LKQ research is what stops a valuation becoming a negotiation. A discontinued model is replaced by a current one with comparable capacity, specification and build quality, and the research records why the substitute is comparable rather than simply asserting it. On electronics that usually means a newer specification at a lower price; on machinery it often means a rebuilt unit from a dealer who knows the model.
The substitution is made in the open, with the comparison documented, so that the basis can be examined rather than taken on trust. See valuation research.