Armed and Ready - Using the Classic Car Blue Book

If you are a classic car enthusiast, or you are interesting in purchasing a classic car, then the classic car blue book can be your best friend. Before you venture out into the classic car market you should arm yourself with this handy little gem. It can be the difference between getting the classic car of your dreams and being taken for a ride.

The term "blue book" has become a broad, general term used to indicate any book that can be used as a reference for determining the value of new, used and classic vehicles, including boats. However, the true blue book publication is the Kelley Blue Book which lists each vehicle's wholesale value as well as its retail value. The classic car blue book, or Kelley Early Model Guide, lists classic cars from production year 1946 through 1986. It lists the suggested retail values for vehicles in fair, good and excellent condition.

In the world of classic cars, it can be difficult to determine what a fair price is for a particular year and model. For the most part, you have a limited point of reference because there are fewer classic cars on the market than there are newer models. With the newer models there is more current information and there is a more current point of reference. You have the information right at your fingertips. Classic cars, on the other hand, are a horse of a different color. If you have a '69 Cuda in excellent condition, you don't want to ask the same price that the guy down the street is charging for his '69 Cuda that is basically a rust bucket. But there aren't that many on the road that are in excellent condition so how do you determine a fair price? The Kelley Blue Book for classic cars has the answers that you need.

If you are buying, you don't want to pay too much for a car that isn't worth the price. If you are selling, you don't want to undersell a valuable vehicle so a classic car blue book is a necessity. In this way, the Kelly Blue Book satisfies both sides of the selling party. Buyers know that they are getting a good, fair deal and sellers know that they are asking a fair, decent price for their car.

The book lists prices of classics from Ford coupes to Chevys, from shoeboxes to fat fenders. You can find values for Willys trucks and Jeeps, Studebaker cars and International Scouts. Find muscle cars and luxury cruisers, it is all in there. You can locate values on vehicles that are rare and obscure. Even vehicles that are difficult to research are listed in the blue book.