I wish you were right, but since supply shrunk so much in New Cars, Used Car auction prices are through the roof. A clean carfax vehicle will usually auction for about 90-95% of blue book.
Here is an example.
We appraised this 2006 Toyota Tacoma for trade in.
This tool tells us that the average Denver market price of this year, model, and trim level, is $20,904.
It also tells me the average blue book for this car is $20,375.
Below that it tells me the auction statistics...
The national auction average is $13,121, but the Denver Auction prices are $17,750.
Keep in mind we have to put an average of $2,000 in reconditioning, and attempt to make a profit.
So with the Denver market value, I would have offered this person $16,500 for the trade in, and if they started whining, I would bump it up to $17,000 to "cancel out D&H".