Whether you are in the market for buying or selling a car or are just curious about how much your vehicle is worth, it’s helpful to understand how to calculate car value. It may take a little research to find an accurate price, but there are multiple online resources that can do the math for you and come up with a reasonable estimate of your car’s worth. Bankrate’s expert insurance editorial team created this guide so you know what factors go into determining that worth and can take the necessary steps to find your car’s value.

What is the resale value of a car?

You likely need to know the resale value of a car when you are in the market for buying or selling a vehicle, or if you are filing an insurance claim on a car that was totaled in an accident. The resale value, as the name suggests, is simply the amount that the vehicle can be sold for, after taking depreciation into account.

To find the resale value, there are websites, such as the Kelley Blue Book site, that can provide an instant free quote of your car’s value after you input key data on its make and model, age, condition and features. Subscribing to the Kelley Blue Book site allows you to keep track of the depreciation rate of your vehicle and calculate the value of a car. You can also review the prices advertised in local newspapers and other publications to get a sense of resale value.

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How to calculate the value of your car

The value of your car depends upon several factors. Calculating the resale value can be a process, in which case being deliberate about each step can help along the way.

Gather information about your vehicle

Before attempting to calculate your car’s value, you will want to gather several facts about your vehicle. You should understand the car’s history and the factors that have contributed to its depreciation since its purchase. The key information generally required includes:

  • Make, model and year: Verifying that each of these pieces of information are accurate is important. It is not uncommon to confuse your model with another, especially if your vehicle model is no longer sold.
  • Mileage: When possible, obtain your mileage directly from your speedometer. This, along with the vehicle condition, are two of the most important factors in valuing your car.
  • Condition: Cars in excellent interior, exterior and mechanical condition will typically be valued at a significantly better price than vehicles in poor condition.
  • Features: Your car’s price will vary depending on whether it is a base model or includes all the extras. Upgrades such as all-wheel drive, a sunroof or anti-lock brakes are likely to have an impact on its resale value.
  • Color: As trivial as this may seem, color can make a difference in value. Yellow, it turns out, is one of the best colors for resale value. Even orange and green can do the same, primarily with sports cars. Cars with such colors tend to benefit from scarcity, while white, black and blue cars are common, do not often stand out and may have less demand.

Consult a pricing guide or car value estimator

Car value pricing guides are now everywhere on the internet and are relatively easy to use. They typically prompt you to pinpoint the factors mentioned above, which can help you determine the right value of your car. Here are three of the most popular car value estimator sites:

  • Kelley Blue Book: Kelley Blue Book (KBB), founded in 1926, is one of the most trusted sources for car valuation. KBB’s site directs you to enter information about your car and uses its own proprietary software to assess your car’s value. It does so by comparing your car to a host of car prices it receives daily from wholesalers, franchised dealers, auto manufacturers and others in the auto industry.
  • Consumer Reports: Consumer Reports is a well known and credible resource for all your needs when looking to purchase a car. Known for its reviews of new automobiles, the company also has a user-friendly site for valuing your car. The site includes a wealth of practical information regarding steps you can take to improve your car’s value.
  • J.D. Power Cars: Formerly NADAguides, this site has access to a wide range of resources for car valuation, using data from millions of automobile sales, to help you value your cars. The site also provides a useful archive of historical valuations of lines of cars, which can provide a more in-depth understanding of your vehicle. J.D. Power is a well-known organization that offers influential ratings of vehicles, car insurance companies and more.
  • Edmunds: With 50 years of experience, Edmunds offers video reviews, new and used listings, free appraisals and calculators to help verify if a price is good or not. The site offers a list of top-rated cars each year and other features to help you negotiate the new- and used-car market.

There will undoubtedly be some variation in the values generated by each of these three sites and others due to each guide using a slightly different process of comparing data. These variations should not be significant, but make comparing values from several sites a useful step in ensuring you have the best information.

Research the market

Using estimator sites can be helpful in determining your car’s value, but there may be other factors to consider. Here are a few of the conditions that are likely to play a role in determining resale value:

  • Your location: Where you live impacts the value of your car, since some cars are more popular in some regions than in others.
  • Time of year: There are seasonal variations in car pricing that could impact the value — convertibles, for example, may be more popular — and thus more highly priced — in the warm summer months.
  • Unique modifications: If you’ve had work done on your car, such as a custom paint job, that could play a role in its value.

To help take these characteristics into account, it may be useful to review prices for similar vehicles in local newspapers or market publications. Online sites like Autotrader.com can also help. You may need to estimate your car’s value if you are unable to find a similar vehicle nearby, based on your understanding of the cost of any upgrades or other factors.

Terms and phrases to know when calculating resale value for a car

When buying or selling a car, it is beneficial to know as much as you can about the terms and phrases used. Arming yourself with knowledge of your vehicle as well as the industry as a whole, can help put you on an equal footing. Here are some terms and definitions frequently used in the market that may be worth knowing.

Terms and phrases related to car value Meaning
Depreciation Your car’s depreciation is the difference between your car’s value when you bought it and its value when you sell it. You probably know that a car begins depreciating as soon as it leaves the dealer’s lot. The depreciation represents the wear and tear on your car over the years since you purchased it.
Retail value The retail value is simply the amount a dealer will charge for a used or new car. It’s the price you pay when you purchase a vehicle from a dealership.
Trade-in value This is the amount of money a dealer will offer you when you bring your car to trade it in for a newer model. This amount is likely less than the retail cost that the dealer will charge for the same car after they clean it up and prepare it for sale.
Private-party value If you purchase a car from a private seller rather than a dealership, you will pay the private-party value. This amount is frequently less than a dealer would charge for a car, since a private party is unlikely to incur the expenses of refurbishing their car before they sell it.

Frequently asked questions

  • Black Book is a competitor of Kelley Blue Book and other online auto assessors, and is frequently used by dealers to set the used car price that they will offer an owner for their trade-in. It takes into account the vehicle’s age, mileage, condition and other factors. Prices are updated every week, and are also used to reflect the auction value of a car.
  • In an accident or other vehicle mishap, such as theft or weather damage, your insurer is likely to declare the car totaled if repairing the damage would cost more than the car is worth. To determine that value, they look at what estimators like Kelley’s Blue Book say it is worth. If the car is determined to be totaled, your payment will be based on that value, often called the fair market or book value. Keep in mind, however, that your deductible will first be subtracted, and there may be additional fees as well.
  • If your vehicle was totaled, and you feel that the amount your insurer offered as a claims payout was inadequate, there are a few steps you can take. First, ask your insurer for the valuation report that they used to determine your payout. That report should list comparable vehicles — check this carefully and ensure that the vehicles considered are similar to your vehicle. If not, do some research and find more accurate comparable vehicles based on data from Kelley Blue Book and other estimators, and send these to your insurance adjuster. You may also wish to hire an independent appraiser to give an appraisal of your car’s value.