The features second-hand...

The features second-hand customers want most vary from model to model - and this makes it more difficult than ever to come up with a reasonable sale or part-exchange price for your motor.

While leather upholstery is the most valuable option on the VW Golf 1.6 SE, choose the firm"s Passat and buyers will be prepared to pay more for the benefit of xenon lamps. Similarly, people wanting a Renault Mégane 1.6 Privilège will fork out more for sat-nav than for leather! Here are a number of other car valuing quirks of the second-hand market...

Wrong colours: чЈ650 less

taking a selection of 12 colours on a BMW 3-Series after three years and 60,000 miles, CAP found an incredible eight shades reduced its potential sale price. Alpine White is the worst offender - it will fetch чЈ650 less than the CAP average retail price - while Japan Red cars could cost their owners чЈ270. Red is also bad news for VW Golf owners. A two-year-old 1.6 SE will be worth чЈ210 less in the bright colour, while Ink Blue hits values by чЈ410.

Missing service history: чЈ1,440 less

Without the proof of a dealer service history, don"t expect to get a top price for a two-year-old Jaguar X-Type. If your 2.5 V6 lacks the necessary stamps, it will be worth a huge чЈ1,440 less than CAP"s retail figure. A service book missing only a few stamps will lose чЈ420.

Contrast this with a similarly unloved Toyota Avensis 1.8. It would be worth чЈ405 less without a history, while a partially complete maintenance record knocks чЈ195 off the value.

Previous owners: чЈ790 less

According to CAP, a two-year-old Toyota Avensis that"s been used as a taxi will be worth чЈ790 less than the average. But a car with three or more owners is valued at only чЈ180 less.

Meanwhile, driving school vehicles aren"t the bad news you"d expect. A two-year-old Ford Fiesta 1.25 LX will suffer to the tune of чЈ210 in the trade for having an instructor in the logbook!