Comparison of Robust Hedonic Models: Review of Factors Affecting Beetle Turkey Market Price

The aim of this study is to determine the factors which affects the price of Beetle vehicles named also “Vosvos” or “Kaplumba？a” (Tortoise) in Turkey. It is also possible for Beetle to be more expensive than the top model cars especially in the spot market. The main reason of fondness of the beetle is entirely related to personal pleasure and aesthetics rather than to features such as personal comfort, security, affordable price etc. like in other cars. In this regard, this car has a special fan base. Hedonic price model approach is used to determine the factors which affects the prices of Beetle model cars. Because hedonic price model is used to determine the factor which affects the prices of heterogeneous goods that are bought to satisfy personal pleasure. However, since the cars in Turkey market are different in the sense of their ages, features and restoration states, there are wide differences among prices of them. The fact that this situation can cause outlier problem in the data set is the reason which we used classical and robust hedonic price model in the study for. In this regard, this study is where the robust hedonic price model is used the first time for any product in Turkey. Also, the results obtained from the study is used to create a price estimator robot. Therefore, results of the study are not only theoretically successful but also a support to daily life and the economy