I'm just curious to see how most here assign a value to used cars you might be interested in. Do you use KBB, Edmunds, NADA or some other criteria as a baseline and then add/deduct from the value based on condition, maintenance records, etc?
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Feb. 18, 2009 8:55 p.m. JoshC New Reader
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Feb. 18, 2009 9:20 p.m. billy3esq Dork
I look at all three, as well as similar cars on ebay, craigslist, and/or Autotrader as appropriate. Then I make up a number of what I think a car in very good condition would be worth.
Once I look at a particular car, I deduct from my estimate whatever it will cost to fix anything I find. I don't typically worry too much about records because I only look at cars that have obviously been well cared for. Records are a plus, but not essential unless we're talking something like a Porsche. If I don't get records, I assume it needs everything in whatever the most significant past service interval was.
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Feb. 18, 2009 9:59 p.m. Carson HalfDork
I think most of us don't really look for particular cars, just at a certain price point. Sub $2000, sub $1000, sub $500 then we figure out what we can do with it or what it would be good for.
But in all seriousness, with some cars, enthusiast cars, for example you can't go by what KBB says. When is the last time you saw a perfect condition Miata for 1200? That's KBB on it, likely it'll sell for close to $4500. The best thing you can do, I think, is what billy suggested. Take an average of the three. Also check out dedicated forums, if there are any. Hanging out on one of those for a while will give you a pretty good idea of a particular car's value.
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Feb. 19, 2009 5:22 a.m. ddavidv UltraDork
Part of what I do for a living is value cars. I find that KBB.com is generally pretty reliable, provided you use private party and not retail value. It gets you in the ballpark of what most common versions of the car are going for. Realize that the older the vehicle, the less accurate the information, as there are fewer vehicles of that type sold to gain data from.
The GRM reader will, of course, use that as a mere starting point and with tenacity do whatever it takes to find vehicles far below what any guide may tell you.
