how reliable is kelly blue book???

[Buttzilla]

went out today to look at a car, 95 acura integra special addition, dark green, 88k. its basically an LS model w/ leather seats. anywho, cars in pretty good condition, small dings and minor scratches, engine is nice and quiet. here's the thing, the owner is asking for 7k so i goes home and checks the kbb and the car runs for 6050. if it was 90k the price would've dropped to 5860.

here's the question. how reliable is kbb? for those who've bought cars privately do you go by this? she's already been offered 6600 for the car, or so she says.

 

[pyonir]

KBB seems a bit low on this one...unless you are looking at the "poor" condition price.

Cars.com has a search feature. If you search, there are plenty with 80k on them for ~$8

 

[z0mb13]

theres nothing definite in purchasing/selling a used car..

just use kbb as a ball park..

usually price can differ as much as 1-2k, even more on the higher priced cars

 

[weirdichi]

It's just a base as to where the seller/buyer can go from. Is this a private or dealer sale? Like in sports cards, the Beckett prices are just a starting point for negotiation. Counter-offer her offer. And I think that she may be just saying that another person ofered her $xxxx amount of dollars. It IS a special edition though, so that might play a role in it. I say it's up to you and your negotiating skills. If it doesn't meet your specifications, then move on and find another car.

 

[Buttzilla]

its private. she's the second owner saying she bought it from her parents. the cars been shipped a few times but from the looks of things it's been babied, she lived in LA then went to Univ of Wash. the leather's in good condition, no rips, or tears, or fadding.

 

[Monel Funkawitz]

KBB is fairly correct, until you go to a car dealership, then mysteriously none of those values are ever close.

 

[etech]

You might want to check edmunds price guide also.

I also look on Yahoo for the same car with similar mileage to get an idea what the dealers are getting. Drop at least a thousand dollars to see what they would sell it for.

IF it has been babied and is in execellent condition it is probable worth more than the KBB price but remember it's worth is only what it is worth to you. Make a bid and don't let another "buyer" story make you pay more than your top price for it.