Snowmobiling is a favorite winter pastime. Most people have favorite makes of sleds and tend to upgrade frequently. If you're in the market to buy or trade in a snowmobile, it's a good idea to know its value before making a purchase. The Kelley Blue Book amasses price information on numerous years, makes and models of snowmobiles. It's simple to use and may save you from paying too much money.
Research what type of snowmobile interests you and is best for your skill level. A beginning snowmobiler should typically look to price a 250 to 340 cc snowmobile, while a more experienced rider will probably prefer to know the price of a sled with a higher cylinder volume.
Gather as many details as possible about the sled you want to price. This will be relatively easy if you are intending to look up the value of a snowmobile you already own. However, if the snowmobile belongs to a private party or dealer, you'll need to know at least the make, model and year of the sled.
Establish whether you want to determine the retail or trade-in value. A snowmobile's trade-in value is a reasonable estimate of the price it would fetch as a trade-in during an upgrade purchase. The retail value is the amount of money you can expect to pay for the same sled if you are buying it from a dealer.
Look for the "Motorcycle Values" box on the home page of Kelley Blue Book online (see Resources below). Kelley Blue Book lumps vehicles other than cars into this category. It includes links to the prices of personal watercraft and snowmobiles, as well as motorcycles.
Click the picture of a snowmobile or the word "Snowmobiles" to navigate to the Trade-in or Retail Value screen. Choose the value you want to know.
Click on the snowmobile's year of manufacture. The Kelley Blue Book typically provides information for the previous 10 years of sled models.
Use the "Search Here by Model Name" link to access a list of all possible models listed alphabetically. The list will match the model to its manufacturer. You can see more listings by clicking on a letter at the top of the screen. However, if you already know the manufacturer (make), you can just choose it from the provided list.
Choose a manufacturer's model on the next page. All of the types of snowmobiles produced in the year you chose will be listed.
Read the summary information on the next page. It will provide a basic outline of the sled's features as well as its suggested trade-in or retail value.
Opt to look at how much value any extra features add to your snowmobile. Click on the "Additional Equipment" link to see how much each piece of additional equipment is worth.
