A consumer-focused new-car price and tracking website that aims to give transparent – and free – data on prices of vehicles around the country has been launched.

In what is believed to be a first, www.thebeep.com.au will provide accurate drive-away prices on 250 models from major brands at no cost to the new-car buyer. The pricing is adjusted for each state and territory and includes specific drive away prices for the grade of car. 

It said it shows the exact manufacturer’s recommended drive away for all major brands and that “nobody else collates and displays this data like us, let alone offers it for free to consumers.” 

The result is a site that will help new-car buyers find the best deal and save a lot of money and time.

Former Mercedes-Benz exec Robert Leigh – who has launched the site with business partner Shane Riley – said new-vehicle pricing was often cited by prospective motorists as a confusing, yet important, issue.

“Prices are constantly changing and buyers have few reference points to judge value, especially any price differences between the states,” he said.

“We also offer a promotional offers database which contains every car offer, promotion and sales campaign – both currently available and what’s been offered in the past.” 

Mr Leigh said that central to The Beep is the vehicle price tracker that shows drive away pricing in each state and territory.

“To help consumers access data fast, vehicle pricing is displayed in both a chart and data table form and optimised for viewing on any device or platform,” he said.

“The latest up-to-date vehicle pricing can easily be found alongside a historical view of price changes over a selectable time period (one year, six months, one month or year-to-date). 

The Beep founders L to R: Robert Leigh and Shane Riley

“From here consumers can discover powerful pricing trends from high points, low points, averages and a quick snapshot view to see if they are getting the best possible offer from the dealer or car maker in seconds.
“Pricing data is also shown on an aggregated level with the average drive-away price available for the total market (all brands combined) and for more than 30 individual car brands. 

‘This provides a unique view as to how the market is trending and how affordable certain brands are. For example, the top three brands with the largest average purchase price increases are Ford (up 26.1 per cent); Subaru (up 9.4 per cent); and Hyundai (up 9.1 per cent).

“The top three with the lowest price changes are Alfa Romeo (down 9.1 per cent); Tesla (down 7.6 per cent); and Volvo (down 2.0 per cent).”

The Beep tracks the estimated drive-away price of all major car brands.

“Buyers can easily find the current vehicle price, how that price has changed historically – either up or down – and compare it across other models,” Mr Leigh said. 

“For example, our data shows that Tesla prices over the past year have fallen which is against the industry trend of increasing.

“It also shows the price changes between successive model years, where a new model comes onto the market at a premium to the outgoing model, so buyers can be aware of how much extra it will cost to get the latest version.”

Mr Leigh said all the data is on the one website and in an easily searchable form “so you don’t have to go hunting around for the best deals.”

“The site also includes every sales campaign and offer made by the OEM on the listed models, including historic deals such as servicing incentives,” he said.

“Buyers can get an accurate picture of pricing and sales campaigns which can be used to compare prospective cars and, when it comes to placing the order, give them the edge to help negotiate the final price of the car,” he said

Mr Leigh said the main source of income would be through planned advertising with dealers, OEMs & suppliers although they are keen to keep the site uncluttered to retain its simplicity. 

“We will also work with OEMs to provide data analysis.”