Drivers who skimp on cleaning and presentation before selling their car could be throwing away more than £1,000 – even if the vehicle is mechanically sound.

Buyers make snap judgements based on how a car looks, and quickly demand money off if it appears scruffy, unloved or poorly maintained, according to Autotrader research.

In a nationally representative survey of more than 2,000 UK motorists, nine in ten buyers said poor presentation would stop them paying the full asking price for an otherwise sound car.

Nearly 70% said they would expect at least 6% off if a car looks untidy, while just 9% would pay full price regardless of appearance.

With the average used car now priced at £17,103, a 6% discount alone wipes around £1,026 off the sale price – and many buyers expect far more.

Autotrader found the most common discount demanded for a poorly presented car falls in the 6–10% range, cited by 35% of buyers, while 33% said they would push for 11–20% off, purely based on appearance.

That means a lack of basic preparation could cost sellers £1,000 to £1,700 – without a single fault under the bonnet.

Autotrader’s car-selling expert Erin Baker said: “We often talk about staging when it comes to selling houses, but the same psychology applies to used cars.

“Buyers make a judgement in seconds, and if a car looks unloved, they immediately start negotiating, even if it’s mechanically sound.”

Crucially, presentation also shapes buyers’ views on reliability. More than three quarters (77%) said a clean car makes them believe the owner has looked after it mechanically as well.

Autotrader found the biggest gains come from simple, low-cost fixes – not expensive repairs.

The Regions and Cities Where Scruffy Cars Get Hit Hardest

The ‘staging effect’ for cars varies across the UK. The Northeast expects the biggest average price drop when presentation is poor, with a mean expected discount of 11%, nearly double the national average.

At city level, Newcastle is the toughest place to sell a scruffy-looking car, with the highest mean expected discount, equivalent to around £1,860 on a £17,103 car, followed closely by Glasgow (10.4%), which equates to around £1,779.

*Based on an average used car price of £17,103.

The findings underline a stark warning for sellers: failing to clean, tidy and present a car properly can cost far more than the price of a valet — and in some parts of the country, nearly £2,000 off the final deal.