The latest news from auto analyst firm TrueCar shows real transaction prices for vehicles going a little lower from August to September. A recent report from this top auto reporting company reveals more about what customers actually pay at the lot. To get this information, TrueCar surveys hundreds of actual dealers and gets the figures on the final sale prices negotiated with customers. What this month’s report found was that the average transaction price in September decreased about .1% from August. It’s worth noting that this slight decrease will come out to an average of about $20 for many purchases, and also, that transaction prices were higher over last September’s figures. Year-to-year prices are generally expected to rise due to inflation and other factors, but looking at the overall numbers, it’s not clear whether the small autumn decrease is a harbinger of future auto savings to come.
Along with looking at transaction prices across the industry, TrueCar also routinely includes information on incentive spending. This month’s report shows clearly that the South Korean auto maker Hyundai/Kia is offering some of the biggest incentives around: as news continues to come in that Hyundai and Kia are snapping up market share, it seems that the company is augmenting its already brisk sales by offering customers more money back on a wide selection of vehicles, from the stylish and elegant Hyundai Elantra to small cars like the Kia Rio and Kia Soul.
In TrueCar’s list of incentive spending by auto makers, Hyundai/Kia wins out with an abrupt increase in average incentives, from around $1,300 to just over $1,450, or an increase of nearly 13%. The next biggest increase in incentive spending goes to Honda/Acura, with an increase of just over 6%. Nissan follows with 5.5%, and Ford and General Motors are nearly tied with 4.3% and 4.4% respectively.
It seems that the take-away here is that if you’re in the market for one of Hyundai or Kia’s competitive offerings, you may be able to do well in lot negotiations using the latest giveaways and financing attractions that have been strategically offered by this auto maker. Having the right information at your fingertips will get you a better deal on the car that you want and have you driving away with less debt and a better deal.
