VehicleHistory.com, an online service launched to help buyers and sellers in the used car market, has launched a free service that will allow consumers to find out how much a given vehicle is worth.
“Many people have no idea how to figure out the true value of a given car because of all the variables involved,” said Vehicle History spokeswoman Vanessa Hernandez. “You can’t just say that a given make or model is worth a given amount, because the vehicle history has an effect. This is our effort to help people get a better sense of a specific car’s value.”
Consumers can go to VehicleHistory.com and type in the VIN number of any car built to be sold in North America after 1980. The site’s vehicle value calculator takes into account the history of the car and delivers an estimate of what VehicleHistory.com claims is the “true value” of the vehicle.
“Our service can factor in if the vehicle has been in several accidents, if it has been well maintained, if it has had a number of different owners, if it has been subject to recall, and many other factors that effect the overall value of a car,” Hernandez said. “All of this information comes from the vehicle’s unique VIN.”
The company noted that the values provided by the vehicle value calculator will be estimates and not rock-solid numbers.
“There are some factors in the overall value that can’t be considered by any system,” said Hernandez. “For example, if a given consumer really needs to sell his or her car quickly, that lowers the eventual sale price. Also, gas prices, which are constantly changing, can affect the current value, as can the region where the car is being sold. Convertibles have less value in Alaska than they do in, say, Los Angeles.”
The Vehicle Value Calculator is being offered free of charge.
“Our feeling is that people who are buying a used car probably want to save money. We want consumers to have the most information possible before they negotiate a price, and charging for this service would go against what we believe is the right thing to do by our customers.”
For more information, visit www.vehiclehistory.com.
