Now that you\’ve gone through the process of looking at your vehicle\’s book value, we\’re going to look at the actual market value.
Book Value vs. Market Value
The difference between the book value and the market value is that book value takes the amount you initially purchased that vehicle for minus the depreciation that has taken place since you bought it based on driving off the value in mileage, in condition, the wear and tear on the vehicle and the age and so on. The market value is what someone is willing to pay for that vehicle. Therefore, the book value and the actual market value can be different.
There is currently a used car shortage due to the environment we\’re in at the moment. Therefore used cars are increasing in value in some markets. The market value may be rising because of the demand, but the book value may not have caught up yet.
Resources To Help You Determine Market Value
When it comes to determining your market value, there are many resources that you can utilize. Most of us don\’t have access to the auctions from a consumer standpoint, so we aren\’t updated on the real-time value of used vehicles. However, you can use a resource like E-bay, autotrader.com, cars.com, autotempest.com, cargurus.com, Facebook Marketplace, or Craigslist to get an estimate of what your vehicle is worth from a marketplace standpoint.
Today will use a 2019 Ford F-150 Lariat as our example vehicle. This vehicle originally came out in 2015. It was the aluminum body type, so it has an entirely different body type than the steel-framed version from the body type before that. Today we will be looking at it from a CarGurus standpoint. CarGurus will give you the ability to look at your vehicle\’s market rate.
You will put in the make/model and body type, zip code, and click search. Immediately you will have a list of results. From that point, you want to use the left side of the screen to narrow down your search further. We\’re looking for a 2017 to 2020 F-150 in a radius of 500 miles. From that point, you\’re going to scroll down and look at the specific options on this vehicle.
The first thing to look at is ensuring it\’s a Lariat or in the same range. You may have a middle-range vehicle with an XLT package with many upgrades. So you can utilize that, but it won\’t be as specific of a vehicle as a comparable lariat.
You also could use a King ranch or a limited, but as I said, you want to find the most similar vehicles as close as you possibly can.
Beyond that, you\’re going to want to look at crew cab only because that four-door truck versus an extended cab truck has a lot greater value to it. Then, you\’re going to look at the regular bed size and that it has four-wheel drive, and you may even want to put in the color. Typically, many vehicles don\’t have crazy colors unless you\’re going for some hip Nissan of some kind. You may not need to filter it by that, but beyond that, you\’ll want to look at any other options that apply.
In this case, we\’re looking at an F-150 with a V8 engine. So you\’ll also want to click that V8 option. Beyond that, determine if the vehicle has gone through any accidents. For this vehicle, I will take out any comparables that have accidents. This vehicle is not a rental car, so we\’re going to take out anything that\’s fleet-related.
Beyond that, you have a much smaller list of vehicles. In this case, it\’s two pages. You\’ll be able to see any comparables you could utilize for your comparison today. Of course, you\’re going to have intermixed vehicles you want to keep in mind that you\’ll have to take out of the mix.
For example, one of the results is an XLT that they misappropriated as a Lariat. It is in Reno, Nevada, it\’s a 2018, so it\’s a year older. However, it has lower mileage than mine.
From that point, you can scroll down to make sure there are no issues on the vehicle history, there are no accidents, and that it has a clean title and one owner.
So this is a comparable truck, but it does have lower mileage.
So from that point, you\’ll be able to pull up versions of what your truck can be compared to and price the vehicle based on the market value that the vehicle has.
Make Sure To Think Through Those Personal Modifications
The last thing I would mention is that most people believe that all modifications are good modifications. You may be shocked by the fact that you put so much money into your vehicle by lowering springs or having an engine swap or a wide body kit, or something like that, only to have it reduce the value of your vehicle.
If you plan to cycle through vehicles over time, you want to be mindful of what options and modifications you are putting into the vehicle. If they make sense, you may be able to get away with a slightly better sales price.
If the Ford F-150 Lariat is lifted and has larger tires or wheels you may be able to get away with something like that as long as it\’s nothing too extreme or too much of a personal preference.
But being mindful of that, there are personal preferences that some people like and some people don\’t, such as a wrap. Those are very popular right now. Although it\’s cool and protects the vehicle\’s paint, it may not be for everyone. Similarly, if you\’ve added a suspension kit of some kind, such as lowering Springs error or something along those lines, it might be someone\’s preference, but not someone else\’s. Therefore, it could cause some delays in selling your vehicle.
Just keep that in mind that there are certain modifications that won\’t return dollar for dollar what you put into it, much like a house would.
Call To Action
My call to action for you today is to figure out what the market value or the estimated market value is for your vehicle.
Have a question? Our team would love to help! Email us
