JakeEsquire

Is the Kelley Blue book completely useless? Why does it even exist, if no one ever gets anything near what their car is "valued" at?

This topic is brought about by my recent visit to the CARS FOR SALE forum. Members post their cars for sale, often times $1000 or more less than the blue book value, and yet people still come and post things like "my god, such a high price!". Are these thread hi-jackers simply kids who are dreaming about buying an S2000, but are on a limited budget, or are we really to think that we should be selling our used S2000s for way, way less than Kelley Blue Book pricing?

Observing some of the low-ball offers in the CARS FOR SALE forum leads me to think that some members might be better off just going straight to the dealership and trading their S in for something else instead of selling it on the open market. However, when I visit the Autotrader site, nearly all of the cars are listed at blue book value, or extremely close to it. This is probably because people know that others will try to negotiate the price, and thus, they start out high.

For those of you who are selling, or have sold your S, did you finally cave into an offer that left you feeling cheated, or did you hold out for a buyer who had the cash? You would think that a car made in such limited quantity wouldn't depreciate as fast or as much as say, a Honda civic. Discuss.

melonheadr6

Depends on the region. I like to use NADA. It seems to be more accurate than KBB.

oakfloor

Yes its a shame we payed so much for our cars, I paid 23k for a MY 00' in 03' with 11k miles. [KBB value] And I thougth it was a bargain. they dont have much resale value. its not a famly car, or good in the rain and snow, and insurance is high. So just enjoy it while you have it. Get your use out of it. Who knows it may be a classic one day

mc2

I used edmunds TMV. This is based of actual prices people have sold and bought their cars at in your area.

Like someone said, it depends heavily on region. A S2000 would probably be in much more demand in southern california than it may be in Seattle.


Also, sellers nare always going to try to get as much out of the car as possible, and buyers will always try to get as little as possible. this is the game.

00CivicSi

First, comparing actual sale prices to KBB prices doesn't suggest anything about the relative depreciation rate of the S2000 to any other cars. In reality, it only speaks to the accuracy of the KBB values, and as others have suggested it all depends on region.

Second, Hondas in general, including Civics, have lower depreciation rates as compared to many other makes. Some attribute this to reliability and longevity.

Third, the average value for a particular car is based on supply and demand. Sure, there are fewer S2000s in the world than Civics, but one could just as easily assume that demand is lower for S2000s for many reasons, such as most people don't want a two-seater, or a convertible, or a car with a rough ride, etc.

Fourth, there are many other cars that are produced in much lower numbers with values that drop like a rock (Aston Martin for example).


Just because people are selling their S2000s for less than KBB doesn't necessarily mean they got taken. It could just mean that KBB isn't very accurate to actual market value.

sunilseru

KBB values are just a reference. Don't mean much.

If you want more accurate trade in value goto www.intelliprice.com.

Markk

"I used edmunds TMV. This is based of actual prices people have sold and bought their cars at in your area."

This is true. And the reason I've complained about people on this forum always saying "that's too much, offer him xx,xxx" People don't realize they're hurting themselves by giving new comers that low ball advice.

That and prices are down right now because of the season. They'll go up a little in the summer.

S2000GT

prices are probably a little lower in the cars for sale forum because its not really the best marketplace to be selling an S2000 - most of the audience on this forum are already owners.

Maskdman3

I have replaced KBB and NADA with Ebay value. I look at the most common buy it now prices or prices with bids for a similar car with similar mileage. That seems to be as accurate as KBB or NADA for me.

chuhsi

If I was going to buy an S2000, I'd buy from this forum.

If I was going to sell an S2000, I would NOT sell on this forum.

That's because most everyone here has a very good idea of what the car pricing CAN be, especially for new cars. People on this board want to pay $28k for a new S2000 before TTL while people who are not on this board, and not benefiting from shared sale information, will probably be happy buying for $32k before TTL...it's close to invoice and definitely below msrp.