What's My Car Worth?

Very accurate, thank you. You can count on the values we give you since we use the same data that Black Book analyzes and then supplies to car dealers, whose businesses depend upon knowing precisely what every car, truck, and SUV is worth.

No problem. You can sell it to the dealership where you're buying your new ride. The dealership will handle the payment to your loan provider and will put any remaining proceeds towards your new set of wheels.

That depends. There are pros and cons to both trading-in and selling your car privately. You'll have to look at your state's tax code and do the math. Most times, selling your vehicle privately will net you more money up front, but that could mean you'll pay more taxes on the full price of the new car that you're buying. And selling it yourself entails extra time, the need to deal with strangers, and possible scams. However, in some states you only pay sales tax on what the car costs after the dealer subtracts the value of your trade-in. You might come out ahead in that case. Finally, there are the car-buying services like Carvana and Vroom, which can be both quicker and safer to deal with but, like a dealer, will pay you less for your car than a private party. Like we said, do your research and do the math.

Yes. People in different parts of the country favor different types of vehicles, which affects their value in that locale. Rear-wheel drive pickup trucks, for example, are generally worth more in the Southeast than in the Northeast.

You might as well ask how many stars there are in the sky: no one really knows. Different vehicles depreciate at different rates depending on numerous factors including how the economy is doing at that time; what kind of vehicle it is; the brand of the car; how much demand there is for that model; the price of gas; and much more.