Trade value

Trade value is the wholesale figure — what a dealer would pay to take your car in, knowing they need to resell it at a profit. It strips out the retail margin, which is why it sits well below both market and retail value, often R30,000 to R80,000 under retail on an ordinary SA vehicle.

Some insurers default older or higher-mileage cars to a trade basis, and a few budget products quote on trade to keep the headline premium low. The saving is real but small; the shortfall at claim time is not. Settling a write-off at trade value can leave you unable to replace your car with an equivalent one.

Unless you genuinely cannot get a better basis, choose retail or market over trade — and if a quote looks unusually cheap, check the schedule, because a trade value basis is a common reason why.