LAS VEGAS -

It was announced at the NADA Convention & Expo this weekend that online marketplace Car Lister has teamed up with Black Book for the latter to provide both users and dealer partners of Car Lister with instant vehicle valuation prior to a trade-in or purchase on the platform.

This service will be included in both the Bring Your Best Offer and Dealer-to-Dealer Wholesale elements of Car Lister’s Orion platform.

Car Lister said in its news release that this is designed for “a new level of empowerment for dealers” on the used-car side while also offers greater ease for potential buyers and sellers on the platform.

The trade-in value tool, which is powered by Black Book, allows users to get a value on their trade-in by punching in the VIN or through answering a few questions regarding make, model and condition of the car.

An estimated trade-in value is then provided to the user, along with a nearby participating Car Lister dealer at which to trade in the vehicle.

Car Lister also gives the user a recommended price range for selling the car to another public buyer.

"Since the very beginning, Car Lister has worked to provide something that legacy sites never could — a compelling and user-friendly experience for buying and selling cars," said Bryan Harmon, founder and chief executive officer of DreamWare, the parent company of Car Lister. "This partnership with Black Book furthers that experience by giving consumers and dealers instant access to a vehicle valuation tool that empowers them to take full control of the transaction for the most positive and all-encompassing car-buying experience available."

For those unfamiliar with Car Lister, it aims — as the company puts it — to offer "neutral ground for consumers and dealerships" through its online platform.

Dealers and consumers can communicate with each other without having to exchange personal information until the car purchase is in its final steps. As for how the Black Book partnership helps dealers, Car Lister said it gives them have a clear picture on which cars are ideal to buy from consumers and which are good for wholesaling.

"Accurate reliable vehicle valuation data is critical to the effectiveness of today's online marketplaces for cars and trucks," said Jared Kalfus, Black Book’s senior vice president of sales. "Car Lister’s users will benefit from Black Book's 60 years of valuation accuracy, as the most trusted and widely used source of vehicle information in the industry."