Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Fair Purchase Price is the amount consumers typically are paying for this vehicle. It is based on actual new-vehicle transactions 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 from thousands of franchise dealerships from across the country each week. That data is reviewed and hand validated by Kelley Blue Book's lead analysts and statisticians each week for reliability.

Kelley Blue Book's Fair Purchase Price is derived from a wide variety of sources to ensure we are collecting enough data to represent vehicles down to the optional equipment level. We collect actual new-car sale prices direct from some of the largest dealer groups in the country, data from national vehicle registration databases and several other reliable third-party sources.

Kelley Blue Book's Fair Purchase Price is a "Reality Check" for car shoppers in comparison to the drop-dead lowest price available from similar tools on the market. We recommend that consumers check out pricing elsewhere and then "visit kbb.com to get a Reality Check^SM on what a new car is actually selling for."

The Purchase Price "Range" reflects the range of prices most people will pay for a specific vehicle type this week. This range is determined using sophisticated statistical models which consider recent transactions, supply, demand and market changes.

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). That information is then uploaded to kbb.com once per week. Please be aware that many new models are advertised and may even be seen in the dealerships before the manufacturer has finalized pricing.

Fair Purchase Prices, 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-Cylinder Engine
V8 - Eight-Cylinder 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 59230

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.