Appraiser PluginMediumCommand

/price-check

Quick market price with dual retail/wholesale values, competing listings, and confidence level in 60 seconds

$/price-check [VIN or 'year make model']
Medium
Complexity
3–4
API Calls
$0.003 – $0.007
MC API Cost
$0.03 – $0.09
Total Cost

Purpose

Not every appraisal needs a full comparable report. The price-check command delivers a credible market price in under 60 seconds — retail franchise value, wholesale independent proxy, the spread between them, and the top 5 competing listings — using the appraiser's profile for location context. Fast enough for a desk decision, rigorous enough to defend.

Audience:Trade-in desk appraisersAppraisers doing quick pre-screening valuationsInsurance adjusters needing a fast market anchor

Arguments

VIN or 'year make model'required

17-character VIN for best results. Year/make/model text returns comp search without ML price prediction.

How It Works

Execution flow. MCP tool calls are shown inline on each step.

01
Input Parse

17-char string → treated as VIN (US path). Year/make/model text → comp search only (no ML prediction requires VIN). Empty → prompts for input.

02
Profile Load

Reads marketcheck-profile.md for ZIP, radius, min_comp_count, and country. Prompts for ZIP only if profile missing. UK path: no VIN decode or price prediction — uses comp median only.

↔ Parallel Execution

03a
VIN Decodedecode_vin_neovin

Calls decode_vin_neovin to confirm specs. US only.

03b
Dual Price Predictionpredict_price_with_comparables

Calls predict_price_with_comparables twice: dealer_type=franchise (retail) and dealer_type=independent (wholesale proxy). Mileage defaults to 50,000 if not provided.

04
Market Context Pullsearch_active_cars

Calls search_active_cars with make, model, year, ZIP, radius=75, stats=price,miles, rows=5, sorted by price ascending. Returns market stats and the 5 cheapest competing listings.

05
Results Presentation

Shows: year/make/model/trim, retail and wholesale market values with spread, MSRP retention %, market context (comp count, price range, median), top 3-5 comparables, confidence level (High/Medium/Low based on comp count vs min_comp_count). Compares to any subject price provided.

MCP Tool Calls

ToolCallsPurpose
decode_vin_neovin1Spec confirmation
predict_price_with_comparables2Franchise retail and independent wholesale predictions
search_active_cars1Market context and top comparable listings

Example Output

PRICE CHECK — 2021 Toyota Camry XSE V6
════════════════════════════════════════
VIN: 4T1K61AKXMU456789 | ~50,000 mi | Phoenix AZ

  Retail (Franchise) Value:    $28,100
  Wholesale (Independent):     $25,300
  Spread:                      $2,800  (10.0%)
  MSRP:                        $36,420  |  Retention: 77.1%

MARKET CONTEXT (75 mi radius)
  Competing units: 14 | Range: $24,900$33,400 | Median: $28,600
  Avg DOM: 18 days

TOP COMPARABLES
  1  $24,900  52,100 mi  CarMax Phoenix          8 mi
  2  $26,400  48,800 mi  AutoNation Scottsdale   22 mi
  3  $28,100  49,200 mi  Hendrick Toyota Mesa    31 mi

Confidence: HIGH (14 comps vs 10 min threshold)

Cost Estimate

TierMedium
API Calls3–4
MC API — best$0.003
MC API — worst$0.007
Claude — best$0.03
Claude — worst$0.08
Total range$0.03$0.09

200 price checks/month ≈ $6–18

Limitations

  • Mileage defaults to 50,000 if not provided — significant variance from actual mileage reduces prediction accuracy.
  • UK users get comp median only — no ML price prediction.
  • Price check is a quick estimate, not a defensible appraisal report. Use /vehicle-appraiser skill for formal valuations requiring cited comparables.
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