Kelley Blue Book Launches Used-Car Values Specific to 51 Regions in U.S.; Company to Provide More Specific Valuations to Consumers, Industry

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to provide the most market reflective and granular used-car values in every state, Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new car and used car information, announces it will provide values for 51 regions, delivering some of the most comprehensive values available to consumers and the automotive industry today.  Regional values are now updated weekly for all of Kelley Blue Book’s used-car values, including; lending, auction, trade-in, private party, certified pre-owned and suggested retail.  These values found on the company’s top-rated website kbb.com and within the company’s valuation products, allow anyone looking to buy or sell a used vehicle to know its value in their specific market that week.  The company also is adding 'Very Good' as a vehicle condition to better reflect the value adjustments for these vehicles in the used-car market.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111102/AQ99077LOGO)

"These game-changing enhancements in vehicle valuation allow automotive businesses to better manage a single vehicle or an entire portfolio of inventory more effectively and profitably than ever before," said Juan Flores, director, vehicle valuation, Kelley Blue Book.  "The introduction of localized values for 51 specific regional markets not only echoes the pricing variations detected in each region by the company's statisticians and sophisticated valuation models, but reflects our desire to help consumers and businesses make better financial decisions."

The 'Very Good' condition will reside between the company's current 'Good' and 'Excellent' conditions as an additional condition with a new value associated with it.  Kelley Blue Book will now offer values for all of the following conditions for its auction, trade-in and private-party values:

"Only 3 percent of today's vehicles are actually in 'Excellent' condition," said Flores.  "Kelley Blue Book's introduction of the 'Very Good' condition allows both consumers and dealers to determine a more accurate reflection of a vehicle's actual condition when a car is in better than 'Good' condition, but not quite 'Excellent.'"

With a massive increase in data collection, transparency into its valuation processes, sophisticated forecasting models and formidable analytic capabilities, businesses and consumers can now, more than ever, look to Kelley Blue Book's regional values as some of the best and most relevant in the industry.

Kelley Blue Book's advanced statistical models take into account current economic factors and regional market conditions to project what used-car values will be next week, rather than last week or last month.  The company's sophisticated system records the market's reaction to seasonal and local circumstances, continually improving Kelley Blue Book's models.

In the last five years, Kelley Blue Book has employed an increasing number of valuation analysts, statisticians, mathematicians, data management and technology experts with extensive industry experience, growing its analytic team almost threefold.  During the same period, the company has taken data acquisition to a new level, obtaining vehicle-related information from more than 250 sources.  The company collects more than 100 data points for every vehicle and is the only valuation company that manages vehicle values and data spanning the life of the vehicle within a single database; from new and used to residual values.  Its transaction database houses 256 million sales records, which includes more than 1.5 million vehicles physically inspected at auctions across the country by the company's national field analysts.  

"Kelley Blue Book's new regional valuation capabilities provide consumers, dealers, banks, finance and insurance companies with unrivaled insights and data accuracy, continuing the company's preeminence in vehicle pricing and values," said Flores.  "With mass expansion in data collection, advanced statistical modeling and localized values, anyone can look to Kelley Blue Book® Values as values they can transact upon today."

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the only vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the industry.  Each week the company provides the most market-reflective values in the industry on its top-rated website www.kbb.com, including its famous Blue Book® Trade-In and Retail Values and Fair Purchase Price, which reports what others are paying for new cars this week.  The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies as well as governmental agencies.  Kbb.com provides consumer pricing and information on minivans, pickup-trucks, cars, hybrids and SUVs. Kelley Blue Book Co. Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AutoTrader.com.

SOURCE Kelley Blue Book