How Do We Come Up With Our Offer?
Have you ever wondered how car buyers come up with their quotes for what they’re willing to pay for your vehicle? Each place is going to have its own opinion about what your car is worth. And car values change constantly, driven by local supply and demand for any given vehicle. Driveo quotes are fast but not instantaneous because real people do the research needed to give you a fair, accurate, and competitive quote. Here’s how it works:
Our Quote Process
When you tell us the basic information about your car (year, make, model, miles and condition), we then check the following:
When you tell us the basic information about your car (year, make, model, miles and condition), we then check the following:
Trade-in Value
We look at recent auction transactions to see trends in pricing to get an idea of what most places would offer you on a trade-in deal, factoring in the standard costs incurred when wholesaling a car (reconditioning, transporting it to an auction site, auction fees, and the wholesale margins that need to be made). Many places low- ball their initial offer, but knowledge is power, which is why knowing the true trade-in value might help you get more money for your ride.
Private Sale Value
Websites giving “book values” are useful as very general guidelines, but the right way to determine the private sale value of a vehicle is with real local market research. We analyze local listings and recent sales to get a feel for retail list prices and the average time it takes to sell, which gives us a quick picture of how competitive the market is for your type of car.
Our Initial Quote
With accurate trade-in value (the lower number) and private sale value (the higher number), a Driveo quote is going to fall between these two numbers. Where exactly it falls within that range depends on the current marketability of your car, which we determine using our own proprietary system. A high-demand car will obviously result in a higher quote.
Our Final Offer
Keep in mind our initial quote is generated from the information you provided about your car and its condition. Before we can make a final offer, we must physically inspect your car to see if adjustments to the quote are needed. Let us know about any valid offers you’ve already received elsewhere because we’ll be happy to try and beat them. Send us a picture of any valid offer through our upload an offer page.
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What if You Disagree with Our Quote or Offer?
You might disagree with the final value we come up with for your car. Here are the most common reasons why people might not agree with our final offer:
Book Value
Some might argue the book value is more than our offer. Keep in mind that book values are not sacred numbers set in stone. We make our decisions based on actual local market factors that affect prices for your type of car.
Loan Balance
Remember that what you still owe on your car loan has nothing to do with your car’s value. Newer cars depreciate very rapidly (at least 20% a year), which means you probably owe more on your car than it’s worth. Expecting to be able to sell a newer financed car for what you still owe on the loan sets you up for disappointment.
Wanting More
Other people disagree with the number because they just wanted to get more money for their car, which they know they might be able to do by selling it privately on their own. That might be true, but there’s no guarantee it will work out the way you hope it will. And is it worth the stress and hassles, not to mention the risk of getting scammed?