Although the used-car industry has been inundated with inventory sourcing technologies and alternative methods to find vehicles, an overwhelming portion of the nation’s top dealers focusing on the late-model market say they still turn to the physical auction to shore up used-supply needs.

In fact, 85 percent of the Pre-Owned Automobile Dealers Alliance members said they utilize the physical auctions as an inventory source, while a little less than 80 percent utilize the Web, which was the second-most popular sourcing option among these dealers.

This finding is just one of the many nuggets of information included in the 2011 Pre-Owned Market Intelligence Report from POADA, which begins with a comprehensive analysis on how some of the industry’s top used-car dealers run their respective businesses.

Gleaning information from its annual survey of members, POADA shares everything from details on inventory numbers and turn times for POADA members to pricing and sourcing methods in the certified pre-owned market.

After recapping the data from its member survey, the POADA report then goes into industry analyses from various alliance partners, including Ally, Carfax, Manheim and Autodata’s Motor Intelligence.

POADA reached out to these partners for their respective insights and information, which includes details on specific facets of the car business like the certified pre-owned, new-car and wholesale markets.

All told, the 2011 Pre-Owned Market Intelligence Report is designed to show members not only how they compare to their peers, but also offer them a picture of the overall used-car landscape.

“We’re very encouraged to see the growth that POADA’s membership and offerings have made in the last two years, and we’re equally as excited to launch this new report,” said POADA director Bill Zadeits. “The Pre-Owned Market Intelligence Report sheds light on a variety of pre-owned industry trends and helps dealers and others in the industry gain a better understanding of where they stand among their peers, while also helping them learn more about the dynamics occurring within the used-car market.”

How POADA Dealers Run Businesses

Sharing further details about how POADA dealers operate, one arena the report delves into is sales figures.

The survey results show that more than a third of POADA dealers, or 34.7 percent, typically sell 11 to 25 used vehicles per month, which was a higher proportion than any other sales range.

When it comes to finding used cars, a substantial amount of POADA members also said they lean on other dealers for inventory sourcing, though not as much as they use physical auctions or the Web. To a lesser extent, POADA members said they also use direct purchase programs and other avenues.

Once they have the vehicles on their lots, POADA dealers, to a large extent (about two-thirds), price their vehicles between $10,000 and $20,000.

As far as marketing their pre-owned inventory, the most popular option was the Internet, followed by newspapers.

These are just a few of the findings from the survey. More can be found in the report.

POADA will be emailing members a copy of the report later this month. To receive the report, however, you must first become a member. Membership is free for dealers.

To learn more about POADA or to join, visit www.poada.biz.