What do auto dealers use to value used cars?

Question

I've heard of a "Black Book" of pre-owned car values used by dealerships when they buy and sell used vehicles (kind of like the industry version of the Kelly Blue Book). If so, how can someone who isn't a dealer get a hold of one of these books?

Answer 1

those blue books and similar are pretty much worthless if you have something that is in the least bit unusual, different, or over a few years old. The best way to judge the value of a vehicle is to price similar vehicles on craigslist.org, your local paper, and autotrader.com to get an average price for what vehicles go for in your area. They vary throughout the country, which is just one reason why the "blue-books" are worthless.

Answer 2

The car dealers use a variety of tools to assess the value of a trade-in. One tool is the "black book" published by the North American Dealers Association. This provides an approximate value for many used vehicles.

Dealers have a used car manager that researches prices paid for similar cars at local auctions. The car dealer will often auction trade-ins if they require too much reconditioning or spend too much time on the used car lot (more than two weeks). The cars represent capital tied up in inventory, so turn around is important.

Sometimes, dealers have a list of vehicles that prospective customers wish to purchase, this adds to the base amount that a dealer might otherwise pay.

Finally, I have heard a dealer call another dealer in the area to ask what he thinks the car is worth, especially if the trade-in is a brand that the other dealer sells as new.

If you don't think one dealer is giving you a fair price, go to another. I have experienced a spread of as much as 10% difference between the low cash trade in and the high cash trade in offered for the same car on the same day.

Answer 3

Most dealers base the price of the vehicle on current dealer auction results. Companies like Black Book have representatives at many auctions, and they rate the condition of the vehicle and note the sales price.

Many of the auction companies also offer either weekly or monthly reports of sales prices. Manheim Auto Auctions (one of the largest auction companies in the country has a pricing program available for dealers to download, and that also can be accessed on line.

The auction reports are proprietary information, and are not available to the public. Black Book will sell you a subscription to their publications, but unless you are a dealer, you really do not need a weekly update!

Black book has a website, but you have to pay to use it! You do not have to be a dealer!

http://www.blackbookusa.com/

The NADA book is not the Black Book. The NADA book is yellow, and is only updated monthly