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Blue Book Price Guides |
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Blue book value or blue book price is a term that generally refers to the wholesale price that a car dealer will pay to purchase a used automobile as a trade-in. It is often assumed by automotive consumers that these prices are standard, which is not the case. Used car prices shown in price guides can vary considerably from guidebook to guidebook. Used car values are published by Kelley Blue Book in printed publications and on the Internet. Although other organizations, such as NADA Used-Car Guides, also publish used-car values in their own price reference guides, their data is often also (but incorrectly) called "blue book" values. These price guides typically show not only trade-in (wholesale) values, but dealer (retail) prices, and private-sale values as well. Automotive consumers who are selling a car or trading in a car at a dealer often use these price guides as a reference to know the approximate worth of their vehicle. Although used cars can vary in mileage, condition, and equipment, these guides allow for value adjustments that account for those variations. Reference prices are also usually adjusted for zip code or the area of the country in which the vehicle will be bought or sold. Although "blue book" guides are useful, dealers often place more importance on data from local auto auctions and their own experience as a source of trade-in pricing information. Dealers tend to offer customers trade-in allowances that follow local auction trends. Banks and lending institutions are the largest users of price guide books, some of which are not readily available to the public.
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