BUYING A CAR IN 2010

(WITHOUT HAVING HEADACHES IN 2011)

DETERMINING MARKET VALUE

 

To determine values of used vehicles, the National Automobile Dealers Association book, titled  NADA Official Used Car Guide, previously mentioned, is probably the most accurate source.  This periodical is available as a subscription, and is usually maintained by banks and car dealers.  The NADA consumer guides (available at book stores) and the NADA internet website are less accurate, but still somewhat useful.  Try Edmunds.com and KBB.com.  These sources, also, publish paperback books.  Remember that vehicle values vary from place to place, so those places that ask for your zip code will probably have a more accurate value of your vehicle.  For instance, 4 wheel drive Subarus are far more valuable in the mountainous sections of Colorado that they are in, say, Miami.

 

When looking up values of cars, try not to guess the value of one model or year of car based on the value of another car.  Even though you may be accurate, you could just as easily be thousands of dollars off.  The Ford Taurus and the Toyota Camry are direct competitors, and their new list prices are a couple thousand dollars different, but on the used car market, the Camry can be worth around twice the value of the Taurus.  For another example, the 2000 and 2001 Toyota Camrys may be worth within $1000 of each other, but the 2002 Camry changed body styles, and it is worth around $3000 more than the 2001 Camry on the used car market.  This worked backwards for the Nissan Maxima.  After the new 1995 Maxima body style came out, the used 1992 through 1994 Maximas were actually worth more for a few years since they had a more popular body style.

	1997 - 2001 CAMRY                            2002 - 2004 CAMRY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another oddity is the Honda Odyssey minivan.  Honda sold the same van to Isuzu, who put an Isuzu nameplate on it and sold it as the Isuzu Oasis, but the values of the two vehicles on the used market are not even close to each other.  In trade, Isuzu sold some of their Isuzu Rodeo SUVs to Honda, who put on a Honda nameplate and sold it as the Honda Passport.  Once again, the Honda nameplated Passport is of far higher value on the used market.  Go figure.