Are the "values" or "prices" of used cars in guides such as KBB and Edmund's have anything to do with reality?

Values listed in the current used car guides seem to have absolutely no relation to reality (the real market value). Thye have always been inflated, but now they are twice the real value.





Do KBB and Edmund's simply make up their numbers or are they based on something real like car auction prices?|||They're guides, as you mentioned.





They take a variety of market info, and put it together in a basic, easy to understand package.





However, it's simply a guide, not a rule book. Just because a car is worth $5000, for example, doesn't mean you'll find a buyer for it at that value. It might have to come down to $4200 before it sells. A good market in one place might drive the price up in the guide, but that won't be the standard everywhere.





It works the other way around too. There's lots of people who have cars that they list as several times their values. Perfect example was a guy with a Toyota Supra (1980's style) on Craigslist recently. In good shape, it's worth around $1800. I've bought and sold several around that price. He wanted $8,000 for it.





Naturally, no one bought it......





Car values, book wise, or people wise, are always wildly inflated one way or another, lol.|||The suggested values are starting points. Retail values are based on averages of actual sales, but for vehicles in excellent condition. You can also get trade in or wholesale values at those sites.





Vehicles sold at auction are at wholesale value, not retail.|||they are just reference points





blue book value is more accurate.





if you read the fine print they do acknowledge that less than one percent of all vehicles will qualify as "excellent"