Edmunds.com launched a new product Wednesday that will allow dealers to connect with consumers looking to appraise their vehicles — and potentially generate used-car inventory and new leads for the dealer.

So, how does Edmunds MyAppraise work?

It begins by connecting with consumers who are already logging onto Edmunds (either by mobile or desktop device) to get the True Market Value of their respective cars.

If one of those users wants to sell his or her car, he or she can choose to request offers from local dealers partnered with Edmunds. The consumer enters the VIN and answers a few questions about the car’s condition through the tool, and he or she is also asked to photograph the vehicle at specific angles.

The latter, Edmunds says, helps dealers verify the condition of the car and generate a more accurate estimate of its value.

Dealers are then sent the responses, photos and customer contact information. Dealers can respond with a specific quote via text.

 “Edmunds MyAppraise combines many of Edmunds’ most popular car shopping innovations to deliver a concise product that makes it easier for shoppers to trade their vehicles and for dealers to engage these highly-coveted customers,” Edmunds president Seth Berkowitz said in the news release announcing the product. “This isn’t just a lead-generation product: It also gives dealers a high-tech platform to deliver the customer service experience that consumers have come to expect in this era of mobile commerce.”

Berkowitz, joined by Edmunds executive director of product development David Robinson, said in a follow-up interview with Auto Remarketing that beyond simply receiving a “benchmark value,” consumers are interested in getting something that’s more “directional.”

In other words, what is a dealer actually going to pay for that car?

Roughly 500,000 people a month use Edmunds.com to appraise their vehicles, the company said.

And that may even be a low estimate. In recent months, Berkowitz said, there have been around 600,000 people looking for appraisals. During peak months, that could approach 800,000.

And here’s the thing: though they’ll still spend time researching and so forth, only about 2 percent of the appraisal traffic will submit a lead to the dealer, the Edmunds execs told Auto Remarketing.

Part of the potential for Edmunds MyAppraise is for dealers to be able to further engage that appraisal traffic. But again, as Berkowitz notes, it’s not just about lead-generation.

Consumers are expecting a quicker process when it comes to the appraisal, something one might find in the CarMax model, they noted. Through this product, Edmunds aims to help dealers bring more of that expediency.

And furthermore, the goal is that dealers, through this product, would get to see these potential trade-in vehicles before they end up hitting the used-car market, the Edmunds leaders said.