# Books for used car prices? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909 "2007-06-21T21:35:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/1 "2007-06-21T21:35:02Z")
I can’t find any books that list used car prices. There used to be guides like Edmunds and the Kelley’s Blue Book for sale all over - a catalog of various vintage used cards with typical selling prices. I’ve looked in 2 bookstores and both have told me they can’t get them anymore, and on Amazon I only see used ones (not sure what they’re sold for). I have a buying guide from Consumer Reports, but it gives broad ranges of prices and is mostly about things other than price. What happened to these all-important guides? I have found some web sites that do this, but haven’t figured out how to use them while I’m walking around a car lot with some smiling young stud in a polyester suit chasing me… ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/2 "2007-06-21T21:43:39Z")
According to [Kelley](http://www.kbb.com/kbb/CompanyInfo/BuyTheBook.aspx), they certainly are still selling the book in bookstores. Your local stores just may not be carrying it for some reason. At a glance, [Edmunds](http://www.edmunds.com/) doesn’t appear to sell a dead tree version, at least not on their website. Other than those and Consumer Reports, I’m not aware of any other price guides. That’s not saying much, though. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/3 "2007-06-21T22:04:24Z")
[QUOTE=Napier] I’ve looked in 2 bookstores and both have told me they can’t get them anymore, and on Amazon I only see used ones (not sure what they’re sold for). [/QUOTE] I see Amazon has the _Kelley Blue Book Used Car Guide: Consumer Edition_, [new and in stock](http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Blue-Book-Used-Guide/dp/1883392667/ref=sr_1_2/103-1589402-5977434?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182463151&sr=1-2). Is this not what you are looking for? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/4 "2007-06-21T22:45:55Z")
You might try calling your local library. Public libraries, in my experience, tend to keep current issues of Kelly Blue Book or NADA price guides in their reference or ready reference collections. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/5 "2007-06-22T00:15:15Z")
If you want a real world idea of what car is worth Check the NADA [guide.](http://www.nadaguides.com/home.aspx?l=1&w=28&p=0&f=5000&aid=80698&iid=58778&nozip=1) NADA tracks the actual transaction prices. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/6 "2007-06-22T00:27:23Z")
The Kelly Blue Book has almost a 0 veracity rating. Remember that if one of those Polyester wonders starts quoting it to you. It’s NADA as\*\* Rick\*\* sez. Edmund’s web site is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/7 "2007-06-22T00:33:49Z")
The libraries absolutely have all those things. I must admit I haven’t seen them by the checkout at the bookstore like I used to, though. But here at the library we’ve got the car ones _and_ the RV ones and the boat ones and and and and. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/8 "2007-06-22T10:48:32Z")
I remember when I worked at a main branch… ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/9 "2007-06-22T13:09:13Z")
\>But here at the library we’ve got the car ones and the RV ones and the boat ones and and and and I assumed they’d be in the “Reference” section and so couldn’t be borrowed, so, like web sites, they wouldn’t be useable walking around on a car lot. Is that correct? Fear Itself, you’re right, this is what I was looking for. I don’t know why I tried to find it and did not see this! Rick, I like NADA. How do we know they are more accurate than Kelly? I don’t know how accurate either of them are. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/10 "2007-06-22T13:16:09Z")
[QUOTE=Napier] \>But here at the library we’ve got the car ones and the RV ones and the boat ones and and and and I assumed they’d be in the “Reference” section and so couldn’t be borrowed, so, like web sites, they wouldn’t be useable walking around on a car lot. Is that correct? Fear Itself, you’re right, this is what I was looking for. I don’t know why I tried to find it and did not see this! Rick, I like NADA. How do we know they are more accurate than Kelly? I don’t know how accurate either of them are. [/QUOTE] We do have some in Ready Reference, which we keep _behind the desk_ so you can’t steal it, but we have a few copies you can check out as well. YLMV (your library may vary.) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/11 "2007-06-22T21:09:15Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] The Kelly Blue Book has almost a 0 veracity rating. Remember that if one of those Polyester wonders starts quoting it to you. It’s NADA as\*\* Rick\*\* sez. Edmund’s web site is pretty good. [/QUOTE] I wonder what the DMV woman in Vermont used when she was deciding what to charge me for taxes. It was a tiny little book with tiny little writing. [Ah.](http://www.aot.state.vt.us/dmv/registration/tax/taxgeneralinfo.htm) NADA ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/12 "2007-06-23T01:36:35Z")
[QUOTE=Napier] Rick, I like NADA. How do we know they are more accurate than Kelly? I don’t know how accurate either of them are. [/QUOTE] Well it is published by the **N** ational **A** utomotive **D** ealers **A** ssociation for use by their members. So they have no interest in blowing smoke up their members asses. As I said before NADA tracks transaction prices, which should give a much closer idea of what a car is actually is worth. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/13 "2007-06-23T01:46:21Z")
The NADA guides are pretty much a standard reference, not only for the auto industry, but lenders, insurance cos. and even police depts. The guides contain much more than just values, such as the various places to find each make and model’s VIN and how to read it. ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-for-used-car-prices/408909/14 "2007-06-23T05:50:03Z")
I have one called the _Lemon Aid Car Guide_. They release one every year; they seem to be available at Amazon.