Kelly Blue Book vs. Edmunds

J

jimmyjazz

2,500+ Posts
We are considering a new vehicle, and I'm trying to assess the value of the one we are going to be replacing. I've "appraised" it on the Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds websites, and they're not even close to agreeing with each other. For instance, when considering trade-in value, the two websites show

KBB "good condition" = $14,070
Edmunds "good condition" = $19,073

KBB "excellent condition" = $14,925
Edmunds "excellent condition" = $19,849


Any thoughts on the discrepancies, and furthermore, which website is more accurate? To be honest, my gut feeling is more in line with the KBB valuations, but I'm a bit of a pessimist when it comes to things like this.

Please, no lectures on trade-in versus private party sale. This is just an example, and furthermore, both websites show a small enough difference between trade-in and private party valuations that the reduced sales tax burden due to trading in would almost completely wipe out the gains from selling the vehicle myself. I haven't approached any dealerships for an appraisal, but if they lowball me, then it's off to craigslist I go.
 
All of the numbers that come from websites or blue books or whatever are pretty much worthless and pure propaganda, according to my good buddy in the car business.

Dealers will offer you about 80% of what they believe they can unload the thing for at the next auction to come around. Regardless of what the books say.

I used to trade in cars but I've sold the last two outright. Really it was pretty easy. Both times I got almost 50% more than what the dealers offered.

Not meant to be a lecture, but the published estimates really are for ****.
 
My guy claims they don't go off a "book" as much as their buyers go off gut feel, or they will simply call around to a few other buyers they know and see what they get offered.

The only real way to know in that scenario is to take it out and see what you get offered. I'd try carmax first.
 
I agree that I think it is more what they think they can get or auction price.
Depends on the type of car a lot.
I just traded in an Isuzu Trooper (SUV), the dealership offered exactly what Carmax did. There is not much demand for a car like that so I wasn't expecting a good deal.
 
We do use the Mannheim Index, and regional auction prices. The trade in market is severely depressed right now, especially on Trucks/SUVs. Many times, people come in with an inflated idea of where their vehicle is, and get upset, only to realize later we're not any different than the guy down the street. At Lexus, we give all our pre-owned vehicles a thorough inspection, and reconditioning regime before we put them on the lot, so there is some cost associated to that. The above poster is correct......we'll give what the market dictates.
 
First, don't overvalue your car. It is a car, not a personal investment. Once you get past that part you can look at it objectively.

Less than 5% of vehicles will fit into the "excellent" category. You would have to have less than average miles and the wear would be very minimal. Like an old lady car.

Second, NADA is very good to use. Look at a book in a parts store as it will be more accurate than online versions. Online version are not region specific. Yes, they ask for your Zip cose, but that is for information purposes only. Get a book and look it up.

Best way to do it is call dealers. If you do, don't overvalue your car. Be honest and tell them about the car.
Carmax is pretty good as well.
 
last summer I was replacing an older vehicle. while I was finding the best deal on the new one, I got a written offer from Carmax for 4000. the dealer offered me 2000 on the trade in. I told them I had an offer for 4000 and they (after a long wait) upped it to 3500.
 
This whole process would be a whole lot easier if my wife would put even a modicum of thought into cost and budget.

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We found 2 Saturn Outlooks -- really nice vehicles, by the way -- one of which is virtually the twin of the other but it's $4500 cheaper because of build date and demo miles (~ 1K miles). She likes the expensive one because she likes the color better. Mind you, she has pointed to virtually the same damn color as the cheaper Outlook on a Honda Pilot and exclaimed "oooh, nice", but that holds no weight.

I'm gonna buy her a damn minivan just to piss her off.
 
We ended up with a 2008 Subaru Tribeca Limited. We purchased it for $1,000 under invoice, or $715 less than Edmunds' "True Market Value" (which is allegedly the vehicle's typical selling price). They offered $14.5K trade-in on our 2006 VW Passat, which was $2,623 below the average of the 5 online "appraisals" I had run. We walked on that offer, which prompted the salesman to ask what we would take -- I said $17K ($123 below said average trade-in) -- and he came back with $16K. We said we were leaving to drive the Mazda CX-9, the salesman's phone magically rang, and voila! the sales manager 35 feet away phoned in a $17K trade-in. We took it, and then found out they could beat our financing (66 months at 4.75%) with a 2.9% 63-month offer. We took that, too, as it not only knocks 3 payments off the note but each payment is $3 less.

We would have had to sell our Passat for more than $18,063 on the open market to do better than that trade-in. I think we could have done it, but no way would we have gotten $19K, so we're probably looking at a loss of a few hundred dollars or so, which I am happy to take given the fact that I don't have to deal with the hassle of selling that car myself.

Thanks to everyone who offered advice. I am exceedingly happy with this deal. The Tribeca has a very high level of fit and finish, and in my opinion, obliterates the Mazda my wife wanted to purchase.
 
Yeah, and that VW is one year away from being out of warranty. I was not thrilled with the idea. Good car, but lots of nagging little things, many of them phantom, like faulty indicator lights needing to be reset, etc.
 
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