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by octaonalocto 1770 days ago
I checked my car (2004 Mazda RX-8), which was estimated around $8k. I actually sold through a Carvana-like service for under $1k because I got tired of listing it myself at under KBB's rec ($2k at the time, IIRC)The other online price checkers come in closer to the actual amount I received.

What's the difference between what you're doing, and why should I trust your number? Something that far out of expectations and experience, plus other low trust factors on the site[0], lead me to ditch your conclusion. Sorry if that sounds blunt - but the whole thing appeared to me to be a RNG lead gen for local car dealers who are short on inventory - the incentive is to give me a higher number so I become a lead for you.

[0] low-trust indicators I noticed: poor data curation - inconsistent capitalization (some all caps, some lowercase), multiple options for the same trim with nearly similar names. Rougher design than most modern sites. SEO Keyword stuffing at the bottom of the page. Leadgen pages for 3rd parties in general tend to be sketchy in general.

3 comments

how long ago did you sell the rx-8? sounds like you should have sold it on driverbase for 8X!

it's a sellers market right now: https://driverbase.com/company/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/us...

we want to share a realistic estimate for the consumer based on market conditions (which are changing rapidly) and then let dealers make offers based on their interest in your vehicle.

thanks for the input especially on low-trust details. critical.

digging into the valuation a bit and noticed some similar listings:

here is a 2005 rx-8 for $9,000: https://driverbase.com/vehicle/6465715/2005-mazda-rx-8-in-mu...

and a 2004 rx-8 for $7,750: https://driverbase.com/vehicle/5204369/2004-mazda-rx-8-in-sh...

Just because a car is advertised for $X, doesn't mean it is worth $X, especially as both cars you linked have been for sale for over 4 months. If a car hasn't been sold for 4 months, you are asking too much.
agree. we also use recent similar transactions to generate a market appraisal. this is why we are offering an estimate but the real price discovery happens when/if a dealership makes an offer to buy your vehicle. our market value is just a reference price... dealers have a unique willingness to pay for each available vehicle. some will pay above market and pickup your car from your house without an inspection right now while others will ask you to bring the vehicle to the dealership before they will buy it and only pay fair market value after verifying it's condition.
According to this site, my 1999 base grade "poverty edition" Toyota Tacoma with 160k miles is valued at $13,295.

I realize it's a seller's market, but that's just crazy. I paid $6500 for it in 2006.

it is crazy. but true. what is even harder to wrap your head around right now is that people who bought a new vehicle last year have been able to sell this year above the original MSRP... but as a used vehicle.
My 2007 RX-8 has been estimated around $5.7k and it is slightly above of my insurer's estimation and also what I'd get if I decide to sell based on my recent research.
awesome.