Is the online pricing guide 'fair price' actually a good deal?
Online pricing guides show a 'fair market price' or 'great deal' badge. How accurate are these? If I pay what they suggest, am I getting taken for a ride, or is it genuinely fair?
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asked 8 Sept 2024, 3:55 pm by Kate T.
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The tools are directionally useful but shouldn't be your only reference. The 'great price' badge is based on reported transactions, and dealers often pay to be listed on these platforms - there's an incentive to show prices that benefit dealers. Best approach: use online pricing guides as a STARTING point for research, then email actual dealers for real quotes. The real market is set by what local dealers will actually accept, not what a website says is 'fair.' Also check enthusiast forums for threads called 'prices paid' - those are real transaction data.
One caveat: during supply shortages, these tools underestimated real market prices. During normal inventory, they're usually within $500-1000 of what you should target. Don't treat them as gospel, but don't ignore them either. They're a useful data point among many.