"dc" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hello,
>
> Does anyone out there know how Kelly, NADA, etc. come up with their
> used car prices? Do they use some formula, statistics, actual pricing
> data, some combination?
>
> Thanks,
> dc
>
Dunno about today, but at one time, NADA derived their prices from
questionnaires they furnished to used-car managers at dealerships. Just
imagine, for instance, a Buick u/c manager who wanted to get top prices for
his used Buicks when he sold them---what would he do? (Easy): inflate the
prices he was actually allowing on trade-ins when he completed the
questionnaire. Fair? Accurate? You be the judge!
I was in the car business for a # of years--was late in my career before
I ever saw a Blue Book! And, during my last years in the business, Kelly
was a 'best friend' when it came down to the customer shopping my lot with a
Kelly book in his hand. or an NADA book, for that matter.
BlackBook, a weekly wholesale publication, used to be, & still is as far
as I know, developed from a BB-rep. who physically takes notes of cars
actually being sold along with his determination as to whether it was Rough,
Average, Clean, or Extra-clean--those 4 categories. It had no retail
values--only wholesale. And we dealers relied more on BB than we did on
NADA, for reasons already quoted.
HTH & good luck. s