The best way to value a used car is to establish at least a few pricing levels, and then arrive at a balanced price. In this situation, we are trying to determine the value at which the used car will sell in the local region. This is commonly called the “Fair Market Value.”
Local Price Levels
First, we will look at the cost of other similar cars for sale in the local market.
A good place to start is with AutoTrader. From their site, search for a car similar to your vehicle (year, make, model, and mileage) within 100 miles. (Searching an area that large should yield plenty of results.) If you are not having much luck finding similar vehicles on AutoTrader, try UsedCars.com, Cars.com, or Autos.AOL.com.
The search results on each of those sites will include a mix of “Private Party” and “Dealer” advertisements. Since we are looking for the middle ground, we are going to ignore the “Dealer” (those vehicles are offered at “Retail” pricing levels). Write down the pricing you find on a piece of paper.
Blue Book Value
Next, we are going to look up the “Blue Book Value” at Kelley Blue Book. Kelley Blue Book has been pricing used cars and trucks for more than 80 years, and they are considered an industry leader.
Visit Kelley Blue Book to establish “Used Car Values” on their site. Select “Private Party Value” when asked, and then follow the rest of the on-screen instructions. Write down the pricing on a piece of paper for a vehicle in “Good” condition.
When you reach the final pricing screen, write down the value for a vehicle in “Good” condition.
In the next step, we will place a value on the used vehicle...
