Can I Rely On NADA Values For My Used Car? | CarBrain.com (2024)

Can I Rely On NADA Values For My Used Car? | CarBrain.com (1)

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Can I Trust NADA Values For My Car?

The NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association) is a national trade group boasting the membership of thousands of car dealers across the United States. They are all listed in the NADA Blue Book Guide, similar to the Kelley Blue Book Guide.

How Does NADA Calculate Car Values?

NADA calculates their car values by taking mileage, vehicle condition, and what optional accessories are equipped to a vehicle into consideration. If your vehicle is well-maintained, its value will be closer to matching the number provided by the NADA Guide.

Can I Rely On NADA Values For My Used Car? | CarBrain.com (2)

Mileage- NADA factors in the mileageon a vehicle when determining value. Mileage translates to wear-and-tear, so the less miles a car has been driven, then the better condition all of its parts are assumed to be in.

Accessories- Whether or not your vehicle has optional add-ons is factored into the NADA value as well. The more accessories it has, the higher the price your vehicle is likely to fetch.

Vehicle Condition- The state of your vehicle weighs heavily on its value. NADA designs its valuation guide under the pretense that your vehicle is in a well-maintained condition.

The state of the market can also have an impact on the value NADA assigns your vehicle. If the supply is greater than the current market demand, then dealerships may opt to hold onto the vehicles they have and wait until they can get a better selling price for them.

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Can I Rely On NADA Values For My Used Car? | CarBrain.com (3)

Can NADA Apply To Damaged Cars?

Can I Rely On NADA Values For My Used Car? | CarBrain.com (4)

While NADA can be used to ballpark the value of your vehicle, their guide is created under the assumption that your car is in well-maintained condition. If your vehicle has suffered any significant damage, then NADA prices aren’t accounting for them.

This is primarily because NADA’s algorithm utilizes the dealership sales price. Because of this, no private sales prices are included in their data.

A car with the same year, make, and model as yours with a similar mileage and overall condition is likely being sold at a higher price at a dealership than its actual value.

How Can I Find Out My Damaged Car’s Value?

Finding your damaged car’s value is a matter of understanding what the Actual Cash Value (ACV) of your vehicle is.

Your ACV can be reached by subtracting the depreciation (“wear and tear” costs) of the car from the replacement value after the car’s purchase.

RV - DC = ACV

This is typically found when you file an insurance claim. The insurance company will weigh factors to calculate the ACV of your vehicle. These factors may include:

  • The vehicle’s age

  • The vehicle’s mileage

  • The vehicle’s features

  • The vehicle’s pre-loss condition

Also taken into account by your insurance company is your car’s “salvage value.” This is the value of your car’s parts as scrap metal, with the heavy hitters typically being its engine, transmission, and catalytic converter.

Can I Rely On NADA Values For My Used Car? | CarBrain.com (5)

If you want to avoid doing all the calculations yourself, feel free to utilize CarBrain’s FREE value calculator.

We specialize in less-than-perfect vehicles near the end of their life cycle. Our process is so simple it can be summed up in three quick and easy steps:

  1. Get your free quote! Simply enter some basic information about your car on our website and you’ll receive a free and guaranteed quote within 90 seconds.

  2. Schedule your towing! Towing is complementary, so you’ll never have to worry about hidden or additional fees taking away from the profits you take home.

  3. Schedule your pickup within 24-48 hours! If you’re happy with your quote, you’ll be able to schedule your vehicle retrieval with one of our partners within your area. They’re trusted to come to you at a time that works best for you.

  4. Complete your sale! After a quick inspection and transferring of your title, you’ll receive the amount you were quoted, no haggling or fuss. Your vehicle is taken off your hands and money is put in them!

Let us figure out your car’s worth today!

Can I Rely On NADA Values For My Used Car? | CarBrain.com (2024)

FAQs

Can I Rely On NADA Values For My Used Car? | CarBrain.com? ›

While NADA

NADA
The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) is an American trade organization representing nearly 16,500 franchised new car and truck dealerships, both domestic and foreign.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › National_Automobile_Dealer...
can be used to ballpark the value of your vehicle, their guide is created under the assumption that your car is in well-maintained condition. If your vehicle has suffered any significant damage, then NADA prices aren't accounting for them.

Are NADA used car values accurate? ›

How Does NADA List Prices of Cars in Their Guide? Representatives of NADA promote their guide representing it as the strongest, most valid, and most reliable information list of auto market values when compared to the KBB guide, and even Edmunds pricing guide.

Is Kelley Blue Book or NADA more accurate? ›

KBB factors in the condition of the vehicle, local market conditions, and popularity of the vehicle, so their prices tend to be a lower than NADA. NADA values tend to lean higher because they assume cars are in good conditions. Insights can be gained from both values, but KBB looks at more factors.

Do dealers use KBB or NADA? ›

Most dealers do not use KBB for trade-in (wholesale) values. Instead, many rely on National Auto Research's Black Book or the Manheim Market Report, neither of which is available to the public.

Who gives the most accurate car value? ›

Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book has been one of the most trusted names in the auto industry.

Who gives the best used car values? ›

Both Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book are reputable sites that offer pricing information. The accuracy of an appraisal has a lot to do with the information the owner provides. If you overstate the vehicle condition or don't check off the correct trim level and options, your value is less likely to be accurate.

What is the best way to find the value of your car? ›

For over 90 years, Kelley Blue Book has been The Trusted Resource for used car values, helping car owners understand what their used car is worth.

Do Nada guides still exist? ›

For years, car dealerships have relied on the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) as a resource when they needed to find the value of a used car. NADA has recently made their data available to the public and has added new car pricing to their used car values. They have since changed their name to NADAguides.

How often does NADA update prices? ›

NADA prices are considered very reliable when determining a retail price for a used car due to the data collection, long publication history, monthly updates, and respect the NADA has in the automotive industry.

How does NADA get their values? ›

Since NADA Guides was created out of a car dealers' association, NADA Guides use real sales data from car dealerships to reach their values. NADA Guides use three primary criteria to determine the value of any given car: Local market demand. Wholesale price.

What do dealers use instead of KBB? ›

In realistic terms both Kelley Blue Book (KBB) and Edmunds give an approximation of vehicle value based on various sources. Both the Kelley Blue Book and Black Book are generally used when buying a car from a dealership.

Who owns NADA car value? ›

J.D. Power, the owner of the NADA Official Used Car Guide, is changing the name to J.D. Power Values.

Who uses NADA? ›

NADA is The Voice of the Dealer, representing more than 16,000 new-car dealers and advocating on their behalf before all branches of the federal government, manufacturers, the media and the public.

What is the best company to value my car? ›

An HPI car valuation provides the most accurate and reliable car valuation available.

What car brand has the highest reliability rating? ›

1. Lexus. The luxury brand of Toyota has topped our dependability chart for seven years in a row, partly because its cars rarely go wrong, and also because when they do, its dealers fix the problems for free. Its star performer is the 2014-2021 Lexus NX family SUV, which has a reliability rating of 99.8%.

Which car company has the highest resale value? ›

Top 10 Resale Value Cars In India
  • Honda City. The Honda City is a great resale value car in 2022 due to its reliable engine, spacious interior, and excellent fuel economy. ...
  • Mahindra Scorpio. ...
  • Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire. ...
  • Maruti Wagon R. ...
  • Volkswagen Polo. ...
  • Maruti Vitara Brezza. ...
  • Hyundai Creta.
Apr 15, 2024

Why is the NADA value so low? ›

NADA makes use only of dealership sales prices. This means no private sales prices are include in their algorithm. That means the same car – same make, model, year – a dealership is selling in the exact same condition – similar mileage, same wear and tear – is not going to be much value to you.

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