The NADA Guide: What You Should Know About the Pros' Blue Book
Your eyes do not deceive you--the NADA guide does, indeed, have an orange cover, but car dealers and loan officers call it the blue book. Color aside, it's the one they reach for when buying or selling used cars. You may not realize it, but the NADA guides play a big role in the sale of your car, and you should know more about it.
The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) put out its first Official Used Car Guide in 1933--it's been around almost as long as used cars themselves. NADA has built its reputation by gathering sales data from auto manufacturers, car dealers, newspapers, and auto auctions to incorporate in the guide. NADA's expert staff also considers economic trends, government fees, environmental factors, and other criteria to come up with its figures.
Today, there are numerous resources for anyone who wants to buy or sell a used car. Among the general public, the Kelley Blue Book is better known as a source for car prices, and Edmunds has its own book on the topic. However, NADA remains the main resource for the automotive industry, which is why it should be yours too.
It may have roots 70 years in the past, but the NADA guides can now be found online as well. Whichever source you go with, NADA provides the average trade-in, loan, and retail prices for each model car by year. If you're selling your car, you'll find that NADA's pricing is usually higher than its competitors', based on the assumption that the car being sold is in very clean condition. Past NADA guides have included this paragraph:
The averages in the Guide assume a car is clean. Appropriate deductions should be made for reconditioning incurred to put the car in salable condition. An exceptionally clean car or one which has been dealer reconditioned and bears a warranty or guarantee should bring a premium over published values.
You're probably asking yourself what the NADA blue book considers a "clean" car. NADA lists three categories to consider: exterior condition, interior condition, and mechanical soundness. For a car to be considered "clean" under NADA guidelines, it should meet all the following criteria:
Fewer than 5% of used cars qualify as "clean" under NADA blue book guidelines, which can complicate your pricing process. NADA mentions "appropriate" deductions, but those guidelines are even vaguer.
Even if you figure out a fair price for your used car, the task of selling your vehicle awaits. If you sell your car yourself, you can look forward to paying for the ad, playing phone tag with potential buyers, welcoming strangers to look at your car, and finishing up the paperwork before the cash finally hits your hands.
Dealerships are an option, but it's a given they won't give you anything near the NADA blue book value for your auto. You'll also face the dealer's notorious high-pressure sales tactics. Fortunately, there's an alternative to these two extremes.
Say No to NADA, Say Yes to Selling Your Car
There's a way to sell your car for more money than you'd get from an auto dealership. At the same time, you can avoid all the hassle of selling your car by yourself. That is, you won't have to figure out the price, deal with potential buyers, or fight your way through the paperwork. It's called an auto buying service.
Give us a try. We'll come to your location at your convenience to appraise your used car, then make you a cash offer right on the spot. We'll spare you the hassle, the haggling, and the paperwork--all for free. It takes 30 minutes of your time, and it's really that easy.
We're here to help you, so ring us up. We'll be glad to help you get the best deal for your used car.
