The Battle of the Auto Value Raters
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by: margaret
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Word Count: 501
Lots of websites offer car valuators, but of all of them, three stand out to "compete." N.A.D.A. Guide, Edmunds, and the Kelley Blue Book (affectionately abbreviated KBB). Believe it or not, all three serve slightly different niches. Are any one of them better than all of the others?
All three websites are pretty thorough. You'll be asked, first and foremost, the model year of your car, the make and model, and then you'll delve into some pretty personal car questions. It's unlikely you'll be asked, "When did you know you loved your car?" By personal, of course, I mean that you'll be asked about specific features. What size engine does your car have? Does it feature an automatic or standard transmission? What size are the wheels? Does it come with any special items such as a sun room or navigation system? How many miles are on your car?
After answering a myriad of questions, you're presented with some values. The general value of your car, what you could realistically expect were you to sell it privately, and what you could expect to pay a dealer for your car. Please don't mistake this last value; it doesn't mean the amount the dealer will give you to take your SUV off of your hands. Quite often they will aim for a price at least one thousand dollars below the dealer value because they want to turn around and make a profit on it.
So which of the valuators should you use for your car? If your vehicle was made before the late 1970s, don't even bother with Edmunds or KBB...head straight to NADA to get an accurate value for your car. KBB won't even price cars older than a couple of decades. However, if your car is newer, KBB is a good place to start, especially if you want to sell your car privately. Most buyers will either ask you to reveal the KBB value or try to look it up themselves. KBB is one of the most well-known of the three, and so consumers are most likely to check it out first. Edmunds is useful if you want a more specific, or accurate price for your vehicle.
Frankly, the best way to understand the current value of your car is to try all three. They don't take very long, and will give you a stronger estimate if you can rate your car on all three valuators. If you're buying a new car, you might want to check its value on NADA. Many auto insurers use these prices to determine the tier in which your vehicle is rated. Either way, whether you're buying, selling, or just curious to see if your loan payoff amount matches the value of your car, make sure that you check somewhat frequently in order to keep current. Certain vehicles drop dramatically once they reach a certain mileage, and in the last six to twelve months, the value of gas-guzzling SUVs has dropped even more.
About the Author
Margaret is a writer for ERUNIX, Inc.
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