Fifty Shades of Green…How Much Is the Car You’re Buying Really Worth?

http://www.AutoSaver.com by Kimberly Ann

When purchasing a vehicle, most consumers are looking to get the most bang for their buck.  We search by model, mileage, year and some people want to have a certain color…but ultimately we are looking for the best car we can get within our budget.  And regardless of what our budget may be, we should always know how much the car we’re buying is really worth.  Let’s face it, the closer we can purchase a vehicle at ‘near wholesale pricing’, the less we lose when we turn around and sell that vehicle down the road.

There are numerous guides a consumer can use to validate the price a dealer is asking.  Understand, one guide is sure to produce a value different from another.  To name a few:

Kelley Blue Book

Edmunds

NADA Guides – National Auto Dealer’s Association

VMR

Parker’s (UK)

These guides list a vehicle’s base retail value, but in order to obtain a more accurate figure, you also need to factor in options, as well as, the vehicle’s mileage and con­dition.  Black Book provides more auction-centric (wholesale) data.  Originally a printed guide for dealers only, their pricing data is gathered at auto auctions across the country and is updated weekly.  So, the values you see on Black Book are ‘pre-auction’ values.   Sites like http://www.AutoSaver.com, a near wholesale, used vehicle website, use Black Book’s data for their pricing validation.

Comparison shopping is another great way to establish your vehicle’s value.  Get an accurate idea of what a certain make and model may be worth by checking to see what similar cars in your area are selling for.  Yes, area does play a factor in the value of a vehicle.  A vehicle driven in a warm climate year round yields a higher value than the vehicle driven in snow (and salt) 6 months out of the year.

Last but not least, something I definitely take into consideration when I car shop, is my time.  It is invaluable to me…I can’t put a price tag on it.  I have no desire to go to a car lot without my research in place.  We have all the tools we need, right at our fingertips.  The question is, how much time are we willing to spend researching all the guides, trying to determine what our car is really worth, not to mention the time we spend on-line shopping for that car?  Try to utilize the websites that incorporate both the shopping and value guides to create more of a one-stop-shopping experience.  Knowledge is power…and penny saved is a penny earned.

http://www.AutoSaver.com