Kelley Blue Book: Guide to The KBB Service Online

Since 1926, the Kelley Blue Book has been the unofficial bible for determining car prices. Today, the Kelley Blue Book offers information about how much used or new cars, trucks, trailers and motorbikes should cost in the US and almost all this information is available for free on the Kelley Blue Book website. Checking the Kelley Blue Book online service before buying or selling a car is a good idea since this would ensure that you do not end up getting a bad deal. You can find out both the prices of used as well as old cars on the KBB website using our simple guide to the KBB service online.

Find Out The Price Of A New Car: In order to find the price to pay for a new car, you can select the “New Car” tab on the hone page and enter details of the manufacturer and the model that you want to find out about from a couple of drop down menus. From another drop-down menu, select the year that you want. This would generally be the current year, since we are talking new cars here, but you might be able to find out the prices of the last couple of models too if they are still in the market. In case there are any special editions or versions of the car then select the version from another drop down list. Make sure that you enter all details correctly since prices of different versions of the same model (2WD-4WD, 2 door-4 door-5 door, EX-LX etcetera) can vary greatly. You will also be required to provide your ZIP code since car prices may vary in different locations due to factors like shipping or supply and demand issues. Once you are through with providing this information, you will be supplied with three different types of new car prices—

· The MSRP—the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price
· The Dealer Invoice Price—this is what dealers will be charging you after adding their own costs and profits.
· The “Blue Book Price”—this is the price that people are actually buying the car for in your area.
Find Out The Price Of A Used Car: Finding out the price of a used car on the KBB online service is equally fast and easy. All you need to do is click on the “Used Car” tab and then select the manufacturer, model and year from three different drop-down menus. Just like in the case of new cars, the KBB online service can provide you with three different types of prices for a used car:
· Trade-In Value–this is the price that you can expect to get if you trade-in your vehicle at a dealer.
· Private Party Value– the price that you can expect to get if you the buy the vehicle from a private party or owner.
· Kelly Blue Book Suggested Retail Value–this is the price that dealers are generally asking for the particular make and model that you are looking for. This is the price that should form the basis for your negotiations.

Once you have selected the kind of car value that you would like to know about, the next window will give you options for selecting the version whose price you are looking for. After the version is selected, you will have to enter various details about the car in the next form like the mileage, the engine capacity, the kind of transmission (automatic/manual), drive(2WD/4WD) and the equipment that your car is equipped with since all these can greatly influence the price of any used vehicle. Apart from these details, you will also be required to give your ZIP code. This is because car prices actually vary a lot from territory to territory and there is no general national used car value that can be quoted. On the same window, you will also be asked to specify the condition of your car ranging from excellent and good to fair and poor. All these terms are defined in the dialogue box where you will be filling up all this information, so deciding which option to choose is quiet easy. If you still do not know what condition your car is in, then you can also take an instant quiz to decide on which option to select. Once you have provided all this information, then you will be given the value of your car depending upon which option you selected earlier—trade-in, retail or private.

Using the KBB Service Online is free of cost and it is one of the most user friendly sites that you can come across. So before you ever think of signing a check for a new or a used car, remember to find out its real market value in order to ensure that you are getting the best deal possible for your vehicle.