If you want a great deal, follow the market closely. Stay somewhere in the middle to get a fair deal. Avoid the highest prices and be realistic and flexible about the lowest. In order to get a fair price, according to the market, a used car buyer should aim for the middle. The point here is to demonstrate that the market is the true source to determine a REAL and FAIR used car value. The market is the only element that evens the playing field. Each player wants the most advantageous price based on the part he or she is playing. In other words, the three primary people in the car buying process - the buyer, the seller, and the lender, are all on different pages. The buyer wants an unrealistic Edmunds price, and the bank wants to use an under-valued NADA price. Now the dealer will likely want to use the inflated (Excellent condition) Kelly Blue Book value. In the Northeast, the banks rely on NADA, used car dealers prefer to use Kelly Blue Book, and used car buyers are turning more and more to Edmunds. Here's a scenario to illustrate the importance the market plays on used car values. The used car prices from these sources need to be measured against the reality of the market. So what or who is the real authority? The answer is the Market! The market (i.e., the folks grinding it out everyday in the used car market place - sellers and buyers) reflect true market value. Most often, the prices are too high on the retail side, questionable on the trade-in side, and confusing on the private side. The answer to "whose prices are right" is that none of the big three web sites reflect used car prices accurately. An expert may know it needs $1000's in repairs and reconditioning costs. An owner might think his trade-in is in stunning condition and thus worth X, based on his Internet research. Vehicle condition is a critical variable. Moreover, private party and trade-in sale prices do not accurately account for vehicle condition, and less than 5% qualify as excellent. These gigantic price fluctuations can leave a used car buyer spending $1000's extra, depending on which guide he or she used. The retail values placed on many vehicles by these web sites can have even larger price differences - some as high as $4000 to $8000 dollars. That's a huge price difference in the highly competitive used car market. These are all retail values, assuming excellent or clean condition. To illustrate the discrepancies, here's an everyday example: NADA may retail a 2003 SAAB 9-5 Linear at $15,996, Kelly Blue Book prices it at $17,456, and Edmunds prices it at $14,800. Which web site, if any, is the most accurate source for the used car buyer? Yet price discrepancies are frequently in the $1000's from site to site. The question to consider, however, is what Internet source is right? The three major sites: NADA, Edmunds, and Kelly Blue Book are clamoring to be the Trusted Authority on used car values. Prospective buyers can find trade-in, private party, and retail values in a heartbeat. The Internet has been touted as the greatest resource for the used car buyer.
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