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FAQ's Answered |
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Q. How does RedBook arrive at the vehicle prices it quotes?
A. Red Book's price guides are derived from extensive research which involves obtaining details of sales from auction houses and motor dealers from all over China, from vehicle manufacturers and their dealer networks, from monitoring the classified advertising in every major publication and website in China and from actual field research.
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Q. How often is the information on the RedBook site updated?
A. Daily for new models and changes to specifications, monthly for used vehicle prices. Each month Red Book reviews the price of every vehicle in its database and makes changes to up to 75% of these vehicles.
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Q. Are there price variances in the different geographical areas?
A. Generally speaking, there are no major price differences around China. The reason being is that it is so easy and inexpensive to move vehicles from one location to another. The more important influences on vehicle prices are seasonal variations and supply and demand factors.
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Q. What is the definition of "New price"?
A. "New price" is the manufacturers recommended retail price for new vehicles (or the RRP when used vehicles were new). It does not reflect any one-off promotional sales programs or short term price cuts.
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Q. What does your "wholesale" price mean?
A. The "wholesale" price quoted on the website is the price a professional dealer would be expected to pay for his vehicle stock.
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Q. What does your "retail" price mean?
A. "retail" price is the price a dealer would sell to the public.
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Q. What are the various definitions of "condition"
A. - Poor ... High kilometres, major repairs needed mechanically AND on body and/or interior.
- Fair ... Higher kilometres than average, with major repairs needed either mechanically OR on body and/or interior.
- Average ... Vehicles which are in normal condition for their age. Passenger vehicles should have travelled 20,000 to 25,000 kilometres per year. The body and interior should be reasonably original. They should be mechanically sound and should not require any major repairs to make them ready for sale.
- Good ... Vehicles which are well maintained, with a higher degree of originality than average. Passenger vehicles should have travelled about 12,000 to 15,000 kilometres per year. Body and interior should be original with minimum signs of wear. Only minor work should be needed to bring the vehicle to saleable condition.
- Very Good ... Almost no sign of wear and tear and requiring only minor work to bring the vehicle to saleable condition. Lower kilometres than for Good condition.
- As New ... A vehicle that is in show room condition with no money to spend. Expect the kilometres to be extremely low.
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Q. What is the "year" of the vehicle?
A. The year quoted by Red Book is the year the vehicle was built (build date). So, a vehicle with a build date of say, October 2005, but sold in say, February 2006, will still be a 2005 model.
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Q. How does Red Book predict future values - "Price Ahead"?
A. The methodology behind Red Book’s future pricing studies is to examine the value trends of the vehicle (or a similar vehicle) over a period of time and then follow that trend into the future.
In practice, this means back-tracking through Red Book’s computer databases for as many years as possible and developing a price-trend graph from this.
The examination of this information eliminates the effects of differing economic conditions, government decisions such as tariff rate changes, the introduction of different taxes and so on. The extrapolation of this information to forward years has proved surprisingly accurate when reviews have been conducted.
The data derived from the back-tracking exercise is massaged to a point to achieve a more accurate result. For instance, high inflation years and low inflation years are taken into account and more emphasis is placed on price trend information in the more recent years.
Other factors, such as model changes and volume of sales are also noted.
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