Kelley Blue Book Reviews 253

As soon as I put in my information to be able to get an offer I indicated I was not interested in selling. They immediately sent my info to car dealers. Literally started getting spam calls within minutes. DO NOT USE THEM AT ALL. Carvana gave me a better estimate and did not sell my info before the keyboard even cooled off.

When selling a car through Kelley Blue Book's Instant Cash Offer (ICO), I was told by the dealership and multiple KBB customer service representatives that the offer I received a week prior from the dealership, based on the KBB valuation and their own inspection, had actually expired the day before I brought the car in to sell. The dealership and the KBB representatives said that since the offer expired, the dealership had to do another inspection, resulting in a significantly lower offer.

When reaching out to customer support after selling the car to get clarity and attempt to recover the difference between the original offer and the accepted offer of the sale, KBB consistently denied that the offer expiration was the issue and emphasized that any offers are made at the dealership's discretion (and that re-evaluating the car is included in that). This denial contradicts the verbal confirmation I received from KBB customer support on the day of the sale that the reason for the dealership needing to re-evaluate the car was due to the offer expiring. Since then, their email responses have continued to be not only slow, but also to stick solely to their argument that any decisions are made by the dealership alone and they solely serve to connect sellers and dealerships.

If you’re selling your car through KBB’s ICO program, keep in mind the dealership will still probably lowball you, based on KBB’s valuation online, and getting any genuine help from KBB's customer support is nearly impossible.

It is a scam. Low ball my Ram 2500 truck. KBB works for the crooked ass dealerships. I will keep my truck and sell it on my own you scumbags.

This was a complete waste of time. We drove 2 hours round trip to the dealership and received an offer 2K below the KBB offer. The dealer indicated that there was no discrepancy between our description on KBB and their assessment. They offered an incomprehensible explanation. Go somewhere else so as not to be disappointed. A smarmy industry from one end to the other.

Negative five stars / bait-and-switch

I needed to sell my car and got an 「 instant offer 」 from KBB on it ( $17k which I think was a low-ball but it was at least something and I urgently needed money )

Went into Honda of North Hollywood and they 「 made some adjustments 」 and ultimately gave me $14k

I took it because I needed to but definitely walked away feeling robbed.

Had an ICO for $8,475 for a 2017 Cadillac XT5. Took it to the suggested dealership, Cadillac Laguna Niguel in CA. They examined the car and found no issues with my description of the vehicle. The process took close to an hour, and the dealership stated that the wholesale value was no more than $5,000, almost $ 3,500 less than the KBB ICO. I received no written comparison of both offers. After explaining that KBB algorithm was far superior to the local salesman's analysis and they were not following the KBB process, I was told they couldn't go more than $5k. In a fit of rage, I told them I would take $7K, and they said OK, It was still 1.5K less than the ICO.

In the future, I would not go to Cadillac of Laguna Niguel in CA. I think KBB should remove them from their ICO preferred dealer list. The process was very stressful and I felt taken advantage of. I had originally purchase the XT5 from this dealership and had it services for years here. I did not feel like a valued customer.

Kelley Blue Book (KBB) reviews are written by experts who have extensive experience in the industry. These writers test drive the vehicles themselves and evaluate them based on a variety of factors such as performance, comfort, safety, technology, and overall value. Their reviews are detailed and based on real-world experiences, offering readers a reliable and trustworthy source of information when considering a new or used car.

The style of Kelley Blue Book’s reviews is informative yet approachable. The editors aim to explain complex automotive features in simple language, making the reviews accessible even to people who may not be very familiar with cars. These reviews often include insights into how a vehicle compares with others in its class, helping consumers make informed choices based on their preferences and budget.

In addition to expert opinions, KBB also features reviews from everyday users. These customer-submitted reviews offer a more personal perspective on long-term ownership, including details about maintenance, reliability, and comfort over time. Together, the expert and user reviews create a comprehensive picture of a vehicle's strengths and weaknesses.

Kelley Blue Book is widely respected in the automotive world for its commitment to accuracy, transparency, and honesty. Whether you're buying a car for the first time or looking to trade in an older model, their human-written reviews provide valuable guidance to support your decision.

Instant cash offer is just from them. They send your information to untold number of 3rd parties. That will call text and email you.it basically puts on on robo dialers. KBB is trash for doing this. I didn’t mind having a few local dealers call, but places are spiffing local numbers and calling.

Zero stars. The KBB site gave me a value for my car that seemed realistic, but then when I tried to use the Instant Cash offer program, the price it spit out was $3-5k below the range of what their own website says my car is worth, then spammed it to a bunch of dealers who all low balled me with that price and one even acted like they were doing me a favor by increasing the offer above that price by $200. KBB is clearly in bed with dealers to deliver them maximum profits from desperate or stupid people who fall for this. Do NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM. Find another way to sell your car.

Avoid this site. It will offer half the price of the actual value of the car. And all the dealer vultures around you will spam you. Pure waste of time for everyone.

I wanted to change my reason why I wanted to use this site. The site wants me to remove my ad and malware blocker. My blocker says there are 38 malware that Kbb is trying to put on my computer

I should have read reviews before I wasted my time with their instant cash offer. What a joke. Took to their dealer who offered me 20% less than what I was quoted online. Hour of my life I won't get back.

Kelley blue book does not value free speech. Posting honest reviews for vehicles is removed. I guess they are in the pocket of the auto manufacturers. The site does not represent the best interest of the consumer and should be avoided like the plague.

I needed an estimate of the value of our car for the purpose of obtaining an insurance policy so I went to the Blue Book site. I entered the description of the car and it came out with a value that I know is a few thousand dollars below market price. Next think I know I was badgered for weeks by various dealers trying to contact me to buy my car.

Well first off I find it quite disheartening that if I click one star I cannot write a review, but if I click 4 stars it will load...had to do that just to click it back to the one star you guys deserve. I asked for a quote on my car. What I got was a lot of spam, and nonsense.
When I was growing up, you could always trust "The Blue Book." Apparently we can't do that anymore. Thank you for correcting me in thinking you were a reputable company.

Love kbb for value comparisons but will NEVER do an instant cash offer sign up again. I couldn’t care less about the lowball offers, what really sucks is getting bombarded with AT LEAST 10 spam and robocalls a day that started within minutes of submitting my info. I hope I don’t have to get a new number because of this scam. I block them all but it’s clear my number got sold and I’ve submitted it nowhere else.

Honestly you rate my F150 king ranch 5.0 at 51k and show me a Lariat with a 3.5 with same mileage at 58k , you are seriously a bunch of crooks.

DO NOT do an instant cash offer on KBB, they give you the lowest ball crap offer and send that dollar number to every dealership in the area and you will be bombarded with calls, texts, and emails. I have blocked numbers and still gotten calls. There’s no way I can sell my car for that price and be able to purchase a functioning car afterwards. There seems to be a big disconnect between the cash offer and reality.

I will never purchase another Genesis after the horrendous experience I had with Genesis of Cary. From start to finish, their handling of my vehicle was unprofessional and unacceptable. They placed the back seat of my car on top of the vehicle and proceeded to run it through a car wash, which resulted in deep scratches all along the side of my car. I trusted them to take care of my vehicle, but they not only damaged it, they also refused to take any responsibility for what they did. When I brought the issue to their attention, I was met with denial and excuses, and they made it clear they had no intention of fixing the damage they caused.

Hoping for some accountability, I contacted Genesis corporate, believing they would intervene and address the situation. Unfortunately, that was no better. Corporate was unhelpful and just as unwilling to take responsibility for the dealership’s actions. The lack of care, customer service, and professionalism I’ve encountered throughout this entire ordeal has left a lasting sour taste in my mouth.

For a brand that markets itself as luxury and prides itself on quality, both in its vehicles and customer service, my experience has been the complete opposite. I’ve been left with a damaged car, a great deal of frustration, and no accountability from the dealership or the company. This entire experience has made it clear that I will never buy another Genesis, and I would strongly advise others to think twice before doing business with this dealership or the brand.

I have a regretting experience with KBB. KBB should have done a better job for the customers. Alternatively, KBB could admit prioritizing dealers, which is fine but its reputation should drop accordingly. If I google "KBB review" now, I can still see many positive words like "KBB is a trusted resource that provides consumers, manufacturers, and automotive dealers with reliable and transparent insights".

Not till very recently does I learn KBB valuation has multipe types, such as instant cash offer, trade-in value, and private buyer, and they are in increasing order. And popular Google queries, such as "sell my car", always go to the lowest valuation ("instant cash offer").

Albeit all requires same/similar input, unfornuately, KBB does NOT display the valuation of different types in a single query. This is indeed a very useful "transparent insight" KBB should have provided to customers so customers are more educated on the price spectrum when dealing with potential buyers, dealer or private. This can be more useful to less educated sellers (like first-time ones), who do not even know the existence of these types, and what it takes to sell higher.

By withholding these already available information, KBB is creating less educated customers and happier dealer: it helps dealer to buy cars at lower prices from less educated sellers. This practice doesn't match its reputation IMO.