Dad of Divas' Reviews: You CAN Buy a Car on the Internet…and Save Your Time, Money and Blood Pressure

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

You CAN Buy a Car on the Internet…and Save Your Time, Money and Blood Pressure

For as long as there has been an Internet, there has been the promise of being able to buy anything you want, quickly and easily, with the added benefit of being able to save some money.  With the advent of trailblazing websites like Amazon.com and eBay.com, that promise became reality.  Books, music and movies were all at our fingertips costing us less and coming to us as quickly as ever before. 

Soon, consumers were hoping for more:  Clothes?  Yes.  Electronics?  Yes.  Even fresh lobsters from Maine or native pottery from Costa Rica?  Yes. 

But there are those who do not believe that the promise has come true with the purchase of cars.  You can research a car…and get a price on a car…you can even negotiate the purchase of a car.  But you can’t actually get the whole process completed, simply and quickly, without having to set foot in the dealership, right? 

Wrong. 

From the moment TrueCar.com was launched, consumers have been treated to prices that were based not on what the manufacturer thought was an appropriate price, but what consumers were ultimately paying.  By collecting sales information on thousands of actual sales made across the US and informing consumers on the average transaction price of those sales, TrueCar is able to provide a fair and transparent price – the TrueAverage Price.  And they know that dealers are willing to honor that price, because it is – on average – what the car is selling for anyway. 

But simply getting a price isn’t where it ends anymore.  TrueCar is taking transparency to the next level with TrueCar Upfront Pricing. 

How does it work?  After TrueCar shows the consumer a price, they are introduced to up to three dealers who have ALREADY agreed to honor at least the TrueAverage Price (if not better).  So there is no need to shop, as the consumer now has three dealers who are within 75 miles and are willing to honor a price that is – more often than not – BELOW invoice price. 

So the consumer has shopped, identified what they want, gotten an agreeable price, found the car through a no-hassle dealer…don’t they have to go in and get the car?  Not necessarily.  TrueCar’s dealers have also agreed to – in most cases – deliver the car and the paperwork to the buyer for little or no cost. 

There are always going to be people who relish the opportunity to go into a car dealership and go toe to toe with a dealer, that’s not going to change.  What will change is how much consumers save in buying their new car.   

And that is good for the blood pressure.

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