Blue book value for cars and other vehicles are useful to have if you are preparing to sell a vehicle or purchase a vehicles new or used. Blue book prices are based on a number of factors, including the make and model, year and other conditions.
If you're collecting blue book information, try several different appraisal services for the vehicle in question. Different blue book services may request slightly different information about the car, or calculate the price using different factors such as actual selling price rather than fair value.
When using blue book car values, explore all of the following options:
1. Use basic auto blue books to get fair price estimates for cars;
2. Try specialized blue book searches for actual selling price or antique cars;
3. Use blue book values for pricing on a variety of recreational motor vehicles.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Use an official auto blue book for fair market pricing
If you need pricing for a car, truck or SUV, start with a basic auto blue book. You can easily access blue books online, and you can fill in your basic automobile information and get pricing in just a few minutes. Auto blue books will price a car based on specific factors that should influence its fair market value.
I recommend: Kelley Blue Book is the official auto blue book, and allows you to either enter car information or search car models for new and used vehicles right from the home page.
Autobytel.com is another version of the basic auto blue book, but may provide slightly different pricing than Kelley.
Compare the blue book value from several sources
You can compare official blue book fair market value with actual retail prices of new and used cars using retail price blue books. Blue book car prices from retail price blue books will vary depending on the average selling price of cars with the same specifics as yours, rather than depending on your car's condition.
I recommend: The
Auto Channel Blue Book quotes the actual retail prices paid on cars of the make, model and condition you specify. You can use the
Gold Book to find appraisals on classic cars, which can be more complicated to price than standard vehicles.
Get blue book price quotes for other types of vehicles
Blue books offer more than just car prices. A motorcycle blue book can give you a comparable price quote depending on the condition of the vehicle. You can also use online blue books to find the value of a boat or RV blue book for pricing recreational vehicles.
I recommend: The National Automobile Dealers Association, or
NADA, offers blue book pricing through separate services for consumers, businesses or associations on cars, motorcycles, boats, RVs and even manufactured housing. The
Motorcycle Blue Book gives blue book price estimates for motorcycles, as well as side cars, snowmobiles and personal watercraft such as jet skis.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Use at least two different blue book prices before you buy or sell a car to be sure that you have a relatively complete set of information about the pricing for a given car. Prices from two different types of blue books, for example one from the Kelley Blue Book and one from the Auto Channel Blue Book, can help you strike a balance between fair market value and actual expected selling price on the vehicle in question.
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