KBB Vehicle Pricing: How to Decode the Valuations
The Kelley Blue Book, or KBB, is the leading resource for used car pricing, with more than 80 years of experience under its belt. Even people who know nothing about cars will tell you to check KBB .com before selling your auto. However, Kelley Blue Book is not the magic solution to selling your car. As a resource, KBB only offers guidelines for pricing your used car. You still have some work to do on your own.
It's easy to open up KBB .com, look up your car's year, make, and model, and assume that you'll get the Suggested Retail Value for your used car when you put it on the market. Then reality sets in. Most likely, you'll find that no one is willing to pay that much for your auto in a private sale and most certainly not at a dealership. Just as bad, you could let your vehicle go for much less than it's worth. How could KBB, the supposed best resource for used car pricing, lead you wrong?
The fault lies with neither KBB nor with you--it's simply a matter of learning and interpreting the Blue Book's guidelines. With a little background info, you'll be able to figure out the true value of your car.
Unlock the Language of KBB
When you look up your auto's suggested retail value in the Kelley Blue Book, you'll notice that the top price listed is for cars in "excellent" condition. You may consider yourself a conscientious owner who kept your car in a fine state, but KBB is very clear on what it considers excellent condition.
According to KBB, a car can be considered in excellent condition when it has had absolutely no paint or body work done, and is free from blemishes and scratches. The vehicle must be in excellent mechanical condition and need no reconditioning. It must also have a clean title and pass smog certification, and the engine compartment must be clean, with no fluid leaks or visible wear/defects.
Here's the kicker: the vehicle must have complete and verifiable service records. If you can claim all this, congrats - only 5% of vehicles meet these strict qualifications. Then you can charge the full Suggested Retail Value for your car with confidence. The rest of us have some more work to do.
Dig Deeper to Find Your Car's True Value
Finding your car's worth isn't a complete guessing game. True to its reputation, KBB .com has more tools for your use. Along with the suggested retail value, you'll find numbers for the dealer trade-in and private party sales. You'll notice a big difference between these figures, even if your car is in excellent condition. Just below the suggested retail value, the private party sale is a smaller amount, and the dealer is the stingiest of them all.
The suggested retail value is how much the dealer asks for the used vehicle when selling it on the lot. The price is inflated due to the dealer's overhead and other costs he must recover. Conversely, the trade-in is low because the dealer must then worry about adding to his or her inventory and eventually unloading the car.
In between is the private party figure, but KBB doesn't account for the extra effort you'll invest in the sale. After you calculate the cost of advertising and the hours you'll put into showing the car, negotiating the price, and finalizing the sale, you may be in for a rude surprise. The extra 15% you get from selling your car on your own will be overshadowed by the amount of work you put into closing the deal.
How to Sell Your Car in Plain English
The excellent alternative to this Catch 22 is to sell your car, truck, or SUV to an auto buying service. They'll appraise your vehicle at your earliest convenience and give you a cash offer right then and there.
In our case, we guarantee to offer more for your vehicle than any dealer will, and more importantly we handle all DMV paperwork, smog certification, and transportation of the vehicle. That way, you get that extra 5-15% over dealer trade-in value without paying out of pocket for advertising, smog check, etc. We are Southern California's largest and most respected auto buying service with over 25 years' experience and over 50,000 vehicles bought and sold.
Sounds like something worth looking into, doesn't it? Especially since it's completely free (though we do accept hugs and handshakes). You can find out, right now, exactly how much money you can get for your vehicle and get that cash in your hand today. Just click here, fill out a brief form, and a Valuation Expert will phone you shortly.
