Competitor comparison
AutoMarketIQ vs MarketScan (S&P Global)
OEM incentive and desking platform from S&P Global.
The short answer
MarketScan and AutoMarketIQ solve different problems and are complementary rather than substitutes. MarketScan is a desking and incentive-stacking tool — given a customer and a vehicle, it tells you what payments and rebate combinations are theoretically available. AutoMarketIQ is a competitive intelligence tool — it tells you what buyers actually paid at competitor stores last week, with the redacted deal sheet attached. If you only have budget for one, AutoMarketIQ is the right pick for dealers whose primary problem is competitive pricing rather than payment structuring.
At-a-glance comparison
How AutoMarketIQ and MarketScan compare across the capabilities new-car dealers actually use day to day.
| Capability | AutoMarketIQ | MarketScan |
|---|---|---|
| Shows actual buyer-paid selling price | Yes | Partial |
| Doc fees and dealer add-ons visible | Yes | No |
| Redacted deal sheets as source documents | Yes | No |
| Named-dealer competitor comps | Yes | No |
| Dealer-level (named stores) granularity | Yes | No |
| Daily transaction freshness | Yes | Partial |
| Accessible to single-point dealers | Yes | Limited |
| No DMS integration required | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial available | Yes | No |
| Month-to-month, no contract | Yes | No |
Data source for MarketScan: OEM-provided rebate and incentive feeds; manufacturer program data.
Where MarketScan is strong
MarketScan's data quality on the incentive side is the best in the industry. The platform pulls program details directly from OEM feeds, so when your desk manager is trying to figure out which APR bonus stacks with which loyalty rebate on a specific configuration, MarketScan is the canonical source. The desking workflow is built around the moment of structuring a deal — payment, residual, money factor, lender selection — and it's hard to beat for that specific job.
For finance and desk managers at higher-volume stores who structure a lot of complex stacks across multiple OEMs, MarketScan saves real time and surfaces eligibility rules that are easy to miss. It's a tool for the back of the desk, not the front.
- Authoritative OEM incentive data directly from manufacturers
- Deep support for desking and payment calculation
- Strong for finance managers and desk managers structuring a live deal
Where MarketScan falls short
MarketScan's data is about what's possible, not what's happening. It tells you the rebate and APR programs the OEM is currently running and how they can be combined; it does not tell you that the Honda store across town is consistently netting $3,200 below MSRP on Civics this month, or that they're charging a $799 doc fee, or that they're stacking the loyalty rebate with the APR bonus more aggressively than your store is.
For competitive pricing decisions — where should we list this Tacoma, what should our weekly floor be, is this customer's claim of a $38,100 deal believable — MarketScan doesn't have the data because that's not the product it's built to be. It's a desking tool, not a competitive intelligence tool.
- Does not show what competitor dealers actually sold at
- No visibility into specific competitor doc fees or add-on strategies
- No source documents from real transactions
- Competitive benchmarking is not the core use case
Where AutoMarketIQ fits
AutoMarketIQ is the competitive-pricing complement to MarketScan's desking. The GSM setting weekly floors needs to know what competitor stores are actually closing at; MarketScan can't answer that because that data lives in retail transactions, not OEM incentive feeds. The internet manager auditing lead-claim plausibility needs to know typical sold prices by VIN-similar in the metro; again, that's a retail-transaction question.
Dealers who can run both tools generally do, and they slot together cleanly: MarketScan structures the back-of-desk deal, AutoMarketIQ sets the front-of-desk pricing target. Dealers who can only afford one and whose primary pain point is competitive pricing — not payment structuring — choose AutoMarketIQ. The single-point and small-group dealer market is exactly where MarketScan's enterprise pricing model becomes a barrier.
How this affects specific roles inside the dealership: General Managers, GSMs / Desk Managers, New Car Managers, Internet Managers.
What AutoMarketIQ adds
- Competitor-specific selling prices, not payment scenarios
- Visibility into actual discount-off-MSRP patterns at named stores
- Doc fee and add-on benchmarks from real deal sheets
- Complements MarketScan — use both
MarketScan best fits: Dealers who need to structure payments and stack OEM incentives on live deals.
Pricing comparison
MarketScan
Enterprise contracts, typically bundled with other S&P Global automotive products. Pricing varies significantly by store count, OEM coverage, and contract length; published pricing is not available.
AutoMarketIQ
$149/month, month-to-month, no contract, 7-day free trial
MarketScan and AutoMarketIQ are priced for different buyers. MarketScan targets enterprise contracts with comprehensive OEM data coverage. AutoMarketIQ targets a single specific job — competitive pricing intelligence — at a price point that single-point dealers can absorb without procurement.
Switching from MarketScan
AutoMarketIQ is not a desking tool and does not replace MarketScan's payment-structuring functionality. Dealers who use MarketScan for desking should keep it; AutoMarketIQ adds the competitive-pricing layer MarketScan doesn't provide. Dealers who don't currently use MarketScan and whose primary need is competitive intelligence should start with AutoMarketIQ and add desking only if needed.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need AutoMarketIQ if I already have MarketScan?
They solve different problems. MarketScan tells you what payments you can offer given OEM incentive rules. AutoMarketIQ tells you what your competitors are actually selling at. Dealers who use both can desk a deal with MarketScan and price it with AutoMarketIQ.
Can AutoMarketIQ help with incentive stacking?
AutoMarketIQ shows the actual net effect of stacked incentives in the real transactions you're benchmarking against. You can see, for example, that a specific competitor store has been consistently netting $3,200 below MSRP on a model, which implies the stack they're using. For structuring the stack on your own deal, MarketScan remains the canonical tool.
How is AutoMarketIQ's data different from MarketScan's?
MarketScan's data comes from OEM incentive programs — it tells you what rebates and payment structures are theoretically available. AutoMarketIQ's data comes from verified buyer transactions — it tells you what buyers actually paid at specific competitor stores, including doc fees and add-ons that OEM data never captures.
Is AutoMarketIQ cheaper than MarketScan?
Significantly. AutoMarketIQ Pro is $149/month. MarketScan pricing is typically bundled with other S&P Global products at enterprise contract rates. AutoMarketIQ requires no DMS integration, no enterprise contract, and no OEM approval.
Does AutoMarketIQ replace my desking tool?
No. AutoMarketIQ is not a desking tool. It does not calculate payments, structure leases, or model F&I product attachment. It's a pricing intelligence layer that informs the price you put on the car before the customer ever gets to the desk.
Where does AutoMarketIQ get its data if not from OEMs?
From buyers. AutoMarketIQ collects redacted purchase documentation from consumers who have completed transactions, processes the documents to extract MSRP, selling price, doc fee, rebates, and add-ons, and makes the resulting dataset available to dealer subscribers. There is no OEM relationship and no DMS feed.
How fresh is AutoMarketIQ's transaction data?
AutoMarketIQ processes transactions daily. New deals enter the dataset within hours of submission and review. MarketScan's incentive data refreshes as OEM programs change, which is typically monthly with mid-month adjustments.
Can I see how competitors are stacking rebates on a specific model?
Indirectly, yes. AutoMarketIQ shows the net selling price and the redacted deal sheet, which together imply the stack a competitor used. For example, if a Civic shows $3,200 below MSRP and the deal sheet shows the loyalty + APR bonus combination, you can see that competitor is stacking those two and not the conquest cash. MarketScan tells you which stacks are eligible; AutoMarketIQ tells you which stacks are happening.
See what your competitors actually sold at.
Verified new-car transaction data. 7-day free trial — card required, $149/mo after.
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