CarsDirect Launches "Expert Buying Outlooks" to Help Consumers Get the Best Deal on a New Car


LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Aug 31, 2011) -

  • Exclusive CarsDirect Data Provides a Complete, Concise View of the Current Buying Environment for Individual Models
  • Guidance From Pricing Experts Helps Decide Best Time to Purchase

CarsDirect (www.carsdirect.com), a leading online automotive shopping service and research portal, today introduced Expert Buying Outlooks on CarsDirect.com. Exclusive to CarsDirect, Expert Buying Outlooks provide concise buying overviews and pricing information for individual vehicle models to help consumers get the best deal possible when shopping for a new car.

Helping shoppers determine the best time to buy

Each Expert Buying Outlook provides a graph of recent pricing trends for each model and a summary of where prices appear to be headed, helping shoppers understand what is driving current price trends and how to time their vehicle purchases to get the deal that is best for them. A team of CarsDirect vehicle experts creates each Outlook using CarsDirect's vast database of exclusive vehicle buying and pricing data.

"Our team of experts is constantly interacting with auto manufacturers and dealerships around the country, so our fingers are always on the pulse of pricing and incentive trends in the industry," said Mark McCready, VP of Market Planning and Pricing at CarsDirect and leader of the vehicle expert team. "The Expert Buying Outlooks enable us to efficiently package this insight and share it with car shoppers in one place."

Expert Buying Outlooks will be updated frequently in response to changes in the market and how those changes will affect individual models. For example, the effect of an upcoming redesign or a natural disaster on a model's pricing and availability will be noted in each Outlook.

"The fact that there's a living, breathing team of experienced experts behind each Outlook is key," said McCready. "We're not an algorithm throwing out suggestions as you search for a new car. We're closely monitoring the market and updating Outlooks on the fly with information that could make or break getting a great deal on a new car."

Expert Buying Outlooks appear when visitors to CarsDirect.com perform a new car search at http://www.carsdirect.com/research. Outlooks are currently available for the top 160 vehicle models, with more to be added in the coming weeks.

Powerful, consolidated data

In addition to the new Expert Buying Outlooks, visitors to CarsDirect who research new cars get access to the following exclusive new car shopping data:

  • Sales Price Trend: A chart of the CarsDirect price for each model over the past six months.
  • Popularity Trend: A graph illustrating whether a model is gaining or declining in popularity in the overall marketplace.
  • Popular Styles: A listing of which trim levels are the most popular for each model.
  • Related Vehicles: A breakdown of similar models CarsDirect visitors are cross-shopping.
  • Price by Model Year: A chart of average prices on new and recent used versions of a model; helpful in determining whether buying a late-model used version of a model might be a better option.

About CarsDirect

CarsDirect (www.carsdirect.com) is a leading multi-brand online car buying service and research portal, providing new and used automobiles and related products and services. As the pioneer of the direct online car buying model more than a decade ago, CarsDirect has become the natural choice for consumers who demand objectivity, selection and upfront pricing, and for dealers who want to leverage the Internet for cost-effective incremental sales and revenue.

CarsDirect Expert Buying Outlooks