Don't Buy an Auto in 2020's "December to Forget"

CHICAGO, Dec. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Is December the month to buy a car, with manufacturers and dealers touting year-end deals?  Not in this unprecedented year:  New data from car-buying app CoPilot makes it clear shoppers should wait into 2021 for most vehicle types.  In fact, this is the worst time for Americans to buy a vehicle since 2012.

CoPilot is the only car buying assistant that accepts no money from car dealers or manufacturers.  Its Winter 2020-21 Car Buyer's Guide (free to download) offers car shoppers the only truly independent recommendations plus a breakdown of market trends, segment by segment, to help buyers confidently navigate this turbulent car market. 

The most important recommendations:

Hold Off:  CoPilot urges consumers to ignore those TV commercials with made-up holidays and giant red bows on cars.  Shoppers looking for trucks and SUVs will keep seeing low inventories, high prices, and fewer incentives through December.  Unless you're shopping for a sedan or compact, CoPilot recommends waiting until Spring 2021 to buy. 

Relief is Coming:  2020 has been the toughest year for car buyers in eight years.  Shut-down factories, lease deferrals, and fewer manufacturer incentives have been exacerbated by high pandemic-related demand.  But relief is on the way … fueled by a record number of lease returns, a wave of "near new" (2017-2019) vehicles is starting to arrive on dealer lots.  Typically well cared-for, with low miles and full features, these cars usually offer buyers the best overall value.  CoPilot expects 2021 to be "the Year of Near New," with sales of near new vehicles potentially outpacing new or older used vehicles as inventories of those cars remain disrupted.  Dealers typically don't promote near new vehicles much, because they're less incentivized to sell them over new cars.

Get Smart Now:  Car shoppers can download CoPilot's free app to find these near new vehicles and other hidden gems in their area.  The CoPilot app is a car buyer's expert partner, helping them navigate every step of shopping and buying.  Unlike virtually all other car buying apps, CoPilot accepts no money from car dealers so it's 100% on the buyer's side.  CoPilot makes it easy for people who don't know a lot about cars to discover their perfect car at the best possible price, so they can buy with confidence.

"Lots of smart, busy people don't know much about cars, but virtually any information source available to them is powered by revenue from dealers and manufacturers," said Pat Ryan, CoPilot founder and CEO.  "In contrast, only CoPilot tells consumers when to buy – and when to pause – because selling cars is not our business.  We're on the buyer's side."

"The internet has improved transparency for consumers in almost everything we buy, but car shopping and buying remain overwhelming and frustrating," said Ryan.  "CoPilot is on a mission to turn the tables and make car shopping, buying, and owning easy, fun, and stress-free."

About CoPilot                                                                     

The CoPilot app is a car buyer's expert partner, helping them navigate every step of car shopping and buying.  We make it easy for people who don't know a lot about cars to discover their perfect car at the best possible price, so they can buy with confidence.

Based in Chicago and Austin, CoPilot founder Pat Ryan spun the company's data platform and tech team out of a successful SaaS business which provided the analytical insights that car dealers and manufacturers use to price and market their cars.

In the fall of 2019, CoPilot made its powerful "Google for cars" search platform and analytical models available to consumers.  In the year since, CoPilot has grown to more than $700 million of gross merchandise volume (GMV), empowering thousands of car shoppers every month to find "hidden gems" and buy them with confidence.

CoPilot's investors include Next Coast Ventures, Chicago Ventures, PayPal & Affirm cofounder Max Levchin and Accel Partners cofounder Arthur Patterson.

MEDIA CONTACT:
CoPilot
Bradford Williams
[email protected]
408-510-8252

SOURCE CoPilot

Related Links

http://www.copilotsearch.com