Methodology

How the VinAssessment Research Team Builds Its Studies

Every number in our research comes from data we collect and process ourselves. This page explains where that data comes from, how we turn it into statistics, and what our studies can and cannot tell you.

Who we are

The VinAssessment Research Team is the team behind VinAssessment, a vehicle data platform used by dealerships for market pricing and inventory intelligence. The same dataset that powers our commercial tools powers the studies published here — we simply share what the data shows.

Where the data comes from

Our platform continuously tracks vehicle listings from dealer websites and marketplaces across the United States — cars, trucks, and SUVs from more than 50,000 dealerships. Over time this archive has grown to more than 226 million listing records, alongside a window sticker (Monroney) archive covering 25M+ VINs and a photo library of over 2.5 billion images.

For price research we work from listing-level records: the asking price, mileage, model year, trim, and location of each vehicle offered for sale. We do not use self-reported survey data, and we do not license these numbers from third parties.

How we compute statistics

  • Medians, not averages. Asking prices are skewed by a small number of very expensive vehicles, so our headline numbers are medians unless a study says otherwise.
  • Minimum sample sizes. A model-year statistic is published only when it is backed by enough active listings (typically 30 or more). Slices below the threshold are excluded rather than estimated.
  • Outlier filtering. Listings with implausible prices or mileage (data-entry errors, placeholder values) are removed before aggregation.
  • Comparable slices. When we compare models or states we compare the same model year and, where relevant, the same mileage band — never a mixed bag.

Freshness and revisions

Every study carries a “Data as of” date. The numbers are a snapshot taken at that time and are not silently rewritten as the market moves. When we refresh a study, the update is dated, and the previous methodology notes stay with it.

Questions and corrections

If a number looks wrong, or you would like the underlying methodology for a specific study in more detail, please contact us. We correct errors and note the correction on the affected study.