- A Kelley Blue Book price guide gives the value of new and used vehicles including cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles. The value can be calculated at the Kelley website, www.kbb.com, or can be obtained from any automobile dealership. The Kelley Blue Book also provides values for motorcycles, snowmobiles and personal watercraft. The guide is a standard in the industry, and values are updated yearly.
- Three different types of values are given for used vehicles. Trade-in value is the amount someone can expect from a dealer for a trade-in vehicle. Private party value is the amount a buyer can expect to pay when buying from a private owner. The suggested retail value reflects pricing at the dealer lot.
- The book provides three types of new car values. The manufacturer's suggested retail price is determined by the manufacturer. Any dealer can decide to offer a vehicle at a price above or below its listed MSRP, depending on market value in a given area. Invoice price, or dealer invoice, is the amount that a manufacturer charges dealers for new vehicles. The new car blue book value tells what people are actually paying for a certain vehicle and is based on transactions reported from dealers nationwide.
- Factors used in calculating value include the year the vehicle was manufactured, body style, features such as engine size and type of transmission and custom details such as sun roof, CD player, number of air bags, power windows and so forth. Other factors include mileage and general condition.
- The company was founded by entrepreneur Les Kelley in 1918 as an auto dealership in Los Angeles. Eventually deciding to expand the dealership, he began advertising for certain cars he wanted and the price he would pay. Soon car dealers and area banks came to trust these price lists as a standard, and Kelley published his first Blue Book as a regional service in 1926. After World War II, with the return of military personnel and the low number of new cars due to auto plants having been involved in wartime manufacturing, the demand for used cars convinced the company to produce a nationwide pricing guide.
- The term "blue book" is used for price guides for other types of items as well, such as coins, tractors, airplanes, construction quotes and more. "Blue book value" has in some ways become a generic term for the standard value or expected price. By far the most common reference to "blue book," however, is to the Kelley Blue Book.
