When researching the value of your current vehicle or that of a car you’re considering near San Jose and Santa Clara, you’ll find there are two primary sources of information for new and used car values. These sources include the Kelley Blue Book value and the Black Book car value. What is the difference between Black Book vs. Blue Book values? Discover the difference between the Kelley Blue Book value and the Black Book car value with the team at Capitol Ford!
After reading our guide, be sure to explore our online inventory of new, certified pre-owned, and used vehicles, then contact us online or call us at (408) 265-6000 to schedule your test drive in San Jose!
TheKelley Blue Booktrade-in valuation, which is also known as the “Blue Book” trade-in valuation, is used by many car dealers because it is free and requires no monthly payment. It ranks cars into four main categories: excellent, good, fair, and poor. That said, Blue Book valuations can sometimes be on the higher end of normal or fair, especially when buying a new vehicle. Accordingly, if you’re trying to value your trade-in, you may not get as much as the Blue Book valuation would suggest, which can seem misleading to some Sunnyvale drivers.
What is the Black Book car value? Black Book trade-in valuation often provides more up-to-date information about car and truck transactions than Kelley Blue Book, making it potentially more accurate. Why? Black Book updates the dealer invoice and MSRP of vehicles weekly. Many dealers use Black Book, including us here at Capitol Ford in San Jose.
As you can see, Black Book and Blue Book values both serve a purpose. Here’s a rundown on the main differences between Black Book vs. Blue Book for your convenience:
We don’t like misleading information, and we definitely don’t want to mislead our customers. That’s why we strive to provide the most accurate, up-to-date information using Black Book car values to everyone who does business with us. It’s just one way we show that we care. Another is our online trade-in valuation calculator, which uses Black Book car values to provide you with an easy trade-in estimate—looking for an instant cash offer instead via Blue Book valuation? We also offer that service for increased convenience.
