Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Kelley Blue Book's New Car Blue Book Value is the most useful information a consumer can have when buying a new car.

• The New Car Blue Book Value reflects a vehicle's actual selling price and is based on tens of thousands of recent real sales transactions from auto dealers across the United States. The New Car Blue Book Value is not calculated or based on a proprietary formula; instead it is derived from actual new vehicle sales and extensive knowledge of the marketplace.
• New Car Blue Book pricing is offered as a single value, a range and information on current market conditions. The New Car Blue Book price represents the most common selling price for a given vehicle, but not all cars sell for the exact same price, which is why we also offer a price range. The range represents prices that typically occur for each make and model. By showing both the low and high ends of the range we can better reflect whether a given vehicle's selling price varies widely or hardly at all. Each New Car Pricing Report also includes the current market conditions for that vehicle, a feature unique to Kelley Blue Book. These market conditions explain and help the consumer to better understand each New Car Blue Book Value.
• Kelley Blue Book's editorial staff has included a special highlighted "Market Conditions" section for each vehicle, explaining the New Car Blue Book Value. No other automotive information resource goes to this length to inform the consumer. The Market Conditions section includes information on things like limited release, one-price only, high demand, etc. Shoppers should pay special attention to this information to get the inside track on the current market and make the most informed car-buying decisions.
• New Car Blue Book Values are updated at least weekly, or more often if market conditions dictate. Subtle changes taking place in the market as a result of supply and demand, new incentives and actual sales data will affect the frequency in which each vehicle's New Car Blue Book Value will be updated.
• Kelley Blue Book is committed to accurately reporting vehicle sale prices in the marketplace. If a vehicle is new to the market and there have not yet been enough real sales, kbb.com will not show a New Car Blue Book Value. When enough actual sales data is available, a New Car Blue Book Value will be posted. Kelley Blue Book will never confuse you by applying a formula to derive the price or offer an MSRP to replace what should be actual sale prices.

Invoice price, or dealer invoice, is the price an auto manufacturer charges its franchise dealers for a new vehicle. The invoice price shown includes destination charges and minimum required equipment. Dealer Invoice doesn't include any of the dealer's costs for local and regional advertising, selling, preparing, displaying or financing the vehicle. Also, our prices include holdbacks and factory-to-dealer incentives which can lower the effective dealer cost in some cases.

The MSRP, or Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, is the price set by the manufacturer. The MSRP price 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. A dealer, however, can choose to sell a vehicle above or below its listed MSRP.

Holdbacks are offered by the manufacturer to help defray some of the costs associated with the dealer's acquisition of new cars from the factory. Usually holdbacks are anywhere from one to three percent of the MSRP and vary in duration by manufacturer. In most cases, holdbacks are provided to cover the interest on the dealer's vehicle loans. The advantage to the dealer in selling the car as soon as possible is that he pockets more of the holdback money. The longer the car stays on his lot, the less he gets. After the holdback period has expired, the dealer begins to lose money on the car. While holdbacks are not negotiable, it is possible to negotiate the profit the dealer makes above invoice by knowing how much holdback he/she will be retaining. If a car has been on the lot for two or three months, the dealer is far more likely to sell at or near invoice to avoid incurring further debt. Remember, the dealer's profit is built into 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; dealers will be less inclined to reduce their profit over the invoice.

As soon as a manufacturer releases pricing information, our staff verifies and inputs the complex relationships that exist for any given vehicle (for example, when ordering a car with power windows, the manufacturer may package it so that power door locks and leather seats must also be added). The information is then uploaded to kbb.com once a week, making us the most timely and accurate new car pricing source on the Internet! Please be aware that many new models are advertised and may even be seen in the dealerships before the manufacturer has finalized pricing.

New Car Blue Book Values, Invoice, and MSRP are updated at least weekly to coincide with market fluctuations and manufacturer input, respectively.

PIO stands for "Port Installed Options." These items are installed on the vehicle after it leaves the foreign factory and arrives in the United States---literally "at port." Both Factory Installed Options and Port Installed Options must be factory approved. Therefore there is some price control. There are also "Dealer Installed Options" which are items added to the vehicle at the dealership. We do not list Dealer Installed Options, as they do not have to be factory approved. Since we cannot be certain of what brand or grade the dealer may choose to put in the vehicle, we cannot address this type of pricing.

( • ) - 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
BuyPower - Typically these vehicles are offered with few options and little variation allowed for simplified ordering.
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-Valve Engine
V8 - Eight-Valve Engine
VTEC - Variable Timing and lift Electronic Control system
VVT - Variable Valve Timing
WB - Wheelbase

Kelley Blue Book pricing pertains only to vehicles sold in the United States. 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. Currently we have no links to sites that offer values for non-U.S. vehicles, but we are continually upgrading our site and as more information becomes available, we will pass it onto you via the Web site.

You can obtain a report from a region in the U.S. that borders your own, but remember vehicles built for the Canadian market do differ from their U.S. counterparts in both the engines and optional equipment choices. You must also do a little math to convert the U.S. dollar values to your own country's currency.

If you would like an idea of the value of a vehicle in U.S. dollars in a nearby region, enter the ZIP code closest to your province.

Alberta --- Shelby, MT 59474
Atlantic Provinces --- Bangor, ME 04401
British Columbia --- Bellingham, WA 98226
Manitoba --- Fargo, ND 58102
Ontario --- Detroit, MI 48202
Saskatchewan --- Glasgow, MT 52930

Kelley Blue Book pricing pertains only to vehicles sold in the United States. 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. Currently we have no links to sites that offer values for non-U.S. vehicles, but we are continually upgrading our site and as more information becomes available, we will pass it onto you via the Web site.

You can use a Used Pricing Report from our Western Region as a guideline, but remember vehicles built for the foreign markets do differ from their U.S. counterparts in both the engines and optional equipment choices. You must also do a little math to convert the U.S. dollar values to your own country's currency.

If you would like an idea of the value of a vehicle in U.S. dollars in the Western region, please enter the following ZIP code: 92618

No. Kelley Blue Book does not participate in new or used vehicle transactions. Read more about protecting yourself from online fraud More

New/used is determined by whether or not the vehicle has been registered by an owner, not by the number of miles on the odometer. Unfortunately we cannot provide you with a standard deduction for miles on a new car. The discount offered for a demo model would depend on the dealer, and should be compared against incentives or changes made on the new model before making your decision.