Cars: It's pretty easy to establish the value of an automobile by searching on the Internet. Kelley Blue Book ( www.kbb.com), for example, offers three prices for new cars: the manufacturer's list or sticker price, the invoice price paid by the dealer, and the market price -- the average amount paid by people in your area.
The market price is useful because it takes into account supply and demand, said Robyn Eckard, a spokeswoman for Kelley Blue Book in Irvine.
"Even though the Mini Cooper is listed at $20,000, it's in high demand and low supply so people are paying $23,000," she said. "The Chrysler Sebring lists for $27,000, but people pay $24,000."
A car-buying negotiation typically involves three things: the purchase price, the interest rate on your car loan and how much you'll get for your trade-in. Eckard advises negotiating each component separately.
You can check with banks, credit unions and manufacturer websites to learn what interest rates are available. You can learn the value of your old car from auto-pricing websites. The only time you should have the dealer finance the purchase or buy your old car is when you're certain you can't do better elsewhere.
Other websites that provide car price data include Cars.com, ConsumerReports.org and Edmunds.com.
Houses: It's tougher to establish the value of a house because they're not standard. The price of a home can vary based on the neighborhood; the size; the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and fireplaces; the decorating, the yard; and hundreds of other hard-to-quantify extras. Still, a good real estate agent should be able to help you get a handle on value by showing you the sales prices of similar homes, said Fran Vernon with Dilbeck Realtors in La Canada.
If you're selling, Vernon suggests that you ask three agents to provide a market evaluation of your home. The estimates are sure to be different, she said, but they're likely to fall into a range. The next step is to get in the car for a closer view.
"Drive around, look at open houses. Ask your Realtor to show you the competition," Vernon said. "If you are going to ask $1 million, you should look at everything in that range and know what else buyers interested in your house might be seeing."
Then set an asking price. Buyers should do the same type of research before making an offer, Vernon said.
