Does or will Kelly Blue Book adjust their values?

[SeanS]

I've been shopping for a car for about 6 weeks now after taking a break from shopping 6 months ago. I still see MANY sellers that are asking outrageous prices and constantly referring to "KBB" or "Edmunds" as a benchmark. The kicker is that neither one of those sources (to me) seems to have adjusted their resale values due to the economic situations we live in now a days. There is a lot of talk for home prices going way down and sellers are starting to wake up and adjust their asking prices accordingly. When will these car seller (being private or used dealerships) wake up and smell the coffee?
I know everything is a "buyers market" right now but how do you go about talking some sense into those out of touch sellers? Keep in mind getting credit to finance is even harder.......
Comments, opinions and suggestions are all welcome.

[yert315]

I think it's difficult to put a price on an older auto, such as the e30 or even an e36. A good condition e30 will fetch around $3500, while KBB values them at only $1200. Same goes for the e36. KBB states they are worth $1500, but are going for $3-4000 for an older model.

I never go off of KBB when I buy a car. Generally, I know what I am getting in to and know what the car is worth. I hate it when people throw the KBB value around trying to get me to lower my price (selling) or raising my offer (buying). Every buyer should be well informed about the vehicle they are about to purchase.

As far as the sellers.. there's really nothing anyone can do. They ask astronomical prices for their cars and in return, get no offers. These sellers are usually the dealership type or car lots that are trying to get the most out of their investment. It seems as though private parties have more sense in pricing of the cars.

[SeanS]

I agree with you regarding the E30s and a few other cars but generally speaking.....
I'm shopping for an E39 M5 and it MAY fall under the same "rare" catagory but give me a break. For example, one person selling 01 with 85K asking 22K "well below KBB", the other seller with same specs and condition is asking 32K. This example is not an isolated incident but very common and it's very puzzeling to say the least.