How much is my car worth: Instant used car values

What you'll see in your appraisal: We will help you make the best decision if you're selling or trading in. You will be presented with three or four automobile values: trade-in, private party, dealer retail and certified used. The trade-in price is what you can expect from car dealerships if you trade in your current vehicle for your next car. It is always the lowest of the values.

If you plan on doing a private sale, the private-party amount is what a seller can expect. This is always higher than the car trade-in value. This option takes more work, however, because you'll be dealing with buyers yourself.

The dealer retail value is for used-car customers. It's an average of what a shopper may expect to pay when they visit a dealership to buy the pre-owned car. If your used vehicle is new enough, you will also see a suggested "certified used" number, the approximate sale price for customers looking for a certified pre-owned vehicle.

Major features, such as the car's transmission, engine type and all-wheel drive, can have a big impact on the value of the car. The same goes for options such as leather seats, navigation, a sunroof or automatic climate control. If you can remember your car's options off the top of your head, great. If not, here are some suggestions on where to get the information you need.

The vehicle's original window sticker (which has the car's mpg and total MSRP) is the best place to find the options. Unfortunately, few people actually hang on to the sticker. Without it, your best bet is to sit in your car and make a note of its options.

If you're using a smartphone, tablet or laptop (assuming you're within Wi-Fi range), you can complete the options check from the driver's seat. It is crucial to get the style and options right. Without them, you may be under- or overvaluing your car.

Coming clean on condition levels

Our tool will ask you to pick from five condition levels: outstanding, clean, average, rough and damaged. Most people will choose one of three: clean, average or rough.

You might be tempted to choose "outstanding" to get more money for your used auto. After all, you've pampered your car the entire time you've owned it, right? But the truth is that few cars qualify for this rating.

"Outstanding" is reserved for older, low-mileage vehicles in cases where well-preserved examples are hard to find, says Richard Arca, senior manager of pricing for Edmunds.

Edmunds True Market Value (TMV^®) used car prices are all set at "clean" condition, Arca says. The price of a car in a less-than-clean state is adjusted downward from there, and it reflects what it would cost to bring the vehicle up to a clean state.

If your vehicle was in an accident, it could still be considered "clean" if it was repaired with factory parts and according to the manufacturer's specifications, Arca says.

"In reality, cars that have been in accidents tend to lose market value, but there is really no way to gauge how much," Arca says. He adds that some of the factors that affect the value are the severity of the damage, the quality of the repair, and the demand for that particular model.

Be honest and objective about the state of your used vehicle. Try to see things from a potential buyer's perspective.

It's easy to be real

Getting a realistic up-to-date value for your car is key to what you do next, whether you decide to trade it in, list it for sale on a site like Autotrader, or even keep it for a while longer. By using the Edmunds car appraisal tool to do your research, you'll have a clear-eyed assessment of your car's actual worth, not a number based on guesswork and high hopes.

If you're trading in your vehicle

When filling out an appraisal form, you'll often be asked if you want an instant cash offer. The offer lets you sell your vehicle at participating dealerships. Alternatively, you can simply take your car to the dealership and ask the staff to appraise it. Regardless of the route, you'll want to have a reference point to see if the dealership's trade-in offer is in the ballpark. This is where the Edmunds trade-in value comes into play.

The process is simple. Just compare your trade-in offer with the Edmunds trade-in value. If the offer is more than that value, you're in the best-case scenario and should take the offer. If the offer is less than the trade-in value, it could be due to a number of factors. Sometimes the dealership has too many vehicles like yours on the lot. Perhaps you made an error in selecting optional equipment, or you were too optimistic about your car's condition. (Most cars will be in clean or average condition.) Or perhaps market conditions have shifted, as they did at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and online tools haven't caught on to the trend.

Ultimately, keep in mind that the appraisal is an educated guess. The more real-world offers you get on your car, the better feel you'll have for its real-world value.

If you're selling privately

This option takes the most time and effort, but it could also yield the highest payment. You'll need to photograph your vehicle and list it on a classifieds site, meet with strangers safely (a step that takes on added significance during COVID-19), and exchange money and file paperwork to close the sale. Selling privately can take anywhere from a few days to a few months, so this method generally isn't best if you need the money quickly. We don't mean to scare anyone off — we just want to be honest about the work involved.

Once you're ready to publish your listing, use the Edmunds private party-value to set the asking price. There's a strategy to setting a price, which we elaborate on here. Essentially, you'll want to ask more than the private-party value to build a cushion for buyers who want to negotiate. The same rules mentioned above regarding the vehicle condition level apply to private-party prices as well.

If you're shopping for a used car at a dealership

This option is for people who are buying a used car, not selling. In this case, go on Edmunds and enter the details of the vehicle as if it were your own. The dealer retail value will be the most pertinent to you. This is an estimate of what you'll pay for that same car at a dealership.

The dealer retail value gives you a reference point. It shows whether or not the advertised price is a fair or great deal. If the dealership's asking price is higher than what you see on Edmunds, you can reference it and ask the dealer to match or beat that price. This sort of "informed negotiation" typically goes over better with a salesperson since it shows that you've done your research.

Be an informed shopper

Whatever you do with your car, an appraisal will always put you in the best position to succeed. So go grab your vehicle's details and get an appraisal — it'll improve your chances of scoring a great deal.