NADA vs. Kelley

Mr.E

Member
Jul 16, 2002
54
0
6
Mass
I've been thinking of picking up a new (used) car for winter driving. I've started to do some homework. I know banks use NADA for valuation and dealers tend to quote Kelley. I'm inclined to believe NADA (I really hate car salesman :notnice: ). Since the valuations vary between the two which one should I realistically trust (personal biases aside)?

Thanks
 
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NADA is the one to go by. If I remember right they take the national average of what the car is selling for and Kelley is what your average dealer would be looking to get for the car.

The registry and your insurance company use the NADA so if you total your car you won't get paid Kelley.
 
My buddy is a high volume used car dealer, and he uses Galves (spelling??). It comes out every couple months and requires an annual subscription. It provides the actual value of the cars (often significantly less than Nada or Kelly). The quotes are very accurate, and seem to fluctuate like the stock market.

You should see the look on a used car dealers face when you pull this thing out, its kind of like when consumer reports started selling the dealer invoices for new cars, and people were walking into showrooms with them.

It is not generally available to the public, but I am sure you can purchase an older version from someone (should still provide some useful info).

Good luck