Price, book value and AI price recommendation
Change a car's asking and internal price on its page, set it from the market check or the AI suggestion, and record book values.
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Every vehicle has a Price card where you change its asking price and internal price, with three things to set them from: the last market check, the AI price suggestion, and the book value you record at wholesale and retail. The AI suggestion gets sharper once you add a retail book value.
The card is on the vehicle's page, open, right under the photos. The Asking price figure at the top of the page jumps to it.
Change the price
- In the Price card, type the Asking price (public) and, if you keep one, the Internal / floor (private) price. Or click Use beside a market figure or the AI suggestion to fill the asking price in.
- Click Save price. Until you do, the card says Not saved yet.
The asking price shows on your website and your feeds; the internal price never does. Saving here changes only those two prices, the same way the car's Edit page does, and the advertised price record, the website and Facebook follow. To clear the asking price, empty the box and save. Accounting and other roles that cannot edit a car see the two prices without the boxes.
The market check
When someone checked what comparable cars ask (Price range while adding the car from its photos, or the assistant's market check), the card shows the last check: its date, how many listings it found and where, and the Low, Median and High asking prices, each with Use. With fewer than three listings there is no median to call, and the card says so. Check the market with the assistant opens the assistant with the question typed; nothing is searched until you send it. These are asking prices the listing sites showed that day, not what cars sold for.
Read the AI price suggestion
The AI price suggestion box is always there. No setup needed.
- The big number is the target price. Next to it is the suggested range (min-max).
- If the car has an asking price, you'll see Current asking with how far it sits above (amber) or below (green) the target.
- A one-line rationale explains how the number was built, plus the cost basis (acquisition cost + recon) and days on lot.
The suggestion is advisory. It nudges the price down the longer a car sits: about 2% for every 30 days past the first month, capped at 10% off. With no book value, it works off your cost basis plus a ~18% target margin and never suggests below cost + 5%.
Record a book value by hand
- In the Book value section, type a Wholesale and/or Retail dollar amount. You can fill just one, but you must enter at least one.
- Click Save book value.
- The page refreshes. The source label now reads Manual with today's date.
Adding a Retail book value is what flips the AI from cost-plus guessing to market-anchored pricing. That's where the rationale changes to "Anchored on Black Book retail…" and the suggestion re-anchors on your retail value. A Wholesale value alone doesn't change the basis; it just raises the bottom of the suggested range.
If the book retail value is below your cost basis, the rationale shows a warning that the unit may sell at a loss. That's a heads-up, not a block. You can still price and sell the car.
Refresh from Black Book (if connected)
If your dealership has connected Black Book, a Refresh from Black Book button appears in the card header.
- Click Refresh from Black Book.
- It pulls fresh wholesale/retail values for this VIN and mileage and saves them.
- The source label updates to Black Book with the refresh date.
The Refresh from Black Book button only shows when the integration is enabled and a credential is saved. If you don't see it, an owner or admin manager can connect it under Settings → Integrations with your dealership's own Black Book API credential, which comes with a Black Book subscription you buy from Black Book. A refresh calls Black Book live for this VIN. If Black Book can't be reached or has no values for the VIN, the card says so and nothing changes. Manual entry always works.
FAQ
Do I need Black Book to use this?
No. The AI price suggestion works out of the box, and you can type wholesale/retail values by hand at any time. Black Book just automates pulling those values for you.
Where does the cost basis come from?
It's your acquisition cost plus all recon/vehicle costs logged on the car. Both are internal. They never appear on your public site.
Does saving a book value change my asking price?
No. The book value and the AI suggestion are guidance only. Your asking price is set on the vehicle's Edit page and is the only price shoppers see.
Why did the suggested price drop on an older car?
The suggestion knocks a little off the longer a unit sits, about 2% per 30 days past the first month and up to 10%, to keep aging inventory moving.
Who can set a book value?
Owners, admin managers and sales can record a book value and refresh it. Accounting can read it but not change it. (Connecting Black Book under Settings → Integrations is for owners and admin managers only.) Every change is written to the audit log with the user who made it.