New Car Transaction Prices Down for the First Time in Three Years, Incentives are Up, According to TrueCar.com

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- TrueCar, Inc., the negotiation-free car buying platform, estimated today that the average transaction price (ATP) for light vehicles in the U.S. was $30,634 in November 2013, down $198 (-0.6 percent) from November 2012; and down $164 (-0.5 percent) from October 2013.

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November 2013's drop in average transaction prices was the first year-over-year drop since December 2010, when ATPs fell 1.8 percent.

Three automakers – Chrysler, General Motors and Toyota – all achieved record highs for their average transaction price in November.

"Relatively higher levels of discounting are being used to clear out 2013 model year vehicles," said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst for TrueCar.com. "We expect transaction prices to continue to stay in record territory in the short term, as long as the fundamentals in the economy stay positive."

In addition, TrueCar.com estimated that the average incentive for light vehicles was $2,507 in November 2013, up $17 (0.7 percent) from November 2012; and down $53 (-2.1 percent) from October 2013.

TrueCar.com estimated the ratio of incentives to average transaction price for light vehicles was 8.2 percent in November 2013, up 0.1 percent from November 2012 and down 0.1 percent from October 2013.

About TrueCar, Inc. 
TrueCar.com is the negotiation-free car buying platform. TrueCar.com empowers car buyers by giving them transparent insight into what others actually paid, upfront pricing info, a guaranteed savings certificate and a connection to a trusted TrueCar Certified Dealer to seamlessly complete the car purchase. The reality is buying a car is painful and buyers fear they are going to overpay. TrueCar.com's transparent upfront pricing information and guaranteed savings certificate makes the car buying process simple so buyers never overpay. TrueCar.com's mission is to prove that truth and transparency are a more profitable way of doing business -- starting with cars. TrueCar.com users and dealers have completed over 1 million automobile transactions representing over $33.6 billion in sales since inception. This has resulted in TrueCar.com users saving over $3.4 billion off of MSRP. Its national network of nearly 7,000 TrueCar Certified Dealers is committed to providing negotiation-free pricing for some of the country's largest membership and service organizations, including AARP, American Express, AAA and Consumer Reports. Note: Not all program features are available in all states.  Go to www.truecar.com for program details. TrueCar.com is a privately held company headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., with offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., San Francisco, Calif., and Austin, Texas.

You can follow TrueCar.com on Twitter (@TrueCar) and become a fan of TrueCar.com on Facebook and Google+.

Disclaimer
This press release and the information contained herein is for noncommercial use on "as-is, as available" basis and may be used for informational purposes only.  TrueCar.com makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information contained in this press release and the results of the use of such information, including without limitation, the implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.  The information contained in this press release may include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.  Neither TrueCar.com nor any of its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates or respective partners, officers, or directors, employees or agents shall be held liable for any damages, whether direct, incidental, indirect, special or consequential, including without limitation, lost revenues or lost profits, arising from or in connection with your use or reliance on the information presented in this press release.

SOURCE TrueCar.com