Hi guys - still looking for a 945T, and am having difficulty trying to accurately price bricks. Who's numbers should I go with? Edmunds or NADA? Wow - is there a difference between the two. For example, for a 94 945T, edmunds lists three price ranges - $6.4k (trade in value); $7.4 (private party sale); and $9k (retail sale).

NADA lists two prices for the same car: $9.1 (trade in value); and $11k (retail)

That's $2k difference! Who is most accurate? It seems most private parties price their cars anwhere in the edmunds scale, while dealers (volvo) price theis somewhere in the nada scale). You'll notice the edmunds/nada scale does not even cross paths.

Who do you think has the most accurate pricing?

Thanks much!

Used car prices are the hardest to determine specially volvos.Hardly are two
identical used car of the same condition and the "need to sell factor" plays a big role in the ultimate selling price.What I did(and still does) is check the
prices in the classified ad daily and specially on weekends.Make notes of the trends and occasionally call sellers and determine whether you're looking at
prices from "by owners" or wholesalers pretending to be the real owners.My
favorite line is "I'm calling about the car you're selling", if the answer
is w/c one??You know who you're dealing with.Next question is "How long have you had the car??" I believe used volvos prices differ by region so local research work is a must.Also, most car dealership would wholesale our coveted
93-95 940's.I have inside info from some local dealership (Dallas area)and the most wholesalers would pay for a low mileage 94/95 944/945 in good condition
is $5k,if ever.My rule of the thumb 1. buy from owners whenever possible 2. if I have to buy from a reputable used car dealer I go to non-volvo dealer first.
Why?? Very few people looking for a $5,000-$7,000 used car will end up w/ a volvo. Used car sales manager will wholesale a good volvo at cost to get it out of his inventory in 30 days..Keep a good eye on those deals..Good Luck!
--
ReySC..'86 744 GLE ..'94 944 T http://communities.msn.com/Reysc/reyscarfriendshobbies.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=19

Rey - I'm in Dallas as well. Please send me an e-mail or call. Your post has intrigued me.

Chris

cweidner@flash.net
214-290-4414
972-874-5874 (w)

Chris,
Called your work phone and left message w/ my cell number.Feel free to call.
--
ReySC..'86 744 GLE ..'94 944 T http://communities.msn.com/Reysc/reyscarfriendshobbies.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=19

Yes, that's true. The NADA price is what most dealers go by, and is the most accurate in the used car marketplace. Edmunds must price off of what people pay rather than what the asking prices are.

Edmunds is virtually useless to me. I've never been able to buy a car for an Edmunds price, and I would never dream of selling a car for the prices that they list either. Unfortunately they've become the best known because they had the first and best online website for used car buyers. I don't know how they develop their numbers but the average prices that they list are a lot more like wholesale prices in the peak season. Don't expect to hit the jackpot on a car with an edmunds-like price. The one place that they do a decent job is on new car prices. That feature of their site and their books is a very good one.

The NADA prices are asking prices (obviously) and most dealers will chop a big chunk off of them, giving you a price that is more LIKE edmunds.

Also, Kelly's is another good source to compare the three. YOu really have to look at all three before you set a price for a car or before you buy one. If you compare all three prices, the figures you'll see start to make a lot more sense.
--
1992 940 wagon, 72k
make people envious; smile frequently.

It really depends on the exact situation.
new car dealer - just make sure the car does not need major repairs
go to(or call) YOUR bank loan officer and see if they will quote for
amount lendable to you on 100% financing. Dealer loan officers have access
to banks that will lend to 125% of a cars actual value, they dont bother
to tell you this. They get nervous and dont like YOUR bank loan officers.

if you have cash and dont need banks input just watch and see what market
value for your area is. here in nashville TN area seems volvo 940s are not
so expensive. recently saw a '95 945 n/a 95K for $7500.00, wasnt loaded
though but very clean and maintained. I would guess a '95 945 turbo and
loaded around 100K(or less) for 8000.00 - 9000.00 in this area.

if a dealer has the car you want hold out if they are asking big $$$
longer a car is in their inventory the less they will take. I would
hold out for a clean 1 owner car with records and have cash or credit to
jump on it when you find one.

When I was shopping for new cars and looking to trade in 92 965 all the dealers used the Edmunds (Low numbers) and basicly laughed at the prices in KBB and NADA.

I bet if I was buying the same car back they would pull out that Kelly book.

Some may be somewhat localized, while other estimates may be national averages.
I have just used them all as a ballpark range. Best is to do like they appraise houses ... see what they sell for on eBay, etc. Then, see which book corresponds to the actual sales prices. eBay prices are somewhere around wholesale/private party prices ... as far as I have gleaned. Then, if you are buying from a dealer, just add a few thousand!

If you find a really nice 95 945T for $7500., I would grab it without hesitation.

Steve H
--
93 Volvo 940 Turbo Wagon

But that's probably not what you wanted to hear. :)

www.kbb.com

They said $11.8 retail, $9.2 private, $7.2 trade...

At least now you can go "best out of three"... I've always found edmunds to be low...

-Paul Demeo
1990 780T

I am surprised they are that far off. I have always found them to be w/i $100.00 of each other.

Are you comparing apples and apples. i.e. A/C on both. Leather vs. Cloth. Most importantly, mileage and condition.

Hope this helped.


Regards,


David

David - yes. As far as I know it's pretty much apples to apples. I didn't input anything like mileage or leather or cloth or condition to keep both on even ground.

KBlue book - forgot about them! Seems if you throw out their lowest price, you basically have NADA pricing (maybe a little more expensive).


Another question - if I were to puchase a 945 from a dealer, and he's asking NADA retail, and I want to purchase it for edmunds private party... who is going to win? It's hard to argue edmunds numbers when they go by NADA or KBB. Does anyone have a successful technique to position this? Thanks!

Here's some food for thought on all this:

First off, NADA stands for National Automobile Dealers Association. That having been said, who do you think the NADA book is going to favor? You guessed it! The dealer.

And yes, they do use the Kelly Blue Book when you go to trade your car in, then use the NADA book when someone else comes to buy your old car. Is it ethical? No. With very few exceptions, car salesmen/women have earned their reputation as bottom feeders who are beneath contempt.

In all fairness to dealers though, they're in the business of buying cars then selling them for more money than they paid for them. There's certainly nothing wrong with that as long as the profit margin is "reasonable".

If you were trading in that Volvo, what would you expect to get for it? They CAN'T give you top retail dollar for it. How could they make a profit?

Conversely, when you're buying it, you can't go in there and reasonably expect to buy it for what they "paid" for it on trade, right? So the question really is, "What do you feel is a reasonable profit for them to make on that car?"

You can "guestimate" what they paid for the car using the "trade-in" value. If they try to tell you they paid much more than that for it, chances are they're lying. Walk away.

All this having been said, I never buy cars from dealers. I figure for the couple of grand they're going to mark up the price of the car, I could fix almost anything that could possibly be wrong with it. But, this philosophy only makes sense if you work on your own car. You could burn 2K on a brake job and a couple of struts if you're paying labor.

Hey, just my long-winded 2-cents worth.

Good luck
--
'92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '93 Volvo Turbo Wagon (a family car w/flair), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece)

Agree completely w/ Steve. Do your homework. From that info, set a max $ figure you want to spend on the brick including the $2K in repairs and STICK TO THAT NUMBER. Walking away from what seems to be the sweetest deal in the world gets a whole lot easier when you remove the emotion.


Regards,


David

Chris, hope you don't mind my 2 cents. You probably cannot pay a higher price, than from a dealer. You probably know that this is because a dealer is expected to supply you with a "perfect" vehicle. Except for the most revered dealers (do you know any?) this is probably only an ideal.

In my opinion (from experience), you really need to do lots of research and homework whether you buy from a dealer, private party or auction. Then figure to pay 1000 to $2000. in repairs. Do your research on the exact car itself, then take what you find to the dealer, and use that for negotiation. If the car really IS perfect (very rare), then feel comfortable paying the dealer price.

Steve H
--
93 Volvo 940 Turbo Wagon