Edmunds.com's True Market Value (TMV®) pricing is a powerful tool that helps shoppers get a good deal on a new or used car. Based on actual sales data, TMV is a guide to what other people in your area paid for the same car.
Knowing the TMV price helps buyers negotiate the price of a new car as well as the value of their trade-in vehicle. Additionally, private-party buyers and sellers can use TMV to set the price of used cars.
Car buyers can see TMV pricing on Edmunds.com once they've selected a car's manufacturer, model, trim level (style) and options. Edmunds displays TMV pricing of a new car along with two other key pieces of information: the invoice price of a car (roughly what the dealer paid for it) and the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), which is also known as the sticker price.
TMV is essential information for shoppers because cars sell at very different prices depending on their availability and popularity. Knowing TMV allows a shopper to make an offer that a dealer will immediately recognize as reasonable. Thus, negotiations will take less time and be more relaxed. TMV is also built into Edmunds.com's iPad and mobile phone apps so shoppers can check TMV pricing while they're on the car lot. Shoppers also can reach out to the Edmunds.com Live Help team for assistance with TMV questions — or any car-shopping question at all.
This short video offers some tips on ways to use TMV in your negotiations.
TMV Strategies for New Car Shopping
Now that you know what TMV is and where to find it, here are some tips about using it to help you get a great deal.
TMV is particularly useful when you use it in conjunction with Edmunds Price Promise®, which gives car shoppers a guaranteed, up-front price on a specific car. Edmunds.com designed the Price Promise program for car shoppers, especially those who hate not being able to see a real price and who are frustrated by the amount of time it takes to negotiate a purchase.
More than 7,500 dealers have put Price Promise into action, offering clear, up-front pricing to their customers, and most of the time the Price Promise price is at or below Edmunds TMV. If you want to be extra sure, double-check the Price Promise quote with the vehicle's TMV.
If you're an experienced negotiator, or someone who is willing to spend some time haggling, look up the TMV price but don't disclose this information to the salesperson. Instead, make an opening offer well below TMV and slowly raise the price as the salesperson counters your offers. Usually, the final sales price will be below TMV.
Other buyers just want to cut to the chase and will be satisfied with a fair deal, if not the absolutely lowest price on a car. If this is your style, offer to pay TMV and explain to the salesperson that Edmunds.com, a respected car shopping information source, says this is an average price. It helps to have a printout of the TMV price handy, or have the TMV information ready to display on a smartphone as you talk.
There is no guarantee that the salesperson will accept your offer to pay the TMV price. In some cases, dealers try to tell buyers that the TMV figure isn't realistic. Buyers can respond by saying that Edmunds bases TMV on real-world sales data. If this has no effect, buyers should tell the salesperson that they will look for another dealer who will accept their offer. An easy way to locate a dealer who understands TMV is by using Edmunds.com's dealer Internet quote system.
TMV for Used Car Appraisal
TMV is also a handy appraisal tool for establishing the value of used cars. You can find the TMV price for your vehicle when the time comes to sell it or use it as a trade-in. If you are buying a used car from a dealership, you also can look up its "dealer retail" TMV price using the appraisal tool.
Edmunds also provides TMV prices for certified pre-owned cars. Once you've entered a car's make, model, year, options, mileage and condition, the information for a certified pre-owned car displays at the bottom of the "What Is Your Car Worth?" results page. Again, these are average prices, and the final cost of the car is negotiable.
While Edmunds does not offer TMV prices for leasing, the TMV price of a car is a useful piece of information if you plan to lease. A monthly lease payment is based on the selling price of the car, or the "cap cost" in leasing lingo. The lower the cost of the car, the lower the monthly lease payment. Once you find the TMV price of a new car, you can enter that price into the Auto Lease Calculator, along with other information about the car, to get an estimated lease payment.
TMV Is on Your Side
You'll hear lots of car pricing terms tossed around when you're shopping and negotiating for a new car or used car. Amid all the talk of MSRP, sticker and invoice, keep coming back to TMV. That's the number you truly need to know.
