You may have heard of the Kelley Blue Book® if you’ve ever sold or traded in your car and wanted to know its value beforehand. It’s possible you’ve heard of the Black Book, too—but you might not have ever used it. To discover more about the differences between the Kelley Blue Book® vs. the Black Book, you can read our article below.
At C. Harper CDJR, we offer plenty of
used vehicles for drivers near Connellsville, Greensburg, Uniontown, and Brownsville, PA, to test drive. You’re also free to trade in or sell your vehicle to us, and we provide accurate appraisals for each model that comes through. Contact us today to learn more!
Kelley Blue Book® vs Black Book: How Do They Do It?
The Kelley Blue Book® and Black Book need data to produce their values, but where should that data come from? The two books agree on using a number of different sources, including the following:
- What the current market prices are
How seasonal conditions play a role in the pricing and selling of vehicles- How vehicles are priced across different regions of the country
They also care about various aspects of the vehicle, including:
- Its mileage
- How old it is
- What condition it’s in
- What features it comes with
There are, however, some specialized data figures both books use on their own to come up with values. For example, the Black Book turns to historical and current values found from various transactions like wholesale auctions, private party sales, and trade-ins. It also consults vehicle history reports when deciding on prices.
The Kelley Blue Book®, on the other hand, uses proprietary data from more than 250 data sources. Its unique analytics ultimately create its own value sets for certain vehicles. Like the Black Book, it also uses numbers from wholesale auctions, dealership sales, and the like.
Dealer vs Consumer Driven
The Kelley Blue Book® and Black Book are targeted toward different audiences. The Kelley Blue Book® is designed to assist drivers who are about to sell, trade in, or buy a car. You can go on the Kelley Blue Book® website and find a variety of tools to help you estimate values, find another vehicle, and even learn about maintenance prices.
Unless you work for a dealership or another business within the automotive industry, you likely won’t use the Black Book. It requires a paid subscription, and is therefore better designed for dealerships that need this sort of information year round.
Finding a Used Car
To find a used car, you can check out the various vehicles in our used inventory as you debate between different models. We carry sedans, SUVs, and trucks from an assortment of manufacturers so that our clients near Connellsville, Greensburg, Uniontown, and Brownsville, Pennsylvania, have the best opportunity to find a great vehicle.
You can meet with one of
our team members, who can take you on a test drive with the car you’re interested in. If it feels like the right one, our finance professionals will walk you through the payment process. Our finance application is even located online to make it more convenient to apply when you’re ready.
Come visit our showroom at C. Harper CDJR when you’re ready to shop for a used vehicle!
