Understanding Vehicle Cost vs. Value: What Every Buyer Should Know
Understanding Vehicle Pricing & Value: Insights from Auto Nation Canada
By Cole Johnson, Auto Nation Canada
At Auto Nation Canada, we’re all about helping our customers make informed decisions—and one of the biggest decisions you'll make is how to balance price and value when buying a vehicle. I see the same mistakes and myths over and over, so I thought I’d break it down in a straightforward way. I’m a visual learner myself, so I often use a chart when I explain this. Let’s walk through it.
The Price vs. Value Chart
Think of a chart where one axis is Price and the other is Value. There are four basic zones:
High Price / Low Value – This used to be common, but not so much anymore thanks to online pricing tools and consumer education. Still, it happens—especially with private trades or when folks overpay without checking history or condition.
Low Price / Low Value – This is where most budget-conscious buyers end up. It’s very common with private sales. You might get a "deal," but the value just isn’t there—think no inspection, no service records, and tons of future repairs.
Low Price / High Value – This is the unicorn. Everyone wants to land here, but it rarely exists. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Some dealers even advertise low prices and hit you later with reconditioning fees.
High Price / High Value – This is where luxury buyers live. You’re paying top dollar, but you’re getting a premium vehicle, top-tier service, and peace of mind.
Where Auto Nation Canada Fits In
At Auto Nation, we aim for the sweet spot: Competitive pricing with high value. Here's how we do that:
CarFax Reports on all units—transparency is everything.
Top-tier pricing—often within the best 5 price points on the market.
No games—we price to sell. It saves everyone time and hassle.
Full reconditioning—we handle most repairs before sale. If anything’s left, it’s minor and disclosed.
We believe in selling clean, reliable vehicles that don’t leave you with buyer’s remorse. Price matters, but cost of ownership matters more.
Myth Busting: Price Isn’t the Whole Story
1. "Cost = Price"
Not quite. You need to think in terms of total cost of ownership—fuel, maintenance, unexpected repairs, etc. A cheap vehicle that constantly breaks down is more expensive in the long run.
2. "I’m Handy, I Have a Guy"
Great—until parts fail. Labor might be cheap, but parts prices have skyrocketed, and even a good mechanic can’t fix poor vehicle history. Extended warranties offer peace of mind and long-term protection.
3. "It Looks Clean, So It Must Be Good"
A clean exterior means nothing without a CarFax, inspection, and service records. We’ve seen spotless vehicles with hidden issues—from accidents to neglect. That’s why every unit we sell gets a mechanical fitness assessment, and often a brand-new windshield and tires if needed.
Our Reconditioning Process
When a vehicle comes in, here’s what we do:
Windshield Replacement (if necessary)
Mechanical Fitness Assessment
Required Repairs
Professional Detailing
Online Listing with Full Transparency
Only then do we list it for sale—and only then do we offer extended warranty coverage for true peace of mind.
Final Thoughts
Our mission is simple: help you find the best value possible—not just the best price. At Auto Nation Canada, we want to put you in a vehicle that makes sense today and down the road. Don’t fall into the low-price trap. Instead, shop smart, look at total value, and let us help you get there.
Thanks for tuning in—and feel free to reach out with any questions. We’re always here to help.
Transcript of the video: Okay My name's Cole Johnson I'm with AutoNation Canada I wanted to do a little video for today for you guys just e- explaining uh a little bit more information about buying a vehicle kind of where people typically fall why they typically fall there and then we're gonna do a couple myths that I run into all the time just 'cause I see this stuff over and over and want to provide some value So I'm a visual learner so that's why we've got this chart Uh don't mind the handwriting but it's uh the information that we- is what's important So this is a price versus value When we're looking at the chart we're gonna go value price So price value So typically where we used to see things fall we don't see it as much anymore but we usually see people falling here so high price low value Now with the way the markets have adapted and all the data that's out there now uh even somebody that's not experienced with buying a vehicle um they're- they're not typically gonna fall in this area anymore Um there there's the outliers or- or situation oriented but it's not as common so we don't really see it as much but uh we still see some people that were trying to trade out or- or hear experiences where people have high price uh low value Um where we typically find people when they're shopping they're- they're more price conscious than value conscious so a lot of the time and I hear horror stories all the time when people buy privately they're- they're falling in the low price low value So a lot of times when- when people are shopping they're- they're just price conscious and that's the only thing that matters to them and that's kind of why we're falling in this area Um the- the other area that I do that p- everybody wants to land and we rarely see this if ever right This is the unicorn hunting We see low price high value So I mean now the markets are regulated There- the data's out there Dealers try to adapt to- to you know have some stuff where they won't repair recondition cars and- and they'll list them at a at a lower rate so that people think they're getting a good deal but you're- you're- you're falling in this low price low value or you get stuck with a bill when you're- when you're with your salesman "Hey uh yeah we have this car uh and it's uh excellent price but hey guess what You have to pay X amount of reconditioning to get the car up to par." Um now if People that can afford and people that buy luxury items go high price high value Obviously if you're paying a high price and you're getting high value you're- you're gonna have the expertise service and- and everything to go along Problem is lots of people can't afford to fit into that area right Uh and- and some people just don't want to They want to be able to invest for their future and- and spend money elsewhere which we- we think is an intelligent decision as well Our- our goal with AutoNation and like kind of where we try to fit things in uh we want to be somewhere around So this is where we try to fit Uh we try to be competitive pricing but we want to keep the value high and we do that a few different ways So if you go to our website you're gonna see that we have CarFaxes on all our units Um if you price if you price point us we're gonna be you know if not top we're gonna be top tier so top 5 units in pricing Uh it does nobody any good for us to buy a car and for it to sit around so we are price conscious We are- we're also price forward so we- we typically don't move on price because we do just price them to sell It saves on advertising It makes for a clean deal for- for consumers uh and- and our reconditioning is done Sometimes there will be stuff that's left out but it's- it's typically cosmetic and- and you know we- we just disclose it Um so this is something that I've Feel like a lot of people are hitting this low price low value and- and they're just missing a lot of understanding when they're When they're buying a car they're- they're not thinking of everything uh long-term They're just- they're just thinking about um the- the here and now and I just want to get the best price on this vehicle And you know like it can almost be an addiction cycling for cars to find that car that you want at the right price But there's always there's always gonna be some kind of a catch and- and anybody that tells you there isn't there- there- there is There's always a catch with it Um you know there- there's the- the unicorn hunting Sometimes you know if you are competent and you know exactly what you're looking for and a lot of what you should be looking for we're gonna tell you in this video s- so that you don't end up here or Well try to avoid you from being in here This is this is the worst uh uh that we see the most commonly now So um as far as myths go when we're looking at it so vehicle cost which we were talking about price here vehicle cost doesn't incorporate value So I like to take this word out and then I like to look at it as Cost of ownership So cost of ownership is different than- than vehicle price Cost of ownership is "Hey I'm gonna buy this car I know that we're gonna have it for 2 years until our family gets a little bit bigger and we're gonna need a seven ride," or you know "I just want something to commute to college back and forth that's gonna be cheap on fuel." So um they have the- the short-term thought process but they don't incorporate cost of ownership So a lot of the ways that you can look at cost of ownership and you can prevent yourself brain damage and- and tons of expenses are um things like your CarFax So ev- every vehicle has a CarFax It tells the history of a vehicle uh everything from the service records of it to who's owned it how long they've owned it Um sometimes you'll notice like in- in the beginning of a CarFax the original owner's really diligent about getting their maintenance done secondary owner isn't and then you run into issues So-Um Carfax is a huge one Secondly I w- I would definitely say that any vehicle that you're looking at getting is get inspected Um but but the best way that you're going to be able to incorporate cost of ownership into vehicle price is by having extended warranty It it's the only way to truly give yourself peace of mind So so now that we got that one out of the way uh a lot of the reasons why people don't get extended warranty um they have the ideology "I'm handy I have a guy I have somebody that can do all the repairs for cheap." Awesome that's great Labor is uh definitely an important consideration but uh I mean everybody's heard of the tariffs right now but even before the tariffs parts have gone through the roof uh especially for vehicles And I I am going to make another video on vehicles that have uh known issues ongoing issues and just common issues Un- unfortunately you know manufacturers have built these things to break eventually so the only way that you're going to be able to avoid that is by having extended coverage That's that's the only way to truly have peace of mind But you can do some other things like if you're if you're going through the Carfax or going through the maintenance records and and you know you you can definitely do some stuff to prevent yourself from being in a in a bad situation Um so when we're talking about "I'm handy," or "I've got a guy," yes labor is an important consideration but the parts are are what The biggest costs that you're going to incur and especially when we're talking about major power train uh you know engine transmission differential 4wheel drive turbo supercharger All these things if you can source them used excellent Probably won't be perfect If you don't have some kind of coverage then you know most of the most of the records give you like a 90-day warranty I mean most things are going to work for 90 days They might have issues but uh they'll they'll hold out for 90 days It's after that time horizon that you're gonna have an issue So when you say "I'm handy I've got a guy," and your your guy puts in a used part You got He doesn't know exactly what he's looking for and doing his due diligence on these used parts that you put in you're going to end up A paying a high premium for the used part B saving money on installing this used part and C having to replace that used part within 12 to 24 months So this is this is a dangerous consideration and I For us the the biggest customer satisfaction we have is when people have extended warranty we can guarantee our point of delivery the quality of the vehicle but we can't we can't guarantee that 60 90 120 180 one year out Uh we're at the mercy of the manufacturers just like anybody else We're just trying to incorporate value and price and get you guys somewhere in here um and then bundle you with cost of ownership So um that's that's the second one that I see all the time Uh the third one "Vehicle looks clean it must be good." So yeah uh a vehicle can look clean uh and and it probably looks good but without looking at a Carfax you don't know if this thing's been in an accident Uh without a CarFax you don't know if it's been maintained properly Um without service records you also aren't going to know if it's been maintained properly and if you don't get it inspected you know uh even if you do the other due due diligence on the other 2 uh you you're still not going to have a full outlook of what that vehicle is at point of ownership So what we do at AutoNation every vehicle comes with a mechanical fitness assessment If it's coming from out of province that gets an out of province inspection Usually the first thing we do is get a brand new shield If tires are even relatively close to needing new tires if they're you know 4/32nds on on a traditional tire or you know under 50% most of the time we're just changing out tires Uh tires are are an important one uh and then as far as reconditioning goes you know suspension and all that stuff is is definitely addressed So when a vehicle lands we get the shield done it goes for a mechanical fitness assessment we do repairs then we merchandise then we sell and that's what qualifies you to have extended coverage and you know prevent the brain damage and the high cost of uh ownership So uh thanks for tuning in