Evening star., 1934-01-28
USED AUTO PRICES
ARE STANDARDIZED
Setting Of Definite Values
Hailed as Greatest Boon
of Trade Code.
What Is the actual value Of . used

What Is the actual value Of . used
Automobile2 ..
Car o-mers have pondered that ques-
ton many, many times in the past.
The automobile dealer himself more
often than not has been fooled by the
answer. The value Of . used car has
been heretofore arrived at by COM
putation much similar to figuring out
How old Is Ann?"
Today all that Is changed. Horse
trading Is no more a lost art than Is
the old method Of used car merchan-
dising banished into oblivion by the
code Of fair competition for the motor
vehicle retailing trade. The used car
first time In the history Of the industry
establishes the used car on the same
plane Of specific definite value that is
enjoyed by new cars or other COM
modities. Not wheat nor cotton nor
pork Is more positively q staple than
the used automobile It seems not too
much to say that the price Of a used
car Is now and will be an even more
exact reflection Of true value than the
price Of farm or factory products.
AL C8<B nave vAluc.
Today there Is . definite specific
value placed upon every used automo-
bile in America. The man who owns
it and the man who buys 1t are both
dealing with q tangible, uncontro-
vertible fact as to its worth.
1t will interest the motorist to learn
how q value Is set upon the used car
he buys. sells or trades In. The final
authority-the court Of last appeals
the NJ A. D. A. Official Guide. This Is
a small volume issued monthly. Volume
/. No /. recently from the press, shows
models Of used cars Under the code
these prices must guide automobile
dealers in all used car transactions.
Succeeding issues of the guide will be
even more complete, and as time goes
on the value Of used car will be more
and more clearly revealed as a fair and
defensible figure whatever the car may
be or wherever 1t may be found.
N. A. D. A. stands for the National
Automobile Dealers Association, F. w.
A. Vesper, president, with headquarters
in st. Louis, Mo. When the auto
mobile dealers code was adopted the
association was elected to administer 1t.
Among the code provisions was the Sec
ton that provides for the determina-
ton, publication and enforcement Of
fair prices for used cars. Trade and
public alike long had suffered from
horse traders methods prevailing In
used car transaction.
Here was titanic job that had never
been done. and about the doing Of
which few had even hazy idea.
Vesper called his associates together
and considered ways and means Of first
finding out what Is the actual value
of any given used car, and, second.
Of putting such information into the
hands Of thousands of dealers. The
system was worked out under high
pressure. There was urgent need for
haste. Considering only the mechanics
Of the task. the first volume Of this
N. A. D. A. Oficial Used Car Guide Is
little short Of miracle.
Dema nd Is a Factor.
VeSper was firm in the stand that
the only fair determiner of value is
the natural law Of supply and demand
in the community in which the car Is
situated It would have been easy to
employ an analyst to arbitrarily set
the value, or to allow the respective car
manufacturers to fix the value, or to
let the local dealers determine the