Whether you're planning to buy or sell a used car in the near future, you should understand the concepts and methods of determining vehicle market values. Knowing the true value of a vehicle puts you in a position to get the best possible deal as a buyer and to set a realistic starting price as a seller.
What Is True Market Value?
Before you start exploring the value of a used car, it's important to fully understand market value. A market value of any asset is just an estimate. True market value is what a buyer would pay for the item under normal conditions. Unless you have one or more buyers before you with offers, you can't be entirely sure of the true market value of the property. However, you can estimate the market value in other ways.
Kelley Blue Book
One of the most trusted resources that car buyers, sellers and dealers use to estimate the market value of a used car is the Kelley Blue Book. The published values are based on the opinions of experts and car industry information. This resource use to publish as an actual book for dealers but now any interested party can look up blue book values online to estimate the true market value of a used car.
Car Condition
One of the most important details that goes into determining the true market value of a car is the condition of the vehicle. Kelley Blue Book rates used cars on a scale from poor to excellent. A poor condition car has severe problems while a car in excellent condition looks and works like new. In between the two extremes is "good" (minor defects) and "fair" (some problems) condition vehicles. The true market value of the car will vary depending on the car condition.
Private Value vs. Dealer Value
If you're trying to sell your car, keep in mind that the market value of a car varies depending on the type of buyer. If you try to sell the car to a dealership (or do a trade-in for another car) the amount the dealer quotes might be less than what a private party might be willing to pay. For this reason, as a seller you should try to sell the car on the private market first to see what offers you get before getting an estimate for a trade-in from your local dealer.
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