Why is there such a difference between Kelley Blue Book and NADA motorcycle values?

Question

So, I'm thinking about purchasing this 1999 Ninja 250 off of eBay for 1625. It's in excellent condition, and the guy is real chill about everything. Thing is, the NADA value is 1015, but the KBB value is like 1800. Would I be getting ripped off if I went ahead and bought it off of him? I have the money for it, but I just don't want to be paying more than what's fair. I appreciate any help!

Additional Details

So do you think $1625 is a pretty fair deal? I need to tell him something by tonight...

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

First of all, there are different blue book values. One is for Wholesale ( what a retailer will pay you for your used car/motorcycle ), and one is for what the Retail value is ( what he, or you, would try to actually sell it for ). Why would a dealer accept a trade-in and pay $1,800 for something, and then try to sell it for $1,800 ? Makes no sense! So there is actually two values out there, one you get quoted when you trade in, and one that the seller tries to get. One reason you can sell your vehicle higher than a Trade-in offer, is because a dealer is only offering you WHOLESALE blue-book price, not what it'd sell for on the open market, or retail blue-book. So you have to find out what is which when you find a value. I'm not familiar with NADA pricing, and Kelly does have a Wholesale BB, but the one you see is normally Retail. So that's probably the difference you're seeing.

Answer 2

Kelly Blue Book normally takes into account regional price variations. NADA does not. An example: Convertibles may be worth more in the Southern states and worth less in Alaska!

Answer 3

probaly cause it is in the middle of both estimates

Answer 4

Because neither one knows crap about real life values.There values are for dealers.No one else according to there values count. If you want to know how much you get taken for go to a dealer and then check the value after a few months. Amazing how much dealer inflate the price and take the buyer to the cleaners.Why when you drive a new car or bike from a dealer and then try to trade it in or sell it they tell you its value is a lot less than what it was new. In turn this means it was over priced to start with.Check newspaper ads to compare prices