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It certainly is. CarGurus was among the very first in the online automotive industry to create its own car valuation algorithm, which analyses millions of data points from every car on the site and is updated daily.

This comes down to demand. Choose a popular type of car from one of the more prestigious manufacturers (a BMW SUV being a good example) and it’s likely to do a good job of retaining its value. That said, the long-term value of a car will still also depend on a variety of other factors such as reliability, quality, performance, safety rating, and more.

This depends on the degree of damage. A vehicle with severe damage, e.g. a cracked frame, flood damage, etc. would lose significant value. A car with minor damage, e.g. professionally repaired dented bodywork, should be priced just below the standard value.

Category 'S' - Cat 'S' (Structural) are vehicles that have sustained structural damage (frame, suspension, etc.) that’s bad enough for the insurance company to write the car off. Cat 'S' cars may be repaired to be roadworthy, but must be re-registered with the DVLA to make sure the repairs are acceptable.

Category 'N' - Cat 'N' (Non-structural) are vehicles that have sustained non-structural damage (headlights, infotainment, etc.) that’s bad enough for the insurance company to write the car off. You will need to tell the DVLA that a Cat N car has been written off, but you won’t need to be re-register it to return it to the road.

While both Cat 'N' and Cat 'S' vehicles are repairable, they have been written off by an insurance provider because they fall into the BER ("Beyond Economical Repair") category. Cat N and Cat S were introduced in 2017 to replace Cat D and Cat C respectively. For more information see our guide to insurance write-offs.

Like CarGurus, Auto Trader uses an algorithm to calculate guide prices based on millions of data points. While not the first to do it, this data-driven approach will help you find a fair price.

Parker's employs a team of experts to review listings to calculate appropriate valuations and report back to a central database. You will have to pay £4.99 to get a more accurate report, including mileage, options, etc.

Lenders use the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio to determine how much they will loan on a car. A higher LTV ratio is considered a higher risk for a car loan. Each bank has different guidelines on LTV ratios to determine the loan value. Learn more about car finance.

The residual value is the value of a car after a certain period of time (e.g. at the end of a PCP finance term). It helps determine your monthly payment and the price you pay to buy the car when your PCP finance deal ends. The residual value is calculated as a percentage of the vehicle's list price when new. For example:

List price when new - £40,000

Residual value after three years/30,000 miles - 50%

Lease term - 36 months (10,000miles/year)

To get the residual value, you take 50% of the list price when new, in this case £20,000.

There are pros and cons to each. While you are likely to get more money via private sale, part-exchanging your car is less of a hassle and allows you to complete the deal in one transaction.

All cars suffer from depreciation. A new car's value will depreciate immediately after you leave the dealership, whereas most used cars depreciate more slowly over time after the initial purchase.