I've used Edmunds, Carpoint, KellyBlueBook and NADA.com.

Every source seems to have a different price and when I tried to negotiate for a 2001 Pathfinder with the information I attained off the net I was nearly laughed out of the building.  (Prices seem to range from 16.5K to 22K for a same model and equipment.)

I think NADA is the most accurate...but how can I tell if I'm getting a fair deal from the dealer?

A friend of mine who was a used car dealer told me that the NADA prices were the ones to go by.  Those are the prices that banks use for determining the value of a car for loan purposes.

And by the way, is it your squadron being deployed to Afghanistan?

Thanks for you input.

My squadron isn't gonna be playing in the hunt for UBL.  Currently the Rooks of VAQ137 and the GreyWolves of VAQ142 are living in the hell hole of Bagram Airbase Afghanistan.  I was listed as an alternate to ferry a bird over there but once again they decided to give the flight time to the experienced guys rather than the guys that NEED the experience.  My squadron is down to 1 aircraft for the next 5 months.

So in my off time I will continue to search  2001 Pathfinder at a fair price.

NADA is probably best, but as I recall they use the national average.  There may be higher demand or less supply in your area which sends the local price up.  

the final p[rice is going to be what you are willing to pay combined with what they will sell for.  A willingness to walk out on your part will help.

Lastbscout, have you read the "lessons learned" gouge?

Are you trying to buy on the Island? If you are there is no such thing as a "good deal".

Your best bet is to head south!

A dealer is last place you should go to buy a used car, try finding a private party that has one for sale, if you really must buy used from a dealer go in there knowing what the vehicle is worth, don't be afraid to walk out when they start shitting you about how the manager says we have XXX amount of dollars in this vehicle and can't sell it for less than $XXX, know this, if they have a used vehicle on the lot it either came from a trade in which they only paid wholesale for it or it came from a auction in which they paid less than wholesale for it. Also, if you are going to finance it take the time to get pre-approved by your bank so you don't get screwed by the finance guy at the dealership and never sign the arbatration agreement.

Tom

The Dealer Version of the NADA book is what you want, and look at the "Loan Value" column.

Otherwise, here is a rule of thumb:  Something is worth exactly as much as somebody is willing to pay for it.

Check out this site for more information on Kelly, Edmunds, Nada, and as Troy mentioned, the Black Book.  [url=http://www.carbuyingtips.com]car buying tips[/url].

How about a website for Black Book or Market Research?

Here ya go: [url=http://www.vmrintl.com]Vehicle Market Research International, Inc.[/url] Their books are available locally at Barnes & Noble, IIRC.

BTW, VMR does seem to have somewhat lower prices than the others. However, that doesn't mean that their book is not usable - You can still use it in making your arguement that the dealer's price is too high. It's pretty hard for a dealer to argue that a nationally-published price guide is invalid.

EDIT: Ditto what has been previously said about buying your vehicle from a private party instead. Used car dealers (and also the used car lots of new car dealers) are a sleezy bunch - without exception. You'd have to look far and wide to find a private seller that comes anywhere close to being as devious and low-life. My advice: Spare yourself a lot of headaches and wasted time, and start shopping the private owner ads in the classifieds and [url=www.traderonline.com]Auto Trader[/url] instead.