Blue Book Vs. Black Book Auto Value

History

Kelley Blue Book was started in 1926 by Les Kelley, who named it after a social registry that listed high society people and was referred to as a 'blue book.' The Black Book was established in 1955 by three businessmen who attended car auctions to track prices and realized the information was valuable to others.

Features

The Blue Book provides retail, trade-in and private party values for new and used vehicles. The Black Book provides new and used retail and trade-in values, and also provides information on which models are most popular in various regions.

Data Collection

The Black Book collects data from more than 50 auctions each week. Kelley Blue Book collects data from nationwide auctions as well as from new and used car dealers.

Considerations

The Black Book provides information on three used car conditions--clean, average, and rough--based on information from their auto experts. The Blue Book asks the user to rate the condition of his vehicle--excellent, good, fair, or poor--based on a questionnaire on the website.

Availability

New and used car dealers and wholesale buyers can subscribe to the Black Book for a fee. CarQuotes.com provides Black Book data for free online at http://www.carquotes.com/tools/black_book_valuation. Kelley Blue Book is available free at http://www.kbb.com.