Big buzz I heard at NADA was that TrueCar.com, which is owned by Zag, is using data that Zag pulls from dealers' DMS to power their values that they show to consumers.
If this is true, I doubt any of the Zag dealers know about it (or approve of it).
That's the question we all want to know. Where is the data coming from? I hope dealers realize IF we are allowing companies like TrueCar / Zag access our dealers transactional data...we are truly hurting our own business.
I asked TrueCar exactly where their data came from after receiving an email (not sure how I was on the list) in regards to the Toyota Recall.
Me- "Can you tell me exactly where TrueCar gets their data/pricing from?"
TrueCar - Hi Jeff,
TrueCar creates Price Reports by gathering data of what others paid for their vehicle in a local market area. We collect extensive sales data on more than 43% of all new vehicles sold. All data shown on the site is less than 4 weeks old.
We bring truth and transparency to the sales process by aggregating data from many different sources to show car buyers and dealers how much people actually paid for a particular car in their geographic area.
Me- "This is the part I'm confused with...
"gathering data of what others paid for their vehicle in a local market area"
How are you obtaining this information and with many deals being structured differently (trade-in allowance, rebates and such)?
Is 43% enough to give an accurate price on what consumers are paying. -
was being facetious.
From experience, the pricing is not so accurate (mis-representated) especially in today's climate where incentives are changing weekly.
I would love more information."
TrueCar - Hi Jeff,
You don't even need half of 43% to get an accurate representation of prices for the US market. However, TrueCar is insatiable about data, and our goal is 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. At the moment, TrueCar captures 43% of all new car transactions across the US, including actual purchase prices, to provide an accurate reflection of the automotive marketplace for new vehicles. Our data comes from vehicle registration information, dealer management systems, finance data, third-party vendors and more. We even work together with many dealers who gladly give their data (even cost data) in order to use TrueCar as tool within their business. TrueCar does not manipulate the raw data, nor do we interpret it. TrueCar simply presents the most accurate and timely data possible to show both dealers and consumers what others really pay for their new cars.
We do not include trade-ins in the price curve. Since trade-ins can skew the price of a new vehicle sale by thousands of dollars, trade-in prices are removed from the transaction data we use to show you good price, great price and average price paid.
The TrueCostTM tab and details tabs above the price curve will give you more insight into how our data is broken down.
Please let me know if this answers your questions.
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- TrueCar is insatiable about data, and our goal is 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.
- TrueCar captures 43% of all new car transactions across the US, including actual purchase prices- 43% capture is an amazing percentage
- Our data comes from vehicle registration information, dealer management systems, finance data, third-party vendors and more. We even work together with many dealers who gladly give their data (even cost data) in order to use TrueCar as tool within their business. - YES, dealers are allowing TrueCar to access your dealers transactional data
Well, I hope TrueCar voyages off into other verticals. I'd LOVE to know what Steve Job has invested in each and every Mac, iPod and iPad so we can "we bring truth and transparency to the sales process".
I'm all about truth and transparency but my transactional data is MY BUSINESS and MY DATA. If you are using ZAGs service, chances are you ARE sending your transactional data to them to "prove a sale". Could this data be making it's way to other services like TrueCar?
If this is the case -- dealers....well, you get the picture right?