New Site Could Curtail Haggling for New Cars

TrueCar.com, a U.S. price comparison site, helps consumers figure out a fair target price when shopping for a new vehicle. Most of us dread the inevitable day when your car goes kaput and car shopping worms its way to the top of your priority list. Haggling with a salesman at a dealership is not how most of us prefer to spend our leisure time. But a new website hopes to overhaul the traditional new-car-buying experience south of the border.

By Lindsey Peacock / February 14, 2012

TrueCar.com, a U.S. price comparison site, helps consumers figure out a fair target price when shopping for a new vehicle.

Most of us dread the inevitable day when your car goes kaput and car shopping worms its way to the top of your priority list.

Haggling with a salesman at a dealership is not how most of us prefer to spend our leisure time. But a new website hopes to overhaul the traditional new-car-buying experience south of the border.

A quick visit to TrueCar.com and a few bits of info later (make and model of the vehicle you’re shopping for and your postal code) and the site generates a customized infographic. You can track how much other buyers paid for the same vehicle in your way, the actual cost of the vehicle to the dealer and a range that constitutes a bargain price. The site even offers a target price to take to the dealer, and a list of dealerships in your area that offer a no-haggle price.

For someone who hates haggling, the site is a godsend. But, as The New York Times reported, the site works a little too well for the comfort of some car dealers.

Some brands (including Honda) are worried the lack of negotiating could lead dodgy dealers to lure customers in with a haggle-free price from the TrueCar site only to try to sell a more expensive vehicle.

Others worry the low prices could create cutthroat competition between dealerships already functioning on razor-thin profit margins.

TrueCar has revised some of its practices to alleviate potential problems with dealers, but the site represents one more helpful tool in consumers’ arsenal. In what is an admittedly intimidating process, the more information, the more prepared you can be when dealing with a salesman.