TrueCar.com Releases August TrueTrends™ Report

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- As the calendar transitions from summer to autumn, luxury brands and large trucks are making a big push to capture new buyers, according to the latest TrueCar.com TrueTrends Report.  TrueCar, the authority on new car pricing and trends, is reporting high incentives, top discounts and price drops on many large trucks and luxury models, making this a good time to buy.

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"Typically, because of seasonality, the end of summer is really the best time to buy large trucks and luxury cars," said Jesse Toprak, VP of Industry, Trends and Insights for TrueCar.com. "Dealers are trying to clear out their aging inventory and make room for the next model year so they have a great deal of flexibility.  If consumers are in the market for a vehicle in either of those two segments, now is absolutely the time to get a great deal."

The August 2010 TrueTrends Report includes the following highlights:

• Consumers in search of large trucks have an abundance to choose from and can see an average potential discount* of 11%, with the Chevrolet Silverado topping the list at 23%.  The biggest discounts of the month on 2010 models by body type are forecasted as follows:

• Consumers who have been holding out on better pricing for luxury cars will get their wish this month.  The luxury category has seen the biggest drop (month over month) among all categories, with an average drop of $1,480.  Luxury SUVs are third on the list with a drop of $1,150.  Large cars, which are second, are seeing a drop of $1,171.
• The best day of the month to buy a car, as projected based on historical sales and short-term forecasts is the Thursday prior to Labor Day, September 2nd, 2010, just edging out Sunday, August 29th at an average potential discount* of 11.2%.  September 14th is projected as the worst day of the month to buy, with a projected discount of 8.3%.
• For the second consecutive month, 2010 model year, domestic makes including Chevrolet, Ford, Mercury, and GMC remained on top of the Top Discounts list, with Lincoln replacing Chrysler in the final spot.  Foreign automakers including Toyota, Honda and BMW, alongside domestic brands GMC and Chevrolet, are offering the biggest discounts on 2011 makes.

TrueCar Price Flex Score

TrueCar uses several methods to identify the best new car deals of the month.  Not only does TrueCar track vehicles with the greatest discounts, but the TrueCar Price Flex Score measures how elastic the transaction price is for a particular model.  A high Flex Score means a possibility of a great swing (high or low) in the actual sale price from MSRP, while a low Flex Score means the price is far less negotiable and that the transaction price range is much narrower.  Consumers have the best chance of obtaining a discount with the most flexible scores.  

The August TrueTrends Report can be read in its entirety on the Truth Blog at TrueCar.com.

About TrueCar

TrueCar is the authority in new car prices.  We show car buyers and car dealers how much people actually paid for a particular car in a specific local area.  With TrueCar pricing, both new car buyers and new car dealers can know at any time what is considered a good or great price on a new car. Consumers no longer need to walk into a dealership partially informed and fully suspicious – using TrueCar they walk in knowing the price of a fair deal. Dealers benefit by TrueCar's real-time, unbiased information about marketplace pricing, helping them price cars for increased sales, and ultimately gaining market share over other dealers.  Our innovative new car pricing service is offered free of charge on our website at www.truecar.com, on our mobile site at mobile.truecar.com, and via syndication of our tools and pricing data to leading automotive research sites throughout the web.

About TrueCar Data

TrueCar obtains data directly from car dealers, respected dealer management system (DMS) providers, and well-known data aggregators within the automotive space. We also acquire vehicle configuration data, customer and dealer incentives data, financing and loan data, vehicle registration and insurance data, and much, much more.  TrueCar is insatiable about data with our goal to find 100% of all purchase transactions, even if that means finding the same transaction multiple times from multiple sources within the car-buying ecosystem.  Our data is among the most timely and comprehensive in the industry, as we are able to process most car sales within a week of the actual sales date, and have a substantial fraction on the site within 48 hours of the actual sale.  TrueCar believes the greater our informational accuracy, the greater benefit we provide to both dealers and consumers.

*all discounts are based on national averages

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Jesse Toprak

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SOURCE TrueCar.com