Xanadu350

Why do I get 2 different retail values from the internet? I plugged in the same mileage, same year, same model and get 2 diff figures buying from a private party.

Used 99 SC 300 with 13,000 Miles

Kelly Blue Book-Excellent Condition is $20,860

Cars.Com says-Extra Clean $24,125 or Just Clean-$23,750

Why such a diff, when I plugged in the same criteria?


Also what do the Lexus dealers use? Blue Book, Black Book?

Thanks for your input

Vegassc400

edmunds.com usually has the lowest price of all 3. In this case they say around $21000 from a private party. I'd probably go with KBB and edmunds and say between $20k and $21k.

SupraCoup3

I'd use the black book or NADA wholesale value, and work up from there. If it's a dealership, they paid wholesale -- and maybe less if it was a trade in.

NADA is one of the better book values -- KBB is useless -- it's too high. (People think they're getting a good deal because they pay blue book are chumps -- salespeople love it when a buyer only knows blue book value of the car they want)


John

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Dealers use only one book......... The Black Book. This is what the car industry uses to tell you what they will give you and what it is worth. As far as i am concerned it is the only book for prices, and it changes monthly. Why would you ask kbb for a price when they do not price cars for dealers to distribute and sale? Ask the people who tell the dealer what to sell it for, The Black Book.

Xanadu350

thanks guys, so would the nada book be closest in prices to the black book the dealers use?

If I buy an SC from a Lexus dealer, I want to be as close to the book they use as possible.

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

I agree with OLT. Don't consult any other source but the Black Book. That's the only one the dealers use. The banks and finance companies use the others (NADA, KelleyBlueBook, etc).

Xanadu350

So how can I access the Black Book for value?

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

I got one by making friends with a dealer.

Xanadu350

I just noticed that at Cars.Com when you click on research tab, then what is the value of my car, it says this is the black book prices, even has a link what is the black book?

Here is what it says when you click What is black book:

What is Black Book?
Black Book, the industry-leading source of used-vehicle valuations, is a service of the National Auto Research Division of Hearst Business Media Corporation. Since 1955 thousands of automotive dealerships and lending institutions have counted on Black Book's data to determine precise values for used vehicles. This data is presented in electronic and printed guidebooks, and in a recent year Black Book distributed more than 6 million of these pricing guides to its business clients.


Price your car the way a dealer would.
Thanks to an agreement with Black Book, cars.com now can offer this valuable service to our online visitors FREE OF CHARGE. If you need to know exactly how much a used vehicle is worth, cars.com's Black Book tool is your best bet. It is much more than an annual guide of average vehicle prices. Updated constantly, cars.com's Black Book tool takes into account mileage, vehicle condition and factory extras of cars that have sold as recently as last week! No other guide offers this level of service to the public at any price.


How does Black Book determine prices?
Black Book's team of auto experts harvests fresh data by visually inspecting the used cars, truck and vans sold at auctions throughout North America every week. The mileage and selling price, along with vehicle condition, equipment and trim levels, are recorded and rushed to Black Book headquarters in Gainesville, GA. From there, Black Book editors take into consideration numerous factors -- including weather conditions at the auctions, number of similar vehicles on the market and the prices from previous weeks' sales -- before updating the vehicle values.


How do I find my car's value?
Just click the "Price My Car" button below. Cars.com's Black Book tool will prompt you to supply everything needed to give you the most up-to-date retail and trade-in valuations available for your vehicle.


Sounds like cars.com has some type of agreement w black book?