There is a great deal of confusion regarding how to negotiate car price for used cars, and even sharp buyers can become overwhelmed by all the available information. However, once you understand used car values as if you were a pro, you may never again wonder what to pay or what to expect for a trade-in. Here are some tips that you can use in your research or when you are buying a car used.

An important point to understand is that a used car is like a commodity. Any used car, including your car, has an established value that it would sell for at a dealer auction; this value changes week-by-week, usually going down. When you realize this fact, your car shopping days will become much easier.

Cars are sold by the thousands to dealers and wholesalers at auctions on a daily basis. The prices that particular cars sell for, its mileage and its condition are all compiled into data that becomes an accurate way to judge the value of a car. There are several major companies which produce reports for use by dealers when they want to determine the value of a car, such as your trade-in. A straightforward dealer who is not into tricks will usually offer you a trade-in value for your car that closely matches its auction value.

The real wholesale value of cars is published by companies such as Black Book and Manheim Auctions. If you don't have access to either of these, ask a dealership employee to show you the source that they use. If you encounter less than helpful people, shop elsewhere.

The dealership will of course want to make some money and will talk about all of the things that they did to get the car up to its current condition. You can ask for this in writing as well. If the dealership did an oil change, put new tires on or did any other work, they will have a record of it. Another tip to help you negotiate a great price and know what to pay when you visit the dealer is to print out all of the ads available in your area for similar cars. You can show that cars of similar year and mileage are selling for less elsewhere. This can be a very powerful tool.

As you can see, negotiating car prices can be tricky. However, by arming yourself with information about the wholesale value of your car or the car you are interested in, you'll find yourself in a much more solid position when it is time to deal.