OPENLANE Kicks Off Several Special Offerings at NADA

OPENLANE announced a collaborative partnership with automotive solutions provider Auction123 to create the Virtual Showroom Service. This new service is a lead generation tool that enables participating dealers to display thousands of off-lease, fleet, rental, repossessed and dealer-consigned vehicles listed on OPENLANE.com each day on their own websites.

Powered by Auction 123, OPENLANE’s Virtual Showroom Service seamlessly integrates with the participating dealer’s existing website, enabling the dealership to display a searchable database of vehicles that have been recently listed for sale on OPENLANE’s wholesale, open auction website, according to officials. 

The participating dealer can filter thousands of recently listed off-lease, fleet, rental, repossessed and dealer-consigned vehicles by multiple attributes, including geographic location, year, make, model, price and distance. This enables the participating dealerships to tailor the service to their own market and display on their existing website only those vehicles that best suit their particular customer base, according to the company. 

Because OPENLANE.com is a purely wholesale auction, the wholesale auction price is not displayed through the Virtual Showroom Service and retail customers cannot purchase vehicles through the OPENLANE.com open auction. Instead, the participating dealer uses the Virtual Showroom Service as a lead generation tool. If a retail consumer expresses interest regarding a vehicle to the dealer, the dealer handles all communications and questions directly with the potential customer.  

The participating dealer would then purchase the vehicle through the OPENLANE.com open auction just as the dealer would for any other vehicle purchased through the auction. 

Officials clarified that “The dealer’s purchase of the vehicle cannot be contingent on the retail customer’s interest in or subsequent purchase of the vehicle. In addition, because the OPENLANE.com open auction is a live auction, there is no guarantee that the desired vehicle will be available for purchase at the time the dealer elects to purchase it.”  

“We’re really excited to be partnering with Auction123 to offer this new lead generation service to dealers,” said Andrew Iorgulescu, vice president of business development at OPENLANE. The Virtual Showroom service is just one of a growing number of innovative technology solutions that OPENLANE will introduce this year to help make it easier for dealers to buy and sell used vehicles.”

“Auction123 aims to consistently produce technology that assists dealers in streamlining their businesses and provides their customers easier ways to find the vehicles they want,” said Auction123 chief executive officer Ray Basha. “By creating the Virtual Showroom service with OPENLANE, we’ve created a powerful lead generation tool for dealers.”

As a special incentive for the National Automobile Dealers Association’s convention, dealers who sign up for the Virtual Showroom Service at NADA will receive the first month of service in the program free, with a three month commitment and monthly service fee of $349/month after the first month of service. 

OPENLANE will also be presenting demonstrations of the service at booth 4173N at NADA.