Used Car Values

There is an important difference between used car values and used car pricing.  Information on used car prices is straightforward, and this publication will discuss where you can readily find this data.  If you are really looking for used car values, then you may be looking for something beyond price.

Values of Used Cars

In the strictest sense, value implies a tradeoff, or balance, between price and quality.  For example, the price may be high, but the car represents a good value at that price.  On the other hand, you might be looking for an inexpensive car that is also a good value.

The point here is that price and value don't always point in the same direction.  The same can be said for cheap versus inexpensive cars.

Cheap Cars

The word "cheap" really implies inferior quality.  While many of us might say we "need to find a cheap car," what we really mean is an inexpensive car.  Cheap cars are unreliable and will break down frequently.  Cheap cars wind up costing their owners more money in the long run.

This might sound like a grammar lesson to you, but if you are shopping for a used car, you really want to find a car that is a good value; regardless of its price.  If you are working with a limited budget, then you still want to be able to buy a car that is going to run reliably, and you want to pay a fair price.

Let's break down the concept of value, and talk about reliability and price separately.

Finding Reliable Used Cars

Arguably the single best source of "free" information on reliable used cars can be found in your local library.  Nearly every library in America carries this publication because it is an independent rating agency with an honorable reputation.

Each year, Consumer Reports sends a questionnaire to its readership asking them about their experiences with their used cars.  From this information, they've developed a rating system that includes the repair and expense experiences of their readership.  They've been doing this survey for years, so they have a lot of reliability information on thousands of used cars by make, model, and year manufactured.

Online Information on Used Cars

Of course you can also find reliable used car information online too.  In fact, there are two online resources that are very helpful in this area.  The first is the Consumer Guide, which has a rating system that allows you to find good values by price range.  Their rating system also includes a best buy category that is given to only one used car from each of the 17 price / vehicle segments they've created.

A second useful online used car rating website is Edmunds.com.  This site has an extensive database of consumer reliability ratings for used cars.  Edmunds also provides comments by previous car owners and even a link back to J.D. Power and Associates ratings.

We've also compiled some recent information on dependable used cars as well as information on car safety ratings.

Used Car Prices

If you're looking for used car prices, the premier website would be Kelley Blue Book's.  This company has been providing car pricing for nearly a century, and they are considered the standard when it comes to used car prices.  As much as we like to provide a variety of information sources and options to our readers, it's really hard to recommend any other website when it comes to used car pricing.

Kelley Blue Book Prices

In fact, Kelley offers three types of used car prices to consumers:

• The first is a trade-in value, or what you might expect to get from a car dealership if you trade in your used car.
• The second value provided is the used car private party value.  This is how much money you can expect to pay for a used car when you are buying the used car from a private seller; not a dealership.
• Finally, KBB offers used car prices that are suggested retail values.  This is the price you might expect a used car dealership to have on the car's window.  You should consider this the starting price whenever negotiating for a used car.

We intentionally talked about finding a reliable used car before we discussed price.  We did that for a very good reason.  This is the thought process, and approach, which we recommend you go through when evaluating used car values.  First you should find out which cars can be expected to deliver reliable performance, and then figure out which of those cars fit your budget.

Online Car Loan Calculators

In case you're not sure how much you can afford to pay for a used car, or if you would qualify for a car loan, we can help there too.  We offer nearly a dozen online automobile loan calculators that can help you make an informed decision before you buy your next car.

These calculators range in sophistication from simple auto loan calculators, which provide information on monthly payments, to tools that can help you figure out whether or not it's better to lease or buy a car.

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