Parkers was launched in March 1972 and is 50 years old
We celebrate by choosing our favourite 50 cars
...and show how the cost of running a car has changed
Written by Keith AdamsPublished: 19 May 2022Updated: 19 May 2022
Parkers: 50 years of car valuations
Parkers reached the Big Five-Oh in March 2022. When the Parkers Used Car Price Guide was launched in 1972, the world was a very different place. Petrol was 35p per gallon and the bestselling car in the UK was the Ford Cortina. Sir Edward Heath was the Conservative Prime Minister and the most popular TV included Till Death Do Us Part, Opportunity Knocks and On The Buses.
How life has changed… Below you can read more about then and now, and the full story of what used to be known as ‘the book’.
Parkers May 1972During the past 50 years, not only has the car market changed beyond all recognition, but so has Parkers. When it was launched in March 1972, Parkers was an A5-format monthly magazine packed with prices and line drawings of cars. For the consumer looking for accurate used car valuations in a closed world where these prices were a closely-guarded secret, it was little short of a revolution.
The magazine-format price guide was joined by the Parkers website in 1998, which initially contained reviews and price lists for new and used cars. These were later joined by online valuations – initial searches are free, with payment required to access more detailed prices.
During its lifetime, the Parkers Used Car Price Guide became the longest-running printed price guide available to the general public. It expanded over the years to offer reviews, technical data and marketplace intelligence along with pricing.
Since January 2020, when Parkers moved exclusively online, the title has grown from strength to strength with more than 2.5 million users per month generating 250,000+ individual car price valuations. Parkers now includes cars for sale, new and used car reviews, advice articles, finance and news.
