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Price Discrepancy?

E

ed0ggyd0gg

Member
Okay so I've been running some carfax reports on various cars I'm looking at (mostly dealer), and it seems that there is nothing problematic in the report. I can see the inspections and when it changed hands, etc., but of course there can still be problems with the car. Obviously.

Anyways, what the dealer asks, and what KBB states are 2 different things. KBB is almost always a couple grand or more above the dealer price (case in point: 1994 BMW 325is for 3000, KBB is 7150). KBB assumes it to be in excellent condition "since it is retail". Haha.

So, are the dealers really just giving out good deals, or when I take one of these cars to a mechanic he'll reveal just how great the deals are?
 
in my experience, dealers always went over the KBB prices. if i could walk in and see their price under it, i just may have bought it on the spot. you can usually talk em down pretty well, but they always tell me "the blue book price is a guide line, not a rule". there are some dealers here that are using a "black book" price, which none will tell me where this list came from.
 
KBB tends to lean on the high side of pricing, and doesn't adjust quickly to changes in the marketplace. For example, a gas guzzling car/suv is probably worth significantly less right now with gas prices being high than it was 6 months ago. KBB is a decent barometer, but the 'real' price is usually somewhat lower.
 
On a car that old KBB is only a very rough guide to it's worth. Actual condition, miles, and local demand also factor heavily. Plus, they can always come down on price. 😉
 
Originally posted by: hanoverphist
in my experience, dealers always went over the KBB prices. if i could walk in and see their price under it, i just may have bought it on the spot. you can usually talk em down pretty well, but they always tell me "the blue book price is a guide line, not a rule". there are some dealers here that are using a "black book" price, which none will tell me where this list came from.
Click to expand...

I think I remember that black book is the behind the scenes book used by lenders + dealers and is not for public distribution.
 
Originally posted by: Conky
On a car that old KBB is only a very rough guide to it's worth. Actual condition, miles, and local demand also factor heavily. Plus, they can always come down on price. 😉
Click to expand...
Yeah, after a certain age, if you want it to be a daily driver, check into what all has been done on it - transmission rebuild, clutch, timing belt, etc.
 
KBB is the average asking price. Cars don't sell at their asking price, they are usually a significant amount below. Thus KBB is inherently too high. I'd take the KBB value and subtract ~10% to get close to the actual selling price.

Maybe the dealers you went to don't pad the full ~10% and are thus apparantly lower than KBB. Or maybe since KBB is an average, these dealers are on the low side of that average.
 
I always goes with NADA since that is the book most banks use to determine how much they will lend me money
 
Okay, well I'll be taking the car I choose to a mechanic anyways, so if the dealer is trying to pass off a lemon, hopefully I won't get fruited.
 
You should refuse the dealers low price and demand that you pay the higher KBB value. Tell them the car is worth more than their asking. If they refuse to raise the price take a hike.
 
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