Pricing a New Car, Part 1

I have depended on Consumer Reports magazine for fair and honest evaluations on various products from cars to cookware all my adult life.  I am a member.  I subscribe to the magazine.  I have sent money.

I loved and depended on their car reports ratings and actual dealer pricing.  I loved their detailed report on every possible option package on a car and the cost.  They gave information to ME that only the salesmen knew.

I ONLY buy vehicles that CR rated at the top...

The first time I went to buy a new Ford Taurus station wagon in 1986, they gave me information about the detailed different option packages, the actual cost to the dealer, and the things you didn't need from the dealer at extra cost.

The salesmen screamed like he was being robbed.  He said the data was false.  He complained there were other costs.  But I held the CR data in my hand and I eventually got the car for $500 above their actual cost and considering sales incentives.  They had to order my particular version from the factory, but it didn't sit on their lot costing them anything.

In 1998,I was in a carpool, and one member had this real cool Dodge Intrepid.  I researched it at CR and discovered its fancier upgrade (an Eagle Vision) actually had a much better deal with standard options than the Intrepid with added options and was a better car.  CR pricing came to the rescue again.  It was a model that didn't have a large production, so I ended up paying $700 above cost (and had to wait 6 weeks, too).  Sadly, it was not a very reliable car.

In 2005, I got the same data from CR about a Toyota Highlander.  I had them nailed to the last option package (and ones they claimed were required but were not).  I got out $500 above their actual cost including incentives.


15 years later, it is time to replace the car.  But CR doesn't provide that information anymore.  Apparently, CR was taken over by "less consumer oriented managers" around 2015.

Last week, I sought the same past information about 2 cars than seemed suited to my current needs.  The CR website offerred some information on the cars and then offerred "pricing information", which was what I wanted.

All they actually oferred (via TrueCar) was an "average sales price".  And within 5 minutes, I received offers from 5 dealerships.  All telling me they had the car I wanted.  At full price with a tiny fake discount.

CR has a deal to just send you to local dealerships!  I find that disgusting and a breaking of the Consumer Reports habit of decades.  I am both depressed at the loss of a trusted site and a betrayal of my trust in CR.

In reply to a query, CR said they ended their detailed car pricing program in April 2015.

Their decision to end the detailed car pricing information is not unimportant.  It means that, finally, after all the decades, they are willing to sell out.  They have left us at the "tender mercies" of the car salespeople. 

It is the end of an era...  They have just become another redirect-site to car dealerships...

I'm looking for a new car...    More tomorrow.