TrueCar.com Releases May TrueTrends(TM) Report

SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Memorial Day has long been a great day to buy a car and this year should be no different as the auto industry continues its recovery with high incentives and unparalleled campaigns.  Because of this, Memorial Day weekend is lining up to be the best time of the month so far in 2010 to buy a new car. TrueCar.com, the leader in new car pricing data, forecasts the best deals available for the next 30 days, as automakers and dealers continue to offer deep discounts on many models to move inventory.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100414/LA86246LOGO)

The May 2010 TrueTrends Report includes the following highlights:

• May 31st has a projected average discount of 6.9%, which is the highest to this point in 2010 and could be as high (or higher) than Black Friday 2010, which was last year's best day at 7.5%.  The last week in May is a great time to buy a car with a projected average discount of 6.2%.  Thursday, June 10th is projected to be the worst day to buy a car.  
• The biggest discounts of the month on 2010 models by body type are forecasted as follows:

• Pick-up trucks are leading the way in total incentives for May.  Three of the top 5 models with the largest incentives are pick-ups, including the GMC Sierra 1500, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, the Ford Super Duty F-250..
• Now is the time to buy a convertible, with that category spending the most time in inventory at 78 days (as opposed to sport utility vehicles, which last only 32 days on average).   The convertibles that are offering the best deals are the Ford Mustang, which has a possible 11% discount, and the BMW 3-series, which showed a nearly $400 price reduction from last month.
• The Lexus GX is feeling the effects of its recent recall with a drop in price of nearly $1,000 from April.

"Memorial Day signals the real beginning of the summer buying season," said Jesse Toprak, VP of Industry, Trends and Insights for TrueCar.com. "Manufacturers and Dealers shift their focus to Late Spring/early Summer at the beginning of the year so they can start reaping the benefits as soon as possible.  With a continued boost in incentive spending as well as additional sales 'carrots,' we can expect to see more steady growth in sales."

TrueCar Price Flex Score, Greatest Discounts and Days in Inventory

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 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 TrueTrends Report also tracks the Average Days in Inventory by make/model and body type.  The longer a vehicle is in inventory, the more likely a dealer is willing to offer a discount.  TrueTrends provides this Average Days in Inventory information to consumers, adding yet another layer of data beyond just the average prices so they can get the best deals possible.

The May 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.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.

Jesse Toprak

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=94534

SOURCE TrueCar