traded in our 07 honda oddesy for a new suburban, kbb said 15K, went to two different dealers and got offered 10 by both. Ended up getting a great deal on 11 suburban so it was fine, but how in the world can kbb be 33 percent off???

You must have had near 100k
Even so, $10k is low.
They called the same dealer for a bid.

It's a guide, take it with a grain of salt.

Everything's negotiable.

It's a sad reality; the dealer is gonna low-ball you so they can pad their profit margins. It's just smart business for them.

Not sure how many times I've said it, but KBB has no incentive to be right. The Kelley family got out of the car business in the late 1940's, they haven't bought a car since. The more incorrect KBB's number is, the more people trust them.

Here's the brutal, unvarnished reality: YOUR CAR IS WORTH WHAT SOMEONE OFFERS YOU FOR IT. Until you see a 'Print Check' button on KBB/Edmunds/whatever, it's not actually telling you what it's worth.

Dealers won't offer you anywhere near what KBB says it's "worth" because dealers use either wholesalers or auction values to price trades, NOT to pad profits, but from a sheer sourcing standpoint. If a dealer can buy a Odyssey just like the OP's for $10,000 at auction, why would they offer any more than that for a trade?

[This message has been edited by bthotugigem05 (edited 9/12/2011 4:42a).]

Yes KBB sucks. I like to check completed eBay auctions to get a number closer to reality.

Easiest way is to post the VIN, color, and mileage on here and let someone pull a Mannheim report for you to get you an approximate auction value. And/or take it to Carmax, they're usually around what you can expect from another dealer.

NADA seems to be the most accurate of the free on-line ones.

The most common cause for this is a misconception of the vehicle condition. Be sure to read these descriptions on KBB and things will make a little more sense. For instance, a vehicle that is in excellent condition is "free of blemishes and imperfections" and "appears new". Well you just disqualified every used car on the planet. Also KBB uses a large data set that sometimes does not take current trends into account such as rising fuel costs (suburban) etc. Also things like cracked windshields, worn out tires, accident reports are not represented but are all things we look for. You were smart to go to different dealerships though.



[This message has been edited by Dave R74 (edited 9/13/2011 5:22p).]

Also, we you looking at retail value or trade in value?

Dealers in Texas don't use KBB. NADA will be more accurate, but the NADA dealers use is different from the commercial site.

We use KBB all the time, along with others.

dave, put your email addy in your profile.

How?

KBB tends to be crazy high on its estimation on vehicle values. 33% off sounds a bit high but not out of line for KBB. I would stick with Nada or vmrintl for classics. Avoid KBB with all costs. The only thing KBB is good for is dealers who are selling cars because the markup seems to be quite high.


As bthoutgigem05 pointed out the true value of your vehicle is what someone is willing to pay for it. There very well may be someone out there who will pay 10k for a rusty Gremlin but if you have one you are going to have to find that person to get your 10k.

dave, at the top of your screen go to "account" and then scroll down. Just so people can more easily contact you.

FWIW, Henna Chevrolet in austin will cut you a check for $500 more than your CarMax quote. I've done it and it was easy.