Cars.com Launches New Pricing Tools to Prepare Shoppers for New Car Purchase

Ed Note: Three Years Later than The Auto Channel's Total Cost Of Ownership Guide... But what the hell...

CHICAGO, April 2 -- Cars.com today announced the launch of Smart Target Price and 5-Year Ownership Costs, two new site features designed to prepare car shoppers for a new vehicle purchase. Smart Target Price goes beyond invoice or Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) to offer shoppers a realistic estimate of what they will pay for a new car based on current market factors. Total Cost of Ownership helps buyers to evaluate 5- year ownership costs by taking into account factors such as depreciation, fuel, insurance, opportunity cost, financing, maintenance, taxes and state fees, and repairs.

"Cars.com has expanded our new car shopping tools to arm visitors with more information to make smart buying decisions," said Bill Swislow, Cars.com senior vice president of product. "Our new pricing tools provide shoppers with critical information to guide their final buying decisions and to help them negotiate a fair purchase price."

Cars.com's Smart Target Price is intended to help shoppers set a more realistic point for price negotiation than MSRP or invoice price alone. The Smart Target Price is calculated using a proprietary formula that takes into account a variety of market factors, including the vehicle's invoice price, manufacturer's suggested retail price, marketplace demand, availability and destination charge.

"There is typically a large difference between the invoice pricing and the manufacturer's suggested price on new cars, which often leaves consumers wondering what a fair price would be for the car they are looking to buy," said Bill Swislow. "The Cars.com's Smart Target Price is a guide that will give shoppers more confidence in their buying decision."

Smart Target Price and 5-Year Ownership Costs are powered by data from Vincentric, a leading automotive data compilation and analysis firm, headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.