RDX price comparisons and review

[mkaresh]

Sometimes when you adjust for feature differences, price differences are much different than you thought they were. So I created a site to do this.

Page for the RDX:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/RDX.php

In general, the RDX is quite a bit more than a Mazda CX-7, but less than a similarly-equipped Nissan Murano, and much less than a BMW X3.

A link to my review of the RDX can also be found on the above page. The performance didn't much impress me--maybe if I'd been able to drive it more aggressively--but I liked the interior quite a bit. Definitely worthy of the Acura badge.

[Visiting_Guest]

Your website needs some simplification, and some work. Dont take this as a knock, but as constructive critisicm.

You seem to be a very intelligent person, but at least in my opinion, the information you are trying to convey to the consumer seems to get lost in translation.

1. The numbers/prices in parens, what are those? Where do they come from? How do you arrive at the conclusion that ie brake assist is $50. I see they are standard values, but, where are those coming from? And in the real world, what good is the standard value when they come as a package or option?

2. All the clickable options are not very common sense. Homelink isnt available on some models you have listed, so how do you even come up with a value for that option when its not even available for the vehicle. Im sure every car manufacturer uses different components Bose, Alpine, Panasonic and so on, so those numbers cant possibly be universal between brands

3. In the case of the Acura RDX - how do you arrive at a value for Bluetooth when Bluetooth is bundled with the Technology Package and unavailable without it?

I did a few vehicle comparisons and although your information seems to be very detailed and volumunous, I am getting lost between what I can expect at a dealer and your "feature prices" Maybe I'm missing something.

Also, are you car reviews just your opinion on test drives? they seem to read as only opinion based. I know through your site you compare it to Consumer Reports and what not, but how do you technically review your vehicles ie machines, calculations, etc

Please dont take this as nitpicking, I enjoy what you are trying to accomplish. You promote your website on this website and for some reason I think its misleading in a sense that it is just opinions that are unverified.

I read your CX-7 review, because I own one, and although lengthy, it seems to be very off-base with that of professional opinion and other opinions across the internet and in magazines.

this is taken from your about us portion of the site:

TrueDelta Vehicle Price Comparisons
No other consumer site makes it possible to configure vehicles by selecting features (rather than options) or to compare the prices of two cars equipped to your specifications. And no other site, period, makes it possible to simultaneously configure two vehicles with the same features -- in just seconds. There is no easier way to price one vehicle. And no remotely comparable way to compare the prices of two.

Why is this valuable to me the consumer? Cars like Honda, usually dont come confiugred the way a Ford would (the way Americans package their options) so what good does this serve me is basically my question?

Best of luck. This is a lengthy post, and probably should have been an email - but, feel free to PM me and or respond hear. Im just really interested in the work you have done.

[mkaresh]

Thanks for the constructive criticism. I truly appreciate it, as I've steadily improved the site based on this sort of input.

There's no such thing as a car review that's not an opinion. I'm not sure what a "verified opinion" would be in this case. Verified by test numbers? No, I don't have test numbers. What I do have are subjective impressions that more often than not predict what you'll see in the magazines, if not during the first round of reviews then during the second (when the magazines tend to get more critical).

But all that counts is whether you like it. Honestly. One of my editorials says as much. I intend my reviews to only serve as guides of what to pay attention to during car buyers' own test drives. I strongly discourage people from simply writing a car off based on my review.

That editorial: http://www.truedelta.com/pieces/comparison_tests.php

Standard values are based on the low end of what manufacturers charge when the feature is available as a separate option. The same value is applied regardless of the model, otherwise a comparison would not make sense. For example, Bluetooth is a $275 standalone option on many Chryslers. Values for some minor features are necessarily educated guesses based on comparing the prices of numerous option packages composed of features with known and unknown values.

These values are accurate enough that I've seen the feature-adjusted prices for different trim levels come out at zero a number of times, and frequently just a couple hundred. If the results are within a few hundred, they should be thought of as essentially the same.

Panel members can substitute whatever values they want for features. This makes sense if you're shopping for a car and know how much you'd personally pay for these features. I created the standard values to simplify the process and provide fairly fixed numbers in my reviews. But personal values clearly make more sense as an aid in an individual's buying decision.

For the very reasons you indicate, I don't try to put values on engines, audio systems, tire sizes, and a few other things whose functionality cannot be simply equated from car to car. The best way to think of the feature-adjusted price differences is the amount you're paying for the basic car plus these "complex features."

Homelink will only come up in the features list is it is available on both vehicles but not standard on both vehicles. I call it "universal garage door opener."

The value of being able to select features is:
1. This enables the automatic selection of trim lines and option packages; otherwise the user has to dig through these.
2. This enables two models to be configured based on one instruction set.

Results are shown two ways, before and after adjustments for feature differences. The former is the difference you'll actually find on the window stickers. The latter is an "apples to apples" comparison, using either my values or the amounts you'd personally pay for the features. This lets you know how much of the price difference is accounted for by feature differences, and how much by the car itself.

Let me know if you have any further questions. I replied here because you posted here. If you email me you can expect a prompt response via email. People are often surprised by this.

[Racoon]

Standard values are based on the low end of what manufacturers charge when the feature is available as a separate option. The same value is applied regardless of the model, otherwise a comparison would not make sense. For example, Bluetooth is a $275 standalone option on many Chryslers. Values for some minor features are necessarily educated guesses based on comparing the prices of numerous option packages composed of features with known and unknown values.
This example if one of the complaints I've expressed to you a couple of times, yet you always have a reason for why your website is accurate.

The information your website provides for comparisons of equipment prices that aren't actually available as separate equipment options from the manufacturer. For example, if Bluetooth is available only on some models, then it should not be displayed as an option on all models. And if it's only available with a bundle or option package, then it should not be listed as a separate choice, since you can't actually get it from the manufacturer that way.


But of course you've heard that from me before.

JM2C

[mkaresh]

Bluetooth will only be shown if it is available on all of the models you are pricing. It will not be listed on the feature selection page if it is not available.

The features shown on the results page are those on some but not all of the trim lines displayed.

The way the program works is you select the features you want, and it figures out the most cost-effective way to get them by selecting the appropriate trim lines and option packages. My thinking is that people know which features they want, but figuring out packages and trims is far less intuitive.

Try this: figure out the best way to get a Toyota Sienna with leather and an entertainment system using my site and then any other site. Which is quicker?

What I think you're both saying is that the confusing part is you don't know which trim lines and option packages you'll be bumped to by selecting a specific option. Right? If so, I'll try to develop a fix for this.

[Visiting_Guest]

The way the program works is you select the features you want, and it figures out the most cost-effective way to get them by selecting the appropriate trim lines and option packages. My thinking is that people know which features they want, but figuring out packages and trims is far less intuitive.

Try this: figure out the best way to get a Toyota Sienna with leather and an entertainment system using my site and then any other site. Which is quicker?

What I think you're both saying is that the confusing part is you don't know which trim lines and option packages you'll be bumped to by selecting a specific option. Right? If so, I'll try to develop a fix for this.

Exactly what is wrong with this site. Your program makes a massive jump from clicking options, to all of a sudden "technology package" appears on the list, or sunroof package etc etc. There is a missing link between how you have the consumer set up their supposed pricing to what actually comes out on the other end. Which is why picking all the seperate options the way you have it set up is more or less nonsense when in the end, it still spits out the same information as any other website.

Knowing that Bluetooth is somehow $275 in a Chrysler, having it as an option when comparing a RDX to a CX-7, then, when u set your features - the Technology Package pops up - it all just doesnt come together and really doesnt make sense in the end. If I'm going to want to compare equipment from the start, show me technology package as a whole, then maybe you could within that package use your cost breakdown to show the consumer what constitutes a $3500 option. But your first splash page or where you select equipment has to be reworked for the consumer and for real-world application.

I know what you are aiming for, with your feature values and what not, but they really do not benefit us on the consumer level. Now, if i was a builder and manufacturing a car, your site would be helpful becuase you do a cost break down, but if I'm buying a car, I just dont see how I should use this versus going to Consumer Reports where I will get a true cost via package options, accessories, etc etc.

[mkaresh]

This is helpful to know.

The basic output SHOULD be the same as any other site. Otherwise I've got an error.

The advantage of my approach is speed and ease of use--at least in the initial step. Packages and trim lines can get very complicated.

Also, the adjustments via feature values on the results page serve as a guide for which trim line is the best value and to how much of a price difference between cars can be attributed to features and what amount to the basic car. Sometimes an uplevel trim is a better value, such that its adjusted price is lower than that of the base trim. Other times the opposite is the case, especially when the base trim is a low-leader with few or no options.

Providing a true apples-to-apples comparison was my main goal in creating the tool. It's why I call the final table a "value comparison." It's not a price comparison per se, but a comparison of how the prices compare after feature differences are taken into account.

I created it because I was tired of seeing price comparisons where, for example, one car had standard leather interior and sunroof while the second car had neither. The additional features should be worth something. If they aren't worth something to you, then just set their values to zero.

[Visiting_Guest]

i got ya, and see where you are coming from.

its kinda like when companies buy certain brands and strip them down to the frame, to evaluate costs of construction, i feel like you are doing the same thing with vehicles certain worth. its cool

[mkaresh]

I do need to make it clearer. Believe me, anything you guys don't understand at least half the visitors to my site don't understand, probably more.

I have been told that this tool is similar to tools manufacturers pay the big bucks for, except mine is better and is provided for free.

I did recently add tool tips to lots of things, but apparently these didn't help much.

[Visiting_Guest]

I do need to make it clearer. Believe me, anything you guys don't understand at least half the visitors to my site don't understand, probably more.

I have been told that this tool is similar to tools manufacturers pay the big bucks for, except mine is better and is provided for free.

I did recently add tool tips to lots of things, but apparently these didn't help much.

I would market your site in those aspects that you just listed. It seems much more useful for a manufacturer than for a consumer. I think it is not what the average shopper is looking for and is beyond the needs of people who just want some real-life price comparisons to what they can expect when they head to the dealer. T

he jargon you use throughout the site really doesnt connect with the shopper and are terms we've really never seen before "standard values", feature-sets, feature-values, and setting values is rather technical.

I gotta be honest, when i went on there to compare an RDX to the CX-7, i had no idea what I was doing when i selected the options myself.

But good look, some more tuning you may have a serious product, just not for the consumer, yet

[mkaresh]

There's clearly some work that needs to be done. To me it seemed rather simple: select the features you want, the program does the heavy lifting. But apparently not.

Just a couple weeks ago I was debating whether to aim the site at a general audience or at people who are really into sifting through data. I get emails from the latter sort as well. The question is how many of them are out there.