Are you buying or selling a used car? Experts suggest the pre-owned vehicle market in America will be worth close to $146 billion in 2023. The most trusted sources for car pricing information are NADA and Kelley Blue Book (KBB). These companies help buyers and sellers make informed decisions by providing used car market value insights based on various factors.
Understanding your vehicle's resale value is essential in determining a fair deal. Many buyers and sellers rely on vehicle appraisal guides to assess whether the offer reflects the car's actual worth. Some dealerships may attempt to undercut trade-in prices, so using tools like the NADA and Kelley Blue Book helps you avoid lowball offers.
We've all heard nightmares of overpaying for a car or a dealer not giving us enough money for our trade-in. Fortunately, NADA and Kelley Blue Book offer a valuable service, ensuring you get fair value for your vehicle when buying or selling. But, which of the two is the better option for researching the true value of your car or truck?
Most car owners have heard of the "Blue Book value" of vehicles. The Kelley Blue Book value has been around since 1926 and is still a popular tool for pricing new and used cars and trucks. This guidebook provides an estimated price range for car buyers and sellers based on the vehicle's year, make, and model.
NADA is an acronym for the National Automobile Dealers Association. This trade organization represents all franchised dealers of new vehicles. NADA also publishes the Official Used Car Guide, providing used car values for American dealers.
The Used Car Guide, founded in 1933, is a valued and trusted resource for dealers when setting retail prices and calculating vehicle trade-in values. J.D. Power, an industry-leading data company, acquired NADA in 2015.
Both KBB and NADA have more than 80 years of experience in the new and used vehicle markets in the United States. There are differences and similarities between KBB and NADA in how they calculate used vehicle values.
While KBB presents a private party value and suggested retail pricing, NADA delivers estimates typically based on vehicles assumed to be in good condition. NADA often reflects slightly higher values than KBB, as it leans more toward dealer-based car appraisals and emphasizes retail-ready vehicle pricing.
NADA and KBB constantly update their database to accurately reflect changes in market pricing due to demand. When assessing vehicle values, KBB looks at the mileage, condition, warranty, and local market conditions. Meanwhile, NADA focuses on the vehicle's wholesale price. Both companies also use the following factors to establish fair pricing.
KBB acquires data from used car sales, auctions, dealers, manufacturers, private sales, and fleets. NADA uses data from dealership transactions, wholesale transactions, and website pricing from sites like Autotrader, for example.
KBB offers information on certified pre-owned (CPO) value, trade-in value, private party value, and suggested retail value. NADA provides retail, trade-in, and CPO values. NADA price guides don't offer information on private party values.
NADA typically assumes vehicles are in good condition, which can result in slightly higher estimates compared to KBB, which relies more heavily on condition-specific inputs. This distinction is important when using these tools for pre-owned vehicle evaluations.
KBB and NADA both provide instant offers on vehicles. Kelley Blue Book provides the seller with an instant cash offer after inputting their vehicle information through the company's website portal. The offer remains valid for three days with participating dealers.
NADA provides instant offers through its partner network of dealers on the official J.D. Power website. Sellers can drop their vehicle off, or the dealer will collect it from you. It's important to note that both companies offer final deal offers after undergoing a vehicle inspection.
Both KBB and NADA are effective tools for selling your vehicle. While there are minor differences in how the two companies collect data and value vehicles, you will get a very close price from both companies when finalizing the deal.
While NADA doesn't ask for specifics on the vehicle's condition when making an offer, they'll adjust it after inspecting your car or truck. So, both offer a pragmatic solution for vehicle owners looking to sell their car, truck, RV, or motorbike.
Understanding vehicle value through resources like the NADA Blue Book is especially important when purchasing from no credit car lots. Many of these dealerships use trusted valuation tools when setting prices and calculating trade-in offers. Buyers with limited or no credit often rely on buy here pay here dealers or bad credit car financing options, where vehicle value transparency plays a key role.
When visiting no credit car dealerships near you, having a ballpark estimate from either KBB or NADA allows you to confidently negotiate pricing or assess trade-in value.
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If you’re located near Omaha, Lincoln, and Kansas City and have a weak or nonexistent credit score, you are a likely candidate for no credit car loans. However, lenders will still have minimum eligibility qualifications for bad-credit auto loans.
A stress-free car shopping experience awaits at Drive Fast USA buy here pay here car lots in Kansas City, Omaha, and Lincoln. Just because we’re a “Buy Here Pay Here” car lot doesn’t mean we don’t have a great selection of pre-owned vehicles to choose from. Our inventory is continuously being updated. That means if we don’t have the perfect vehicle for you, be sure to check back next week or even the next day.
In any case, we’re confident that we’ll have something that will fit your tastes, needs, and budget. We encourage you to browse our inventory online in Omaha, Lincoln, or Kansas City to narrow down your preferences to make things even faster when you visit our auto dealership.