Vehix TrueCar brings Greater Pricing Transparency to the Online Shopper

Market pricing data on new vehicles, which has been available online for many years, goes beyond MSRP and dealer invoice to show consumers what they could expect to pay at the dealership. This information empowers consumers, but it can also be misleading. For instance, while the 2010 Audi A6 3.2 has a True Market Value of $45,101, not everyone will pay that exact amount.

That’s why I’ve enjoyed playing around with Vehix’s TrueCar Pricing Report. Vehix provides consumers with a far clearer picture of the real pricing situation by adding Actual Dealer Cost, Good Price, and Great Price to the mix. Here’s the 2009 Toyota Camry I4 Sedan.

The report shows that half of all sales are over the average price, something that may seem obvious but isn’t necessarily clear on other sites. You can pay more than that average and still have a Good Price. Some folks can attain a Great Price, but it’s clearly a minority. In the case of the 2009 Toyota Camry I4 Manual, the average price is actually below the dealer cost (as of Sept 11, 2009) and may represent dealer efforts to clear inventory for the 2010 model year.

Another interesting example is the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro LS, which has generally been selling above MSRP. In this case, paying $600 more than sticker still represents a Good Price.

The data is certainly useful, but is it accurate? By looking at the market pricing data from other sites for these two models, we can see that the TrueCar Average Paid seems to be at the lower end of the range.

Regardless of absolute accuracy, Vehix makes the issue less relevant through greater transparency. I can’t wait to see how other sites respond.

Tagged with: Pricing • Third-party