Kelly Blue Books Value of Vipers.. whats their deal and why are they so stupid?

[Blainne]

Anyone looked at the Kelly Blue Book listed Value of our Vipers? What is their deal?

They list a 1994 5k mileage Mint Viper at only 20k selling to a private party? A 1997 Viper GTS with 5k miles worth 31k to a private party? A 1996 Viper GTS with 5k miles worth 30k? I wrote them about their craziness regarding just one example using the 1997 Viper GTS and they replied:
______________________________________________
Thank you for your email. We understand your concern regarding the drop in the 1997 Viper GTS Coupe value. Please remember that Kelley Blue Book reports on prices paid in the market and the values we provide change because they are based on the changing marketplace. All vehicles depreciate over time, some more than others. Seasonal changes, big incentives or style changes on newer years of a certain model and even bad press about safety or reliability issues can dramatically affect resale values.

Thank you for visiting our site. Come back and see us again, as we are adding content all the time.

Consumer Correspondence Specialist
Kelley Blue Book
The Trusted Resource
Phone: 800-258-3266
www.kbb.com
[email protected]
________________________________________________

What are they smoking? I have watched Viper values for the last 3 years and I have NEVER seen Low mileage Viper GTS sell ANYWHERE near 31k unless it was a Salvage Title. Now when we sell our Vipers or Ebay or whatever site we get Idiots thinking they can pick up our Vipers at STUPID prices. I'm listing my Viper GTS in excellent condition with low miles and I get daily bids for 30k!!! From what I hear from KBB do they even watch the Market values of ANYTHING? From what I see KBB is ONLY using a set equation and depreciating car values every year without doing any research at all.

 

[Dirk Pitt]

Hagerty has a #1 condition '97 GTS at $41K which seems pretty close to market. I've found their data to be reasonably close from a buyer perspective. I wouldn't sell my '97 for that price but my car isn't for sale eat any price today.

 

[agentf1]

KBB and sites similar to that have NEVER been accurate when it comes to Vipers.

 

[PeterMJ]

Selling prices are dictated by demand. If there is no buyer willing to pay the price you think the car is worth, you either sell at the price offered or you do not sell. If the prices in KBB are unrealistically low, this is a good indicator not to consider trading your car in. The way I think KBB works is they base their pricing on the cars sold, if the data they collect happen to cover beat up high mileage cars, this is their base and better condition car price is extrapolated on their generic mileage allowances. KBB is mass market car oriented and it works for those cars, not worth crap for collectible cars. Last generation Supra is even a better example than Viper.

Anyone looked at the Kelly Blue Book listed Value of our Vipers? What is their deal?

They list a 1994 5k mileage Mint Viper at only 20k selling to a private party? A 1997 Viper GTS with 5k miles worth 31k to a private party? A 1996 Viper GTS with 5k miles worth 30k? I wrote them about their craziness regarding just one example using the 1997 Viper GTS and they replied:
______________________________________________
Thank you for your email. We understand your concern regarding the drop in the 1997 Viper GTS Coupe value. Please remember that Kelley Blue Book reports on prices paid in the market and the values we provide change because they are based on the changing marketplace. All vehicles depreciate over time, some more than others. Seasonal changes, big incentives or style changes on newer years of a certain model and even bad press about safety or reliability issues can dramatically affect resale values.

Thank you for visiting our site. Come back and see us again, as we are adding content all the time.

Consumer Correspondence Specialist
Kelley Blue Book
The Trusted Resource
Phone: 800-258-3266
www.kbb.com
[email protected]
________________________________________________

What are they smoking? I have watched Viper values for the last 3 years and I have NEVER seen Low mileage Viper GTS sell ANYWHERE near 31k unless it was a Salvage Title. Now when we sell our Vipers or Ebay or whatever site we get Idiots thinking they can pick up our Vipers at STUPID prices. I'm listing my Viper GTS in excellent condition with low miles and I get daily bids for 30k!!! From what I hear from KBB do they even watch the Market values of ANYTHING? From what I see KBB is ONLY using a set equation and depreciating car values every year without doing any research at all.

 

[Allan]

They must be averaging resale values across the board on all Vipers.

Unfortunately, they must have mine included in the mix somehow, and that is what is driving the average resale prices down.

My car is only worth around 5 bucks, so when they average mine with all the cherry 100,000 dollar garage queen cars, they come up with the lame 30k figures.

...........sorry guys...

 

[propsail]

It works great when I have to pay property taxes

 

[agentf1]

They must be averaging resale values across the board on all Vipers.

Unfortunately, they must have mine included in the mix somehow, and that is what is driving the average resale prices down.

My car is only worth around 5 bucks, so when they average mine with all the cherry 100,000 dollar garage queen cars, they come up with the lame 30k figures.

...........sorry guys...

Who all is in favor of banning Allan for devaluing our vipers. ;-)

I have of intention of selling my Viper anytime soon but do know if I ever do it will be for well above KBB value.

 

[Free2go]

Well, in my business, Xactimate is commonly used to create insurance restoration and reconstruction invoices. Guess who owns Xactware, the maker of Xactimate: Insurance companies.

 

[Allan]

..... ..........what is stupid is that they are even factoring me in to the equation.

as I don't have any intention of ever selling, so I shouldn't even be in the mix.


....Also there are probably some other Viper guys with cars that are only worth 80 bucks or so, ....I'm not the only one that tracks.
They are as much to blame for the low values as me.

 

[ViperSmith]

You aren't taking into account auction prices which you don't have access to (maihem)

 

[Allan]

The dealers blasting discounts on the new ones probably doesn't help either.

 

[VIPER GTSR 91]

KBB is only a ROUGH estimate at best and not used by dealers for trade ins. When getting an estimate of value for a Viper or other specialty cars, there can be a wide difference in value depending on location, miles, mods (not good) and of course general condition and special or limited editions that KBB does not address.

 

[Blainne]

Well crap.. since KBB is accurate. WHO WANTS to sell me THEIR MINT LOW mileage Viper GTS for $31k?

 

[Dirk Pitt]

A nice '96 B/W GTS just sold on E-Bay for ~$32K. Not mint but only 18K miles. I think anyone buying one of these as a "driver" car is going to pay sub $40K at best and the $32k price is probably very reasonable for the buyer and seller. Collectors may/will pay more but that gets very subjective and those transactions are more likely to be private so KBB and others won't have this data in their database.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Cars-Trucks..._nkw=1996+viper&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc

 

[Sybil TF]

A nice '96 B/W GTS just sold on E-Bay for ~$32K. Not mint but only 18K miles. I think anyone buying one of these as a "driver" car is going to pay sub $40K at best and the $32k price is probably very reasonable for the buyer and seller. Collectors may/will pay more but that gets very subjective and those transactions are more likely to be private so KBB and others won't have this data in their database.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Cars-Trucks..._nkw=1996+viper&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc

Salvage title car. Drops price A lot!!!!

 

[7TH_SIGN]

My thoughts,

I don't think a low mileage Viper is anything special. Why? Because there are so many low mileage Vipers out there.

The current demand for these cars is low and it doesn't help that GEN V Vipers are selling for lower then expected.

The sports car market is slowly coming back and buyers now have some options as to what they want to get in. Granted many of the news cars lack a true manual transmission option.

Lastly, when I was in the market for a Viper, I was told by other car enthusiasts to not go after one because of their "poor build quality." I think this assumption deters potential buyers.

 

[PDCjonny]

Viper owners tend to think a lot more highly of their cars value than the general public.
The harsh reality sets in at sale time. Its a niche market growing ever smaller and there are plenty of cars out there.

 

[wikkid]

Viper owners tend to think a lot more highly of their cars value than the general public.
The harsh reality sets in at sale time. Its a niche market growing ever smaller and there are plenty of cars out there.

Well I bought a 04 2 years ago for 47k with 800 miles on it. Sold it las summer for 47,500 with 4000 miles on it but invested 4500 dollar ACR wheels and tires.
Car was sweet, workmanship from the factory was horrible. I adjusted almost every panel, and the crank bolt I unscrewed by hand. The boys at the plant had the **** going the day they built it.

 

[steve e]

Kelly bases some of its info from motor vehicle commission prices. I sold a SRT 8 charger for x amount, the buyer said he payed y amount, see how that gos, happens all the time, Buyer reports to motor vehicle that he payed 20 k for a 2009 ACR to save on taxs, Any car is worth what the market will bare.

 

[danfromohio]

If any decent 1994 could be had for $20k, it would be in my garage instead of the 1999 911 that is currently there.

 

[steve e]

If any decent 1994 could be had for $20k, it would be in my garage instead of the 1999 911 that is currently there.

For 20k you would have both.

 

[Dirk Pitt]

I was at an estate auction recently and a '96 stock GTS with about 6500 miles went for mid $40's. Paint was very nice. Engine area and undercarriage were very dirty and there were some components/fasteners that were discolored due to oxidation. Interior seemed a bit worn for the low mileage but overall very nice. I would call it a #2 car. I went with the expectation of buying the car but never bid. The price seemed high but it was an auction (so at least two bidders) and there was no buyer premium to be concerned with.