By what gauge do car dealers put value on used car trade in's?

Dealers use several tools to determine the actual market value (or what they call cash value or CV) of a vehicle. There are several guides that are published; a popular one is the Black Book, which is not generally available to the public. Black book prices are based on the actual selling prices of vehicles at dealer only auctions. Some auction companies also have on line value guides, again only available to dealers, and bases on actual auction results.

Individual auctions also publish the sales results at their auctions, and those are available to dealers who are registered at that auction!

Kelly blue book may also be used, but it is usually not as accurate for the latest market results.





A dealer is only going to pay the true wholesale values for a vehicle. If he can buy a car just like yours at the auction for $1500, he is not going to pay much more that that for yours! The dealer will always want to have a little room in the CV price to cover transportation and auction fees, if they can not, for whatever reason, sell the car on their used car lot!



They look at your vehicle and drive it. They note any obvious problems (body damage, bad tires, smoke from the exhaust, torn seats, glass damage) they then determine if the car is "clean" "average" or "rough". The guides will have prices for all three categories. Black book also has an "extra clean" category, but in 26 years in the auto business, I have NEVER seen a car that qualified!!!!



The dealer will then determine what repairs the car will need, and what those repairs will cost. They also take into account the mileage on the vehicle. (A car with 150,000 miles is worth a lot less that the exact same car in the same condition with 75,000 miles.



For example:



A car that would be "average" is worth $2000.



All four tires are bald. Deduct $250 for tires.

$2000- $250= $ 1750

The windshield is cracked. Deduct $200 for the windshield.

$1750 - $200 = $ 1550

The car has extremely low mileage (45,000 less than the average car)Add $350 for mileage.

$1550 + $350 =$ 1900

This vehicle is worth $1900 (CV)



The dealer can play with the numbers to make it look like you are getting more for your trade, but the CV is the actual amount you will get



Example:



New car list price $25,000



The dealer is willing to sell the car for $23,900.



If you pay $23,900 and get $1900 for your car the net cost to you is $22,000 and your car.



If you pay $25,000 for the new car and the dealer gives you $3000 you think you are doing better for your car but the net price is still $22,000 and your car!By what gauge do car dealers put value on used car trade in's?
kelly blue book ... has trade in values as well as retail



a lot use that
well,lets see here. my grandmother got rid of her car in 1802 and i think they value her car at 22 cents because she farted so often they thought she raised pigs.god bless the old bag.so what i'am trying to say is it the smell has a big part as to how valuable it is.DON'T PASS GAS IN THE CARBy what gauge do car dealers put value on used car trade in's?
They use a wholesaler's book that is not available to the public, called "Galves". It always shows a price much lower than NADA or KBB, but the dealers will tell you "Hey, that's what the book says!". If they take your car in on trade using the Galves number, they will be assured a huge profit, and you will be screwed.

Put your car on eBay, or take your car to multiple dealers, and do not accept the Galves trade-in number. You'll do much better that way.
I work at a dealer's car auction. They do use the blue book and NADA book etc. but I think mostly they take it if--in their experience or judgement--they will make money off of it.





It's pretty simple: Would YOU buy it? If so, chances are, someone else would too. So they'll take it. If you wouldn't buy it, why would someone else? They don't want it.By what gauge do car dealers put value on used car trade in's?
They typically go by the Kelley Blue Book value of the trade. To get an estimate use www.kbb.com . They look at the mileage and condition of the vehicle as well as the popularity of resale.
Like someone said, they use the wholesale book, which isn't available to the public. But it's about 30% less than the lowest trade-in price at kbb.com.



Most dealers will not inspect your trade-in thoroughly because they end up shipping them off to auction anyways. So if your trade-in's engine is on it's last leg, I'd rather trade-it in rather than selling it privately and the buyer suing you or giving you a headache.
Dealers typically work from the Kelly 'Blue Book' and then deduct for any ding or other imperfection they can find or fabricate. Expect to get hosed! Lately, I've been selling my used car on my own. the trade-in hassle is ultimately too costly.
the Richter scale, of course