You shouldn't sell your SUV because of gas prices alone. You'd never come close to breaking even, IMO.

Another touch on 'book values':

I personally think KBB trade 'good' is the closest indicator (viewed as a whole) of real WHOLESALE value. You still need to deduct for honest reconditioning costs (tires, brakes, mechanical, damage).

KBB private party 'good' seems to be a pretty good value for real transaction prices, not asking prices. Dealer's asking prices seem to reflect KBB retail ... usually WAY high, but a good reference, as Asphault Gambler suggested (KBB $19600, our price $17999). Domestic minivans are perpetually high on KBB. Hot small imports (Honda, Mazda, Toyota) are pretty low. Accurate, but can be time delayed, on everything else.

NADA guides have 3 values: Loan, Trade, and Retail. Compared to KBB the spreads are tighter. In some geographic areas, NADA rules and most dealers look at loan as 'wholesale' , trade as what they want to own the car for after recon, and retail as, well, retail. NADA isn't very accurate. Imports like Honda and Mazda are just too low. Luxury imports like BMW and Audi are just too high. You get the point. Biggest gripe about NADA is that it is an old-school published paperback guide. Banks and dealers get their guides almost a month in advance, like a magazine. Think about it. November's guide was shipped at the beginning of October, had to be ready for press in mid September, using data collected mid-August thru early Sept. It just cannot track quick swings in the marketplace. Bankers love NADA for some reason.

Edmunds is a great site for researching a purchase, but I see no validity to their numbers. They'll get you in the ballpark, that's about it.

South Eastern dealers seem to love Black Book. Their published format is quick and easy to use, so auction jockeys have made it their go-to.

The best market data is MMR (Manheim Market Report) published by Manheim Auctions and is available only to licensed dealers. It simply publishes the transaction data from all of their 200+ auctions around the country. It lists the day it sold, color, miles, transmission, and condition. If there were 55 2003 Denali XLs that went through auctions last week, it will list all 55. If they all seem to be about $22-23K, what do you think yours is worth?

If it's true that any given book can be off, and you can interpret the data however gives you the answers you're looking for, what do you do? Look at them all, but more importantly, RESEARCH YOUR MARKETPLACE! Search AutoTrader, CarSoup, forums, eBay, etc. to see what most people are asking for cars like yours. Those are your competitors! Would you rather be too high, or too low???Sure there will be a spread, because used cars are like snowflakes. If you want people to think of buying your car, better be closer to the bottom of the spread. Regardless of what the book says.

E