SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- TrueCar.com, the authority on car pricing, trends and forecasts, estimated today that the average transaction price for light vehicles in the United States was $30,369 in July 2012, up $487 (1.6 percent) fromJuly 2011 and down $139 (0.5 percent) from June 2012.

"Even though automakers may give the impression that they are ramping up incentives spending, the very low cost of funds and historically high resale values are in fact enabling them to create a ton of noise with fewer actual dollars spent," said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Market Intelligence for TrueCar.com. " Manufacturers are increasingly moving away from cash incentives and pushing finance and lease programs, which –along with consumers continuing to buy highly-optioned out vehicles- is helping with sustained high level of transaction prices".

In addition, TrueCar.com estimated that the average incentive for light-vehicles was $2,480 in July 2012, down $96 (3.7 percent) from July 2011 and down $68 (2.7 percent) from June 2012.

TrueCar.com estimated that the ratio of incentives to average transaction price for light-vehicles was 8.2 percent in July 2012, down from 8.6 percent in July 2011and down from 8.4 percent in June 2012.

About TrueCar, Inc.

TrueCar, Inc. is an online automotive information and communications platform focused on creating a better car buying experience for dealers and consumers.  Consumers want a hassle-free car buying experience and dealers want high-quality sales velocity.  TrueCar helps achieve these goals by providing unbiased market information on new car transactions and by supplying an online communications platform through which dealers and consumers can communicate with each other.  TrueCar's market-based information provides both consumers and dealers with an accurate and comprehensive understanding of what others actually paid recently for similar vehicles, both locally and nationally.  TrueCar's communications platform then allows informed, ready-to-buy consumers to communicate directly with participating dealers.  Some of the nation's largest and most well respected membership and service organizations rely on websites powered by TrueCar to help educate their members and customers who are in the automotive market.  TrueCar is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, and has offices in San Francisco, CA, and Austin, TX.  After experiencing dramatic growth since 2006, TrueCar is developing a suite of products and services centered on radical clarity through the comprehensive analysis of market data and information.  TrueCar's participating dealer partners have sold over 500,000 new vehicles to TrueCar users nationwide.

You can follow TrueCar on Twitter (@TrueCar) and become a fan of TrueCar on Facebook and Google+.

Disclaimer
This press release and the information contained herein is for noncommercial use on "as-is, as available" basis and may be used for informational purposes only.  TrueCar makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information contained in this press release and the results of the use of such information, including but not limited to implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.  The information contained in this press release may include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.  Neither TrueCar nor any of its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates or respective partners, officers, or directors, employees or agents shall be held liable for any damages, whether direct, incidental, indirect, special or consequential, including without limitation lost revenues or lost profits, arising from or in connection with your use or reliance on the information presented in this press release.

SOURCE TrueCar.com

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