4 Tips to Properly Evaluate Your Car

By CHRISTOPHER NEIGER, AOL AUTOS

Don't Fool Yourself on Your Car's Worth
Know the True Condition
Don't Overspend While Trying to Make More Money
Know How Your Car Stacks Up to the Resale Competition

As long as people have been making cars, other people have been figuring out ways to evaluate what they're worth. In the case of Kelley Blue Book, they've vehemently pursued vehicle values for over 80 years and offer one of the best online resources for companies and private individuals to understand how and why their cars are worth X amount of dollars.

We talked with Jack Nerad, the executive editorial director and executive market analyst for KBB.com, to explain some of the best ways that you can evaluate your vehicle's worth.

Don't Fool Yourself
Surprisingly, one of the problems in properly evaluating a vehicle's worth has nothing to do with the vehicle. Think of the computer phrase IT guys like to use, " It's a PICNIC error." Which stands for "Problem-In-Chair-Not-In-Computer," meaning that nothing is really wrong with the computer, the real issue is the person using it. Nerad says that some people trick themselves into thinking their vehicle is worth more than it actually is.

"Where we get into difficulty is when people start fooling themselves about the condition of their car -- that they believe it is in excellent or pristine condition when actually if it has two or three years on it, it's going to have some miles on it, some wear and tear."

You may have yelled at your family and friends every time they even considered bringing a coffee cup into the car, but it's still a used vehicle, uh, I mean pre-owned vehicle. "Even if you've taken wonderful care of it, it's not going to be as fresh as it was when it left the showroom -- that's something people are going to have to keep in mind."

Know the True Condition
Although you have to be honest with yourself about how your car compares with others on the road, taking good care of it can pay off when selling. "When you have a used car, condition, condition, condition are the three most important things," Nerad explained.

"So actually assessing your car's condition is crucial to getting the right value, understanding the right value and arriving at the right value. The good news is that at our Web site we give you a checklist that you can essentially go through and it includes things like mileage, equipment levels and also an assessment of condition, which helps you arrive at the appropriate value." Nerad said that the values KBB gives are estimated ranges of what the vehicle is worth rather than an exact dollar amount because they are factored remotely. Still, an estimate from the Web site is one of the best and simplest ways to calculate your car's worth.

Body Shops Can Help, but a Wash and Wax Might Be Better
"Most often, it's been our experience that you're better off giving an honest discloser of the car's condition and selling it as is opposed to doing things like cosmetic changes, which can be pretty expensive and are kind of in the eye of the beholder," Nerad said. He mentioned that the person purchasing your vehicle might not care as much about some of the minor cosmetic flaws and would rather hold onto their money than pay for a car in pristine condition. "I don't think too many people who are buying used cars, especially over a few years old, are expecting a car to be in perfect condition or even nearly pristine condition. I think they're expecting to buy something that has a few miles on it in all senses of that term."

Read more on prepping and cleaning your car at AOL Autos:

There is a difference between taking your car to the body shop and taking your car to have a wash and wax job done, however. Appearance is still one of your car's best selling points, and you should do everything you can, short of spending more than your car's worth, to make it look good.

"I think the thing that most helps is appearance. It's kind of like the curb value of your home. Appearance is going to catch people's eyes, and it's going to give off the impression that the car was taken care of. If the car is dirty and there are scratches on it, inside and out, if it doesn't appear to be taken care of, that's going to have a negative effect on what you're liable to get for it," Nerad explained. "The good news on that cosmetic stuff, washing the car, giving it a wax job, cleaning the tires, those kind of things are pretty inexpensive to do. Even cleaning the interior out helps the added value. It's certainly worth doing to put your best foot forward that way."

Understand the Resale Game
Since Kelley Blue Book released its 2008 resale value guide not too long ago, I asked Nerad about the assessment of car values. He explained that cars can have high resale values based on their actual resale value, their perceived resale value or simply their demand. The better you understand where your car fits into this system, the easier it will be to understand why your car is worth what is and how to sell it.

"For instance, a Honda, BMW or Volkswagen has a reputation for resale value in the marketplace, so it helps them to have good resale value," he said. Although not necessarily true for the brands just mentioned, Nerad notes that sometimes brand equity, the popularity of a particular brand, can override its current level of reliability, although it's not common.

Educate yourself before selling your car:

"What we've found though, is there are really no major swings in this, there are changes, year to year changes and we adjust our site year to year, but they don't really move in a volatile way," he said. "It's something that has a degree of predictability about it."

Keep in mind that your car's resale value is public information; anyone can go online and look it up in 2 minutes. If you let the online experts do their job in evaluating your vehicle's worth, you're likely to sell the vehicle a lot faster than if you overprice it or exaggerate its condition. Keep it clean and happy selling.

Read about Car Ownership:
- Is Your Car Loan Upside Down?
- Best Cars for First Time Buyers
- Consumer Reports Cost of Ownership Comparison

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215 comments

DENS04SS 04:54:47 AM Jun 03 2008

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To BrianCanon,you are a scumbag for your jewbroad comment.To Annif ther is a couple dents like hail damage,a PDR guy can get them out for about 75 per dent and they get cheaper the more they do.I don't believe you did it but even if you did the damage you describe is a couple hundred bucks tops.Sincerely,Dennis

ROWDIE2 08:51:05 PM Jun 02 2008

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Hey Azeka3........Just where do you think all of the parts and engines come from for our so called American cars............Mexico. So what difference does it make when they are all put together here?

Unchapak 02:23:18 PM Jun 02 2008

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KBB is so full of it, use the black book, it gives a much btter value, it is what auctions pay!

AnnWeiss 03:41:01 PM Jun 01 2008

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Thanks everybody. No, he cannot prove it because I DID NOT DO ANYTHING. You all are wonderful to take the time to answer. Warm Regards.

Chzyrider 02:47:11 PM Jun 01 2008

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Ann, if you can..look at the damage and see if it was little dents caused by a downward impact from something like a heavy coat with snaps or whatever hardware being thrown down onto the surface resulting in the little dings. Did you at some point throw or lay anything down on top of the hood? Also look if there are little scratches leading away from these little dents which may indicate he may have been following a dump truck full of sand/gravel or traveling on roads that have been sanded (for ice) that may have "sandblasted" the hood surface with small dings. Also look at the top leading edge of the roodline above the windshield for any signs of this there also to indicate this possibility.

Froidzilla 02:32:17 PM Jun 01 2008

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2 AnnWeiss, you said X fiance. Probably for a reason. My X did about $4,800 worth of damage to a 2001 Miata by beating it with a jack handle when I went to repossess it because she wasn't paying. Over $3000 is felony vandalism. With no-one who will testify that they saw her do it the DA will not prosecute. Unless he has a witness who will testify under oath that they saw you do anything I would just go to small claims and tell them you didn't do anything to his POS car. You can check the value of the car on KBB.com and ask some local body shops what they would charge to repair dents on the hood if you are concerned about the $ amount, but I would recommend that you show up to court with someone to back your story that you did nothing and that he is just vindictive and wants to get money out of you. Your word against his and the burden of proof is on him. Even if you really did beat his car!! Justice is not always right.

Chzyrider 02:29:55 PM Jun 01 2008

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Ann, the age of the car has nothing to do with what damage it can encounter. You did not explain what "surely" happened as if whatever happened (you may or may not have done) resulted in the damage. If it was a nice paint job and needs bodywork to remove the small "hail damge-like" dents, YES IT IS POSSIBLE to for it to be that much money to be repaired. Intentional or not in "touching" his car, damage can occur if you had laid or placed sometihng on the hood of the car. He would have to prove that you caused the damage with whatever action you may or may not have done intentional or not. It may be a case of negligence and ignorance of thinking "it's only a car" or a case of trying to get you to pay for something he did himself.

SSanchezrich 02:24:09 PM Jun 01 2008

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AnnWeiss, Your ex-Fiancee has the burden of proof. By what you say he cannot prove his case.

AnnWeiss 02:13:24 PM Jun 01 2008

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Hmmm well, here goes again...can someone please help me....my ex-fiancee says I caused $1000 damage to his 1998 Buick Park Avenue . I did not touch his car, but he has filed suit against me in Small Claims Court for $1750 saying there is "damage like hail damage" to his hood. Is it possible that his car sustained that much damage in any way?

thanks.

AnnWeiss 02:09:37 PM Jun 01 2008

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Please can anyone help me? My ex-fiancee says I caused at least $1000 depreciation to his 1998 Buick Park Avenue by doing something that he says looks like slight "hail damage" to the hood. He knows I did not do anything, but it is now his word against mine and he has filed a complaint against me and I have to appear in Small Claims Court. Surely whatever happened did not cause that much damage to a car that old, did it? I do not know where to ask for help. Thank you. Anne

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