Apart from calling dealers and asking for the spec, or seeing cars in person is there a way around this?

[ScoobyChris]

Not specifically what you asked, but there may be VIN decoders online for your marque that show you the car's build spec if you can get hold of the VIN.

Chris

[iphonedyou]

Lane assist (alone) was a £950 option? Really?

ETA: I understand - like a lane assist package with the others bit and pieces hence your 'etc'. Makes sense!

As above the only way to know for sure is a VIN decoder - but that doesn't help if you don't have the VIN!

[Panamax]

It doesn't make much difference in terms of market price of a used car. "Extras" always depreciate more heavily than the car to which they are fitted.

Main dealers love telling new car customers about all the extras they need. Dealer margin is bigger on extras than on the car itself. They also know loaded cars are easier to sell used than base models, even if there isn't a big price difference. The faster the stock moves the more profit is made.

[AndySheff]

Isn't an amber light in the mirror a blind spot indicator ? ie, presence of a vehicle you perhaps have not seen ?
At least it is on Volvo anyway (and Dodge Challenger),

[500x]

Thanks for your replies.

To clarify, the "etc" was blind spot assist, Lane control, rear camera, Lane departure warning. Sorry for any confusion.

Panamax hits the nail on the head, I agree it doesnt make much difference to the price of a used car but if there's 2 side by side i might get lucky and get one full of extras for the same price of one which hasnt.

Apparently googling.....I could establish the last 5 digits of the VIN but for the remainder google says send a form to the DVLA

[Limpet]

500x said:

Panamax hits the nail on the head, I agree it doesnt make much difference to the price of a used car but if there's 2 side by side i might get lucky and get one full of extras for the same price of one which hasnt.

I agree while it might not impact value, it absolutely makes a difference to how desirable an individual example is, and how easy it is to sell on when you're finished with it.

Back in the noughties, we had a mk4 Golf which we bought used. It had the (expensive) optional electric sunroof as well as the Climatronic climate control. Sunroofs are neither here nor there to me, and I paid it no attention when I bought it, and I think we used the sunroof about 5x in the years we had it. When I put it up for sale I had two people phone and offer asking price over the phone because they'd been hunting for one with a sunroof and they'd struggled to find one.

Also, as you say, if you are looking at 2 cars and one is specced higher, all other things being equal, you'll choose the higher spec one.

The difficulty now is with the extensive options lists and "packs" on most cars, particularly German ones, the specs are a bit of a minefield. It's perfectly possible to have well optioned lower trim level cars having massively higher specs than less optioned or standard higher trim levels.

[sherman]

The dealer I bought my current car from had to check its original spec as it was under 3 years old but heading for £40k so he needed to make sure what car tax bracket it fell into. Thankfully it was under £40k

[bumskins]

500x said:

Then after i bought it I was driving home and noticed an amber light in the wing mirror, Unbeknown to me the car had lane assist, etc fitted, another £950 option. I was very happy.

Different strokes and all, but I find mirrors do a decent job of informing you what's behind you, 'lane assist' sounds like some patronising nanny-system that's waiting to throw a bill when it inevitably fails.

[500x]

That's the way I see it Limpet. You got especially lucky in your case, well done!

I'm the same with a sunroof, however I would "use it" regularly just to pull the screen back, let some light in through the roof to brigten up the interior. When they are open they cause drag and noise around your ears, especially at speed. It's unnecessary. They are an item from a bygone era before AC was fitted.

Generally I'm not too fussed what these extras are, kinda adds to the excitement. If i knew a car was originally £2k over list I'd know it had some toys attached and while I'd have some option preferences over others at the end of the day it's all for free (relatively)...... thats assuming I don't alert the dealer to this and he prices it in.

[500x]

bumskins said:

500x said:

Then after i bought it I was driving home and noticed an amber light in the wing mirror, Unbeknown to me the car had lane assist, etc fitted, another £950 option. I was very happy.

Different strokes and all, but I find mirrors do a decent job of informing you what's behind you, 'lane assist' sounds like some patronising nanny-system that's waiting to throw a bill when it inevitably fails.

When I got mine there was no way that I'd have bought that option pack, I don't think I'd have got it at half price. But it was free.

Now I don't think I could do without blind spot monitoring. I am good with mirrors but it just gives you that bit more comfort, like the rear view camera I have and the rear cross traffic alert. Lane assist is something i really like too, I remember at first when i got the car and on the motorway it felt like it was on rails, makes life just that little bit easier.

[SweptVolume]

Slightly OT, but options seem to be going out of favour since COVID, especially with non-premium brands. A lot of configurators today offer little more than a (limited) choice of colours and the standard trim levels.

Combine this with a lack of supply and rising interest rates, and the desire to buy new for me is all but gone.

[Triumph Man]

BMW used to, if you rang them up, tell you how much a car cost new. My 520i cost £23000 in 1995, and my 530i cost £37000 in 2001.

[DanL]

500x said:

Thanks for your replies.

To clarify, the "etc" was blind spot assist, Lane control, rear camera, Lane departure warning. Sorry for any confusion.

Panamax hits the nail on the head, I agree it doesnt make much difference to the price of a used car but if there's 2 side by side i might get lucky and get one full of extras for the same price of one which hasnt.

Apparently googling.....I could establish the last 5 digits of the VIN but for the remainder google says send a form to the DVLA

I might have misunderstood, but the VIN will be visible on the car. These days usually through the front windscreen - your owner’s manual will probably tell you where to find it.

[LotusOmega375D]

I got the wrong end of the stick when I saw the thread title. Anyway I did a bit of Googling and discovered that the first car, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen originally cost about $150 according to Wikipedia. HTH.

[Steve-B]

extras become £0 value the minute you drive off of the forecourt

[matchmaker]

500x said:

Thanks for your replies.

To clarify, the "etc" was blind spot assist, Lane control, rear camera, Lane departure warning. Sorry for any confusion.

Panamax hits the nail on the head, I agree it doesnt make much difference to the price of a used car but if there's 2 side by side i might get lucky and get one full of extras for the same price of one which hasnt.

Apparently googling.....I could establish the last 5 digits of the VIN but for the remainder google says send a form to the DVLA

VIN should be visible somewhere. On my Superb it's on the left end of the top of the dash, easily visible through the windscreen.

[500x]

LotusOmega375D said:

I got the wrong end of the stick when I saw the thread title. Anyway I did a bit of Googling and discovered that the first car, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen originally cost about $150 according to Wikipedia. HTH.

Interesting tyres. Do you think they are 205's or 215's?

[500x]

I know where the VIN is. The issue is I can't see the car as they are at dealers remote to me. Might seem a bit strange if I called them to ask?

Referencing another comment, the options may have little or zero value......but....... if i can get an array of options for free, and worst case I don't get anything back for them over a non option model at the time of sale it may appear to be a case of zero in, zero out. That's missing the point....in the time I owned the car I would have benefitted from the use of having these extras. That's unless it's something silly like a 2 inch rim upgrade which ruins the ride comfort.

Best case I could get lucky like Limpet but I expect that scenario is rare.

[ChocolateFrog]

VIN Decoder and then use that website that was linked on here a while ago that had 100's of archived brochures.