Don't Let Your Car's Value Be a Mystery

Your automobile is one of the most important investments in your life. Depreciation is a fact of ownership. It is very common for automobiles to lose half of their original value in just a few years if you buy brand-new models. Because this devaluation is so steep, you never know what your vehicle is worth and how much you can get for it. This is important when you are deciding whether to keep fixing a vehicle up or selling it off to the highest bidder.

Of course, there are resources if you want to check the value of your vehicle. Unfortunately, these resources don't take into consideration if you have invested a substantial amount of money in performance modifications or beefed-up parts. You have to convince sellers that this additional work makes your vehicle more valuable by reaching tuners and enthusiasts who would like to do these upgrades themselves.

How to Use the Information

There are many ways to use particulars of your vehicle’s valuation in your favor. For starters, you have an incentive to keep your vehicle in good condition if it has a significant impact on the resale price. Keeping copies of receipts for all repairs and maintenance to demonstrate a complete history is one way to get the most value for your vehicle.

This works even if the vehicle may have cosmetic wear or performance issues. If you show that your vehicle is in good condition, then you eliminate lots of question marks and in turn you can obtain a higher price on resale. For the most part, information about the value of your vehicle is pretty worthless outside of resale or replacement decisions.

A vehicle can be worth the price of a new car to you if it delays the need for replacement because it runs very well, even if others dislike the styling.

Kelley Blue Book

The Kelley Blue Book is the automotive bible that car dealerships and car buyers go by for determining a realistic value for a used vehicle. But the Kelley Blue Book doesn't make any independent appraisals of a vehicle's value. The way that this pricing guide works is by analyzing the sales prices of used vehicles and coming to an approximate average price. Some owners may hold out for more money while others may accept less.

Other owners may look at the book and ask, "How much is my car worth?" If they have no idea of how to price their vehicles, the Kelley Blue Book provides a fairly reasonable price point. Of course, it is not the only resource and is only meant to be a general guideline.

Dealerships can, likewise, increase the sticker price of their vehicles well beyond the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) if the vehicles are scarce in the area and in demand. A vehicle that is garage-kept, one-owner, or equipped with any collectible or special features can command a higher price.

Online Resources

Edmunds, NADA Blue Book, Kelley Blue Book, and even Carfax can help you to come up with some quick calculations regarding the value of your vehicle. Although you are not required to sell your vehicle at these numbers, you may have a tough time negotiating for higher than average prices. This is a big complaint among classic car owners who have rare vehicles that are not found in original condition on the roads anymore. People will make them lowball offers that are far less than what they may have invested in a single day for a very collectible vehicle.

That is the problem with following the book guides for vehicles. Some better resources may be online auctions and peer-to-peer sales on forums for auto enthusiasts if you have a special model. Online and brick-and-mortar auctions can also be a helpful guide for figuring out what others are paying for the same vehicle. You can also look up the prices at dealerships to see how much they would charge someone for a vehicle like yours.