ADESA announced another upgrade to its online vehicle remarketing platform, ADESA.com, on Wednesday. With the enhancement, registered dealers are able to pinpoint the amount of credit they have available from Automotive Finance Corp. as soon as they log in and prior to making any bids.
The new online offering is available on ADESA DealerBlock, a platform where dealers can search, bid and buy inventory 24-7 through buy-now pricing or special bid-now events.
ADESA explained that other floor plan finance companies can be used as payment options on ADESA.com, but AFC is the only one to instantly display how much credit the dealer has available.
“This transparency not only simplifies the purchase process for dealers, but also allows them to make more strategic buying decisions,” said ADESA president and chief executive officer Stéphane St-Hilaire. “We will continue to leverage partnerships across our business units and utilize technology to provide business solutions for our customers and create a more efficient online remarketing experience.”
Consumers, dealers and buyers have yet another way to connect with each other.
AutoTrader.com announced Wednesday that shoppers can now utilize the Trade-in Marketplace when looking to sell their used vehicle from the convenience of their smartphones.
AutoTrader.com has integrated the Trade-in Marketplace tool across all of its mobile properties.
Users can now access the tool to generate the site’s Instant Cash Offer via the mobile site m.autotrade.com, or the AutoTrader.com apps on the iPhone or Android platforms.
“One of the first things car shoppers want to know is how much they can get for their current vehicles,” said Tom Fyrer, general manager of AutoTrader.com’s Trade-In Marketplace. “By bringing the Trade-In Marketplace to AutoTrader’s mobile properties, we are making it easier than ever for them to get an Instant Cash Offer whenever and wherever they happen to be.”
The company also shared that this new integration comes at a time when mobile traffic to the AutoTrader.com site has shown significant increases.
In fact, since the beginning of the year, the site has experienced double-digit gains in mobile traffic growth every month, with over one third of the monthly unique visitors accessing the site from a mobile device.
“At AutoTrader.com, our goal is to connect buyers and sellers, and the Trade-In Marketplace has been a key factor in further enabling us to accomplish that,” Fyrer continued. “Each month, more than 250,000 Instant Cash Offers are generated through the Trade-In Marketplace, and we believe that this mobile integration will provide dealers with even more opportunities to engage consumers who are looking to trade-in or sell their vehicles.”
ADESA has launched a custom vehicle remarketing website for franchised dealers within the Prestige group. Through the site — prestigedealerdirect.com — Prestige dealers can view and buy cars in an online closed auction prior to the cars heading to open sales.
“We are pleased to expand our partnership and grow Prestige’s business both online and in lane,” said Tim Zierden, ADESA senior vice president of dealer sales and services. “We are excited to offer our dealers even more opportunities to find the inventory they need from a trusted source.”
Supporting the website is a partnership between ADESA and Prestige, which has dealerships in New Jersey and Connecticut.
“This new site offers seamless functionality and convenience for dealers to find high-quality, one-owner, competitively priced vehicles complete with a condition report,” said Prestige vice president Chris Turner. “Prestige has built a reputation as a high-percentage seller. We plan to remarket approximately 7,500 units this year with ADESA.”
Zierden added, “This is a great example of ADESA working to understand our customers’ needs and combining our industry-leading technology and our physical auction expertise to provide a complete remarketing solution.”
Prestige also has a new weekly open sale each Tuesday, where dealers buy used inventory via ADESA DealerBlock. Any no-sale cars are then pre-certified and head to the Thursday physical sale at ADESA New Jersey.
This week, Black Book editorial director Ricky Beggs sat down with International Automotive Remarketers Alliance president Levi McCoy, and IARA executive director Tony Long for the second time to discuss developments in the pre-owned market, including multiplatform selling.
This week’s “Beggs on the Used Car Market” video report touched on insight from the two IARA leaders on the current strength of the market, supply levels, technology, education and more.
Beggs began by focusing on used supply, as the recent influx of off-rental vehicles are flooding the wholesale market these days.
McCoy began by pointing out a comment Manheim senior vice president and chief strategy officer Joe George made at the recent NAAA/CAR/IARA event in Las Vegas. George asked the industry: it's raining cars, now what do we do?
McCoy said the increased used supply is “a good thing, but there could be downside to that, like a supply-and- demand type of situation. But we expect strong volume, at least for now.
“We had a strong first quarter with lots of ordering (on the fleet side of the business), which means we will eventually have those cars on the remarketing side. Q1 has been good, and we expect continued success during the rest of the year,” McCoy continued.
He predicted prices will remain strong for 2014, allowing for seasonal adjustments, of course.
Last week, market conditions continued to bring softer values in both the car and truck segments after tax-season highs, said Beggs. Last week, only 41 percent of the price changes were increases, which marks the lowest percentage of price hikes since the week ending Feb. 21.
The conversation then switched to another hot topic in the business: multiplatform selling.
Long explained that the biggest implication of the switch to multiplatform selling is increased transaction speed.
“Multiplatform selling and the implications of AutoGrade bringing consistency to that process, is a major thing … the one big thing that I think is going to make a difference is speed. Everything is going to be so much faster with the implementation of multiplatform,” Long said.
“We are going to find outlets for the vehicles that maybe haven’t found an outlet before, and they are going to find them faster. Buyers are going to be able to fill their retail orders in a much quicker manner,” he continued.
He explained with this increased speed, challenges will moste likely pop up in the transportation and inspection side of the business.
“There are a lot of moving parts in this, and it is going to affect the market, but overall … I think this will make it better for everyone in meeting the needs of the customers and moving those vehicles a little quicker than we’ve been able to. Speed is the word right now,” Long said.
To watch the full interview, see the latest “Beggs on the Used Car Market” video report above.
To check out part one of Beggs' interview with IARA leaders, see the Auto Remarketing story below:
IARA Leadership Enthused About Current Growth Path
Auction Edge’s board announced Monday that Scott Finkle is taking on the role of company president. As the startup phase for the auction technology company is now finished, former chief executive officer David Weld — a start-up specialist — has left Auction Edge, the company said.
Finkle’s most recent post was as president of Auction Edge’s AuctionPipeline division.
“Scott has a proven track record of innovation and meeting the technology needs and expectations of the independent auctions,” said Bob McConkey, chairman of the board at Auction Edge.
“He knows this industry and has been responsible for the evolution of AuctionPipeline and its integration with Auction Edge since day one,” added McConkey.
In his new role leading Auction Edge, Finkle will be called to further develop its existing product line, and his duties also include prioritizing and managing new industry initiatives, the company noted.
“I look forward to working with our auctions and ensuring that Auction Edge’s tools enhance their ability to be efficient, competitive and profitable,” Finkle said.
