Glass’s will be revamping its valuations system in a rolling programme over the next 12 months which will move from having one trade value for any vehicle to a three condition-based values.

The new system of three condition-based wholesale values will directly reflect the recently introduced condition grades used by auction houses. The decision on the precise grading system to be used will be taken in the coming months.

Mileage adjustments will also be customised for each model and demonstrate improved linkage to observed data across all segments.

The company will be implementing what it calls a statistical analytics engine (SAE) which it says will be able to use its one million wholesale transactions and two million retail observations to directly show the correlation between transaction data and Glass’s valuations.

The technology became available to Glass’s when EurotaxGlass, its parent company, acquired Grey Hen-Autovista earlier this year.
Andy Carroll, managing director of Glass’s, said: “Rather than a fixed and essentially arbitrary set of condition grades, Glass’s three wholesale values will be directly linked to the prices of vehicles with specific conditions and so will mirror the transaction data we receive from auctions.

“This will mean that any price differences between the condition grades will be captured and reported to accurately reflect ‘real world’ market conditions.”

Developments for 2012 also will include the ability to provide customers with updates more frequently than once a month.
The 2012 plan also includes the identification and valuation of vehicle options though direct access to manufacturer databases.

Glass’s currently values options separately, especially vital for premium brands and it believes this new development will improve accuracy.

All products affected, some already in 2011

The new SAE will be applied across Glass’s product range for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, motorcycles and caravans – although the lower volume of transaction data for the latter three will mean the changes will be brought in at a slower pace.
Work has been underway for several months already and the first changes will be launched later this year, following close consultation with customers.

All changes will be available through GlassNet, Glass’s online valuation tool, and all other digital products including Evaluator.

However, given the considerable increase in information that Glass’s will be providing to customers and the effect that introducing these values would have on the physical size of the printed Guide, a final decision has yet to be made on how to include them in the printed Guide. Glass’s will be consulting with over 12,000 customers for their views on the impact of such a major change before taking a final decision.