Edmunds.com's TMV: The Magic Number

 

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When it comes to shopping for a car, you need to know more than just what it says on the window.

Picture this: You're sitting in the sales office at a dealership ready to start negotiating for the new car you want. The salesman leans back, smiles and says, "OK, make me an offer."

What do you say? Obviously you don't want to pay more than you have to. And everyone knows you should "never pay retail." But you also don't want to make your offer so low he boots you out of the office. So you take a deep breath and do what buyers have done for years — you guess.

But wait! There's a better way than either low balling or just picking a number out of the air. Before you go car shopping, check Edmunds.com's TMV^®. TM — what? you might say. TMV stands for True Market Value and it is the magic number for car buyers. It is the secret combination that will unlock the keys to your next new car.

Unlike other pricing systems that are based on the dealers' "asking prices," TMV is the average price that a car sells for in your region. And it is adjusted for options, the car's color and incentives. TMV figures, posted for free on Edmunds.com, are based on the actual sales of other cars of its kind in your area. The figure is then adjusted further for accuracy using sophisticated calculations designed by mathematicians at Edmunds.com.

But you don't need to know all that. All you need to know is that TMV will give you the confidence to go eyeball to eyeball with the salesman. While the invoice price and the sticker price define the low and high end of the pricing scale, the TMV will narrow it down to a specific, realistic amount to use when negotiating for a car.

TMV pricing is particularly useful because all cars sell at different price points. Hot cars will sell at sticker price while other models will sell at invoice (and below invoice once incentives are deducted). TMV shows you, at a glance, exactly what to pay without spending hours negotiating.

Another benefit of TMV is that it gives you peace of mind by letting you know that you paid about what other buyers have shelled out for this car. There is nothing worse than hearing from your neighbor what a great deal he got on the same car you just bought — at a much higher price. With TMV, there will be no ugly surprises and you can drive your car with the knowledge that you made a fair deal.

TMV prices can be found by going to Edmunds.com and selecting the new car you want to buy. Print out the pricing sheets and take them with you to the dealer. TMV prices are also available for used cars and for certified used cars. And don't forget that TMV is a handy way to accurately appraise your used car when you are ready to put it up for sale.

So, now that you are armed with accurate information, you know how to answer when the salesman smiles and says, "OK, make me an offer."