New Car
What is the Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor?
The Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor is a range-based pricing tool to help car buyers and sellers talk about price realistically. Research from the Cox Automotive Car Buying Journey Study shows that shoppers are looking for a fair price not only for new vehicles, but also for used vehicles and the vehicles they currently own. When you limit your market-based pricing to a single price point, it doesn’t consider all the variables associated with structuring a car deal. The Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor is designed to reduce friction between buyers and sellers.
What is the Kelley Blue Book® Fair Purchase Price?
Fair Purchase Price reflects the price consumers are typically paying for this vehicle. The Fair Purchase Price is regionalized based on actual new-vehicle transactions collected from across the country and adjusted regularly as market conditions change. Fair Purchase Price is determined by collecting thousands of actual consumer vehicle purchase prices, plus data from national vehicle registration databases and several other reliable third-party sources. Kelley Blue Book’s lead analysts and statisticians review and validate the data each week for reliability.
Some sites and tools purport to show you the drop-dead lowest prices, but the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price gives you a realistic view of what a new car is actually selling for.
What is the Fair Market Range?
The Fair Market Range reflects the range of prices that Kelley Blue Book estimates most people will pay for a specific vehicle this week based on its year, make, model and style. This range is determined using sophisticated statistical models that consider recent transactions, supply, demand and market changes. Sometimes people think that the lower part of the range represents a vehicle with less equipment and the top of the range shows a vehicle (or a style) with more equipment. This isn’t the case. If you choose options, packages, and colors when looking up a car, the Fair Market Range you see is for THAT vehicle with THAT equipment.
How is the Fair Market Range on the Price Advisor determined?
The Fair Market Range for new cars is Kelley Blue Book’s estimate of what a consumer can reasonably expect to pay this week in their area for a vehicle configured with their selected options, excluding taxes, title, fees and any available special offers. We determine values in the Fair Market Range by collecting hundreds of thousands of vehicle transactions each week and updating our values with that information.
What is MSRP? Is that the same as "Sticker Price"?
The MSRP, or Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price, is the price set by the new car manufacturer. The MSRP shown for a vehicle includes destination charges and minimum required equipment. MSRP, destination charges and minimum required equipment appear as separate prices on the manufacturer’s window sticker, so “MSRP” and “sticker price” aren’t exactly the same. A dealer can choose to sell a vehicle above or below its listed MSRP.
What is Invoice?
Invoice price comes up often in price negotiations, so Kelley Blue Book provides it as a point of reference only. Consumers should know that the invoice price often bears little resemblance to how much the dealer really paid for the car. Invoice price is the price an automaker charges its franchise dealers for a new vehicle, but it does not include holdbacks and factory-to-dealer incentives, which can lower the effective cost to the dealer. The invoice price shown includes destination charges and minimum required equipment but it doesn’t include any dealer costs for local and regional advertising, selling, preparing, displaying or financing the vehicle. Kelley Blue Book does not represent that the invoice price is the price a dealer actually paid for the vehicle.
What does the term "holdback" mean?
Automakers offer holdbacks to help reduce some of the costs of a dealer acquiring a new car from the factory – and keeping it on his lot. Usually holdbacks are from one to three percent of the MSRP and vary in duration. Holdbacks help cover the interest on the dealer’s vehicle loans. When a dealer can sell the car quickly, he keeps more of the holdback money. The longer the car stays on his lot, the less he gets. Once the holdback expires, the dealer can begin to lose money on the car. While holdbacks are not negotiable, it is possible to negotiate with the dealer by knowing how much holdback he/she will be keeping. If a car has been on the lot for two or three months, the dealer is far more likely to sell it at a better price to avoid building up more debt. Remember, the dealer’s profit has to cover the cost of operating the dealership, paying his salesman, maintaining his inventory and advertising the vehicle. Also keep in mind that popular or hard-to-find models will often fetch top dollar, so dealers will be less inclined to reduce their price.
When will you have more new car pricing?
As soon as a manufacturer releases pricing information, we map out the complex relationships that exist for any given vehicle. For example, maybe you can’t get a sunroof all by itself; you might need to get heated seats too. We then upload the verified info to KBB.com once a week. Please be aware that many new models are advertised and may even appear in the dealerships before the manufacturer has finalized pricing.
How often do you update your new car pricing?
We update or verify Fair Purchase Price and Fair Market Range at least once a week to account for market conditions and fluctuations. We update or verify other elements like MSRP and invoice as needed – when we get new info from the manufacturer.
Does your pricing account for my region?
Yes. We understand how important it is to provide pricing that is geographically relevant. In order to better meet consumer and dealer need, we produce values based on 134 geographic regions in the U.S. and analyze each region individually to reflect local pricing and economic conditions.
In addition, we now produce valuations for Canada and several other countries.
What is the difference between factory, port, and dealer-installed options?
Factory-installed options are add-ons that the factory adds, whereas port-installed options (PIO) are installed on the vehicle once it arrives in the United States – literally “at port.” Both factory-installed options and port-installed options must be factory approved. Since there is some price control, we can consider them when providing Fair Purchase Price or Fair Market Range.
Dealer-installed options are items added to the vehicle once it arrives at the dealership. These might include alarm/security systems, upgraded wheels, etc. We don’t include dealer-installed options when showing Fair Purchase Price or Fair Market Range, since these options can vary widely in price and quality. There are just too many variables to ensure any kind of accuracy when it comes to dealer-installed options.
Do you have Canadian pricing?
Yes! Pricing and other data on KBB.com is specific to the U.S., but in 2020 Kelley Blue Book also started providing data for the Canadian market. Canadian pricing will be following soon and will be adjusted for each province & territory to reflect local economic and market conditions. You can find KBB Canada at
KBB.ca
Please also remember that vehicles sold in Canada (and other countries) often differ from their U.S. counterparts in engine spec and optional equipment.
Do you have pricing for other countries?
Pricing and specifications info on KBB.com is specific to the United States, but Kelley Blue Book also operates websites with pricing and information specific to these other countries:
In addition, you can find Kelley Blue Book data and valuations on websites in these countries
Remember that vehicles sold in other countries may look the same as their U.S. counterparts, but often contain significant differences in engines, safety standards and optional equipment.
If just want a general idea of pricing for a country where we don’t offer values, you can look up a vehicle in our Western Region – and, of course, convert from U.S. dollars to your country’s currency. Use the ZIP code 92618. Keep in mind that since vehicles can vary significantly from country to country, it’s tricky to compare prices internationally.
As we continue to offer more global websites, we will pass the info on to you via KBB.com.
What do the abbreviations and symbols on your site mean?
( ) – This bullet-symbol indicates the model(s) for which this line item is listed. Loosely, “Available for this price on… LS, GS, etc.”
( * ) – The asterisk is used as the wildcard symbol. It is a place holder to signify any missing character. For example, D*B means D(any letter here)B.
2D – Two Door
4D – Four Door
5D – Five Door
2WD – Two-Wheel Drive
4WD – Four-Wheel Drive
6-CYL – Six-Cylinder Engine
8-CYL – Eight-Cylinder Engine
ABS – Anti-lock Braking System
AWD – All-Wheel Drive
CID – Cubic Inches Displacement
CVT – Continuously Variable Transmission
DOHC – Dual Overhead Cam
DRW – Dual Rear Wheels
DSL – Diesel
EFI – Electronic Fuel Injection
FFV – Flexible Fuel Vehicles
GVWR – Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
HO – High Output Engine
HP Turbo – High Performance Turbo
LP – Low Pressure Engine
MFI – Mulitport Fuel Injection
MSRP – Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price
N/A – listed in the description text means that the item is Not Available. There is usually text describing the circumstances.
N/A – listed in the pricing columns means that at this time the pricing information is Not Available.
N/C – means that there is No Charge for this item.
PFI – Port Fuel Injection
PIO – Port Installed Options
PZEV – Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle
SFI – Sequential Fuel Injection
SOHC – Single Overhead Cam
SPRCHG – Supercharged Engine
SRW – Single Rear Wheels
SULEV – Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle
TG – Turbo Gas (fuel type)
Turbo – Turbocharged Engine
ULEV – Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle
V – Valve
V6 – Six-Cylinder Engine
V8 – Eight-Cylinder Engine
VTEC – Variable Timing and lift Electronic Control system
VVT – Variable Valve Timing
WB – Wheelbase