KBB Pricing

[Xist]

Okay, I have been looking for one specific car in my area, and by area, I have expanded my search quite a bit, partially just to see if anyone anywhere has any concept of Blue Book, and they do not seem to. There is another HX for sale, 180,000 miles, and they are asking $2,800, even though the Blue Book is $2,436 and the car has a salvage title!

People keep asking three to four thousand for a car evaluated between $1,900 and $2,500.

If people pay that much, does that mean that the car is actually worth that much? In this case, can everyone be wrong?

I just do not think that if I wait for someone to ask for Blue Book I will ever find a car and I am pretty sure that I offer Blue Book they will stop talking to me. I really want to hear someone argue why they are asking so much. "Kelley just does not take into account the great condition of this car!"

"Really? Their top tier is `Excellent' and their description is literally `flawless'."

[Gealii]

the problem with kbb is that its a broad area, a car rated good in Texas would be considered excellent up here in Ohio. Most the time people take KBB's price and jack it up higher if the cars mostly stock, that way when someone tries to bring the price down they get what they think the car is worth. when i go into something like this i bring money in pocket and when you go to do the dealing with the price bring out the cash money talks

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Gealii

the problem with kbb is that its a broad area, a car rated good in Texas would be considered excellent up here in Ohio. Most the time people take KBB's price and jack it up higher if the cars mostly stock, that way when someone tries to bring the price down they get what they think the car is worth. when i go into something like this i bring money in pocket and when you go to do the dealing with the price bring out the cash money talks

I had not thought that the qualifications for conditions would vary from location to location, but all things being equal, I would not expect cars to have the exact same values across the country.

List-Alert notified me of a new post. I wish that it could recognize reposts. This guy is asking more than any other one that I have considered. It is stock except for "6000k HID lights tinted windows." Well, I paid $200 for a tint on my Forester that I never received. You would think that they would absorb the sunlight, but they are supposed to help keep the car cooler.

They do have the original wheels, unlike the previous ones that I have seen. I still have the cash from the last one and since it has been for sale for at least two weeks, maybe he will come down, although maybe he or she will not and that is why it is still for sale.

So, I was planning on offering the cash. That would at least give me a negotiation point.

Either I need to spend a day or two working on my car to sell, or I need to ask much less. Do you think that it would be fair to ask ten or fifteen percent above Blue Book to leave room for negotiation?

[1carnut]

I usually do the following when I'm either buying or selling a car. I check the following sites for value:

kbb.com
nadaguides.com
edmunds.com

They normally vary quite a bit so I average the three. Once I have that number, I go to some of the larger sites that sell cars like cars.com and see what a comparable car in the area(s) I'm looking in is going for. Sometimes these comps are different from the number I got averaging the three sites but it helps. You can also go to ebaymotors and find completed auctions for what you are looking for to get an idea of what things are actually selling for. Hope this helps. It sounds like a lot of work but doesn't really take too long and can save you a lot of money.

[War_Wagon]

The older, and rarer, model you are looking for, the less the book price counts. 2010 Ford Taurus? Sure, the book number matters because if one advertised is too expensive, you can find 10 more just like it that are more in line with book prices. A 12 year old car that was a specialty item to start with? It's worth what someone will pay for it. And the older the vehicle, the more mileage they have in general, so the average value gets lower and lower, as most of them have say 200k miles, so if you see one with 150k, the book won't account for that. And depending on where the KBB gets their info, it can be skewed to start with. Generally value guides get their information from either auction results, or from the tax/registration departments. So if someone reports that they only paid $3000 for a car when they in fact paid $5000, in order to save on taxes, then that reduces the accuracy as well if enough people do it.

Some guy really wanted my Tracker, it's a 1998 so it's the last of the more popular body, has all the stuff you'd want, best colour combo, and is really clean, with 175k KMs (110k miles). You couldn't find this combo in this condition with the miles it has on it again if you wanted to. The guy pulled out a print off of one of the local value guides, and showed me that according to "the book", I was $500 overpriced. "So buy one from the book then." He didn't like that lol, but it's true. The book doesn't sell cars, so you have to remember it's only a guide and nothing set in stone.

[Ryland]

When I sell used cars I often start out asking above blue book value because when I don't I end up getting a flood of phone calls and everyone is going to offer me less then my asking price so if I start it out at blue book value and I end up getting talked down in price then I end up selling it for less then it's worth and if you put on the ad that the price is firm then no one calls or if they do call they never show up.

Key to buying a car that you like for the price you want is having cash and showing up, if you show up and offer them a fair price in cash most people will take it, if they don't then they either don't really want to sell they car or are pretty sure someone else is standing right behind you who is willing to pay them what they are asking, either way they are watching someone with cash in hand walk away from them and that leaves most people with a sinking feeling.
I also never talk about lowering the price over the phone unless you have already looked at the car, it's best to do it in person because if the seller takes you up on the amount you offer them they don't have to hope that you show up.

[War_Wagon]

^^ this. Don't ever ask someone what their best price is until you are there in person, with cash. I don't even respond to emails or phone messages asking that before someone has seen the car. If they are actually serious about buying what you have for sale, they will take the time to show up and look at it. I have actually sold cars for less than I had planned to, simply because the person showed up on time, wasn't whining about little scratches etc (it's a used car, if you want perfect, go buy a new one), and didn't try to tell me what my car was worth or what was wrong with it. If I am asking $3000 for a car, and someone starts picking it apart, humming and hawing, then they are paying $3000 if they buy it. If they just look at it, and say "I like it, I will pay you $2500", I will probably sell it to them. Mainly because it's worth the $500 to not have to deal with the first kind of person lol

[Xist]

Thanks guys! Great responses! I will remember "So buy one from the book then!"

Someone posted about Autotempest.com, so I have been using that, but it only seems useful for opening up both Craigslist and Autotrader. At least for what I have tried to find so far, either the other sites do not show anything, or they show everything else.

[Ryland]

Other thing I've noticed is that cars sell for higher prices in big cities and for less in smaller towns, I live between a big city and a smaller city that has it's own craigslist, if I wanted to move cars 70 miles I could buy off one craigslist and sell on another because the lower the value (under $5,000) of the vehicle the shorter distance that they want to travel.

[War_Wagon]

Another good point! Anyone on this site probably has at least one car. So if we see something for sale that's a 30 minute drive away, we will go look at it. It wasn't until I was selling a Civic I had stashed away out in the farmlands, and a person showed up in a taxi to come look it, that it dawned on me that not everyone can do that! And the cheaper the car, the more likely the person looking for something in that price range will be looking for something close by.