A valuation is a report on one model: its fair market value, the range most examples sell in, the six month trend, and the comparable sales behind the number. It is built only from recorded sales. Nothing in it is an appraisal.
Anyone can run one. On the free plan, valuations share the daily allowance of 40 with search, and the report lists 20 comparable sales. Paid plans see the full list and can download the report as CSV or PDF.
Steps
- Open Valuation.
- Type a make and model, for example Porsche 911, and pick a suggestion. A suggestion with a year range narrows the report to that generation.
- Read the report. "Fair market value" is the headline. The "Comparable sales" table at the bottom is the evidence.
What fair market value is based on
Fair market value is the median sale price of the comparable sales, not the average, so one record price does not swing it. The range under it runs from the lower quarter to the upper quarter of those sales.
Which sales count:
- Completed sales with a price only. Listings and unsold lots never count.
- If one model year has at least 30 sales of its own, only that year is used. Otherwise nearby years are included.
- Non car lots and project cars are removed. Prices under $1,000 are dropped and clear outliers trimmed.
- The window starts at the last 24 months and widens to 48 months, then ten years, when that holds fewer than 30 sales. The report says which window was used.
The verdict label
The report's label reads "Market snapshot", because it values the model rather than one asking price. The same vocabulary appears wherever an asking price is measured against the median: Priced to move, On the money, Room to negotiate, Priced to sit, Check the spec. The model page article gives the thresholds.
Confidence
High at 30 or more comparable sales, medium from 15 to 29, low from 5 to 14, and "very limited data" below 5. If the car is not found in the government production records, confidence drops one level.
Trend
The six month trend compares the median of the last 180 days with the 180 before, and needs twelve sales in each window. More than 5% apart is rising or falling; anything closer is stable.