How Online New Car Price Quote Services Work

How free online price quote services work and make money.

Savvy car shoppers have been requesting free new car price quotes online for over a decade. Knowing how to use these web resources is the most effective approach to getting the best new car price.

Some people are still wary about these services because they don’t understand how the process works or what happens to their information, even though it’s the easiest way to buy a car. Let’s look at how these free online quote services work and make money.

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Common Questions About Online New Car Price Quote Services

I have received many questions regarding online new car price quote services like Ryde Shopper, Edmunds, MotorTrend, and CarsDirect.

The most common questions directed to me are:

Are these online companies trustworthy?
Is my information safe and secure?
How do these companies make money if their new car quotes are free?
How do these new car price quote companies work?
Where do they get the new car price information?
What happens to my information once submitted?

I’ve decided to answer these questions, so car shoppers like yourself understand and see the value of these free online services and the vital information they provide.

How Did Online Price Quote Services Originate?

The most popular services started as automotive research and review websites well over a decade ago. These online companies emerged to help consumers make good car buying decisions before purchasing a new car.

These online companies started popping up on the internet as early as 1995. Today, some of these websites get over 6 million visitors a month. As these companies evolved, they started offering consumers free new car price quotes to the visitors researching their websites.

CAUTION – Several scammers are sending out mass emails with the promise of providing you with free new car quotes. These tricksters have set up very professional-looking websites and will sell your private information, including your email address, and you will not receive anything. So, please use caution when interacting with these types of emails.

How Free New Price Quote Services Make Money?

Online automotive research and review companies started offering free new car price quotes to car buyers. They would sell the lead to a dealership close to where the information originated.

These companies commonly sell leads individually, and the dealer must pay upfront. Some tips were good and some bad; it was the dealer’s responsibility to close the deal.

I remember when these online companies started approaching dealers to sell their leads. Some of these companies sold their leads for as high as $24.95/lead or more. We would buy a hundred at a time and only sell maybe four cars at the most (it more than paid for the cost of the leads).

Some closed-minded dealers didn’t believe these “internet companies” would last long and avoided them like the plague.

After years of streamlining, most car dealerships sign up with these companies on a contract—usually, a flat fee from $500 to $2,000+ monthly. The internet has changed the way people shop for cars, and dealers understand this.

Very few new car dealerships in the nation are not signed up with at least a couple of these online companies at any time.

Is My Personal Information Safe and Secure?

You do not have to worry about your personal information with the online price quote services we recommend.

These companies, as do I, take your trust and privacy very seriously and have the latest industry-standard encryption.

They will also never sell your personal information to outside third parties or send you unsolicited emails.

When you visit a website such as Ryde Shopper, Edmunds, MotorTrend, or CarsDirect, you will be asked to select the year, make, and model of the car you’re interested in. You are then prompted to choose a color and choices. You will now be asked to input basic information about yourself, including your preferred contact mode.

Once you’ve entered the above information, they will send your request to the trusted dealer members in the company’s network that carries the specific vehicle you’re inquiring about.

By dealing directly with the internet department, you’ll not have to worry about the pushy frontline car salesman waiting to pounce on you when you turn into a dealer’s lot.

When the internet department receives your request, an internet manager will review your request and determine a price to quote you on the vehicle you’ve inquired about. The internet manager is very well educated on how people research, shop, and buy cars over the internet.

He also knows you’ll most likely receive several free quotes from other dealers in the area, and he must discount his new vehicle to be competitive.

After determining the price, someone in the department will send you the new car price quote. This process can be immediate or take up to 72 hours, depending on how busy the car dealership is and when you sent in the request.

Other Facts About Free New Car Price Quote Services

These services provide an absolutely 100% free, no-obligation service to you.
Your private information is safe, and the services I recommend will never sell or send unsolicited emails.
Price quotes do not come from the online automotive service itself. They come from local dealerships in their dealer member network.
These sites use industry-standard encryption to keep your private information secure.
You’re absolutely under no obligation to purchase anything at any time.
Dealers sending the free quotes have paid the online automotive service for the opportunity to receive local area leads.
On certain cars, you may get only a minimal discount or no discount depending on the vehicle’s demand and popularity.
You can only get one price quote at a time. You must complete a separate quotation to get more than one car’s price.
Always confirm the price quote you receive is on the specific car you requested.
The lowest quote you receive may not be the lowest price for which the dealer will sell the car.
A dealer may attempt to contact you by phone. Politely tell them at this time you prefer to do business by email.
Online price quote services have vast networks of car dealerships across the Nation.
A dealer may try and up-sell products when arriving at the dealership to make up for lost profit on the quote.
You may receive only one or two quotes from a single online automotive quote service, or you may receive several.
The more quotes you request, the more discounts you’ll receive. Remember – You’re in control!

About the author
My name is Carlton Wolf, and I’ve been in the car business since 1994, both retail and wholesale. I created the Auto Cheat Sheet to better educate buyers about the deceptive sales practices used by many dealerships throughout the country. Please understand that not all car dealers are dishonest. However, you never know who you’ll be dealing with, though. I’m willing to share my knowledge and experience with anyone who listens. Keep in mind that I’m a car guy, not a writer.