You can also select a vehicle by the VIN, as mentioned above. There's a button on the Choose Vehicle screen that will take you to the Enter VIN screen, shown in Figure B.

FIGURE B

You can select a vehicle by the VIN number.

You can look up a vehicle by entering the first 10 digits of its VIN, or you can enter the full 17 digit VIN if you want.

Once you've made your selections, just tap the Find button to find the vehicle. If the vehicle is found, it will be displayed on the Choose Vehicle screen. From here, you can evaluate the vehicle by tapping on the Evaluate button.

Evaluating a vehicle
After tapping the Evaluate button, you'll need to specify some detailed information about the vehicle, such as the mileage and what options the vehicle has.

Just tap a Mileage Bracket to specify the mileage on the Select Mileage screen shown in Figure C.

FIGURE C

Select the Mileage Bracket that corresponds to the mileage of the vehicle you're evaluating.

If you don't want any mileage adjustment to be calculated, you can simply select "NO ADJUSTMENT" from the top of the Mileage Bracket list.

Values Screen
Once you've entered all the necessary information, you'll see the values for the vehicle in question, as shown in Figure D.

FIGURE D

The values will be displayed on the Values Screen.

Here you can also specify the condition of the vehicle using a drop-down list. This condition will affect the vehicle's value.

You'll notice a field called Key. Here you can enter any text you like, such as inventory number, location, category, etc.). Alternatively, you can just leave the Key blank. You're also given the option to enter a short note for a vehicle, such as a description of its overall condition.

You can find additional information about the vehicle under the Details tab, shown in Figure E.

FIGURE E

Additional information can be found under Details.

There you'll find the State used to value the vehicle, Booking Date (date the vehicle was last valued and saved), VIN (if entered during valuation), MSRP (original price with standard equipment), Price Included options that were pre-included (did not require checking on), and the Black Book UVC (Universal Vehicle Code).

Preferences
You can customize eval-pal by tapping on your Palm handheld's Menu icon and selecting Preferences. Some of your options include the ability to disable the display of specific values, enter specific mileage for all vehicles, and change the State selection. You can also customize your Saved Vehicle List display as well.

Access NADA
Not only can you access Black Book values using eval-pal, but you can also retrieve valuable information from NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association). The eval-pal software will provide you with the NADA Official Used Car Guide, NADA Official Older Used Car Guide, and NADA Official Commercial Truck Guide values, all in one easy-to-use database.

For those of you in the automotive industry, having all these resources stored conveniently within you Palm OS handheld can be a major advantage. No doubt much of your work takes place out in lots, in garages, or on location at the homes and businesses of potential buyers and sellers. The eval-pal package is a great way to access the information you need without lugging around an armload of bulky manuals. Be sure to check it out at http://www.gigglepop.com/dealers/index.html.

David Gewirtz is the author of How To Save Jobs and Where Have All The Emails Gone? For more than 20 years, he has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and is a member of the instructional faculty at the University of California, Berkeley extension. He can be reached at david@zatz.com and you can follow him at http://www.twitter.com/DavidGewirtz.