Case Study: Honda Dealership Optimizes Operations with the Trade-In Marketplace

ATLANTA, May 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoTrader.com® today released a new case study, which details how an Oregon dealership uses the Trade-In Marketplace™ to enhance its trade-in process and acquire inventory. Based in Wilsonville, Oregon, Parker Johnstone's Wilsonville Honda is a franchise dealership that markets primarily within a 50-mile radius of Portland. Since October 2010, Trade-In Marketplace has played a pivotal role in the dealership's integrated trade-in and sales process, helping it to enhance the consumer's dealership experience, as well as providing the dealership with a method to acquire used inventory without having to rely solely on auctions.

At Wilsonville Honda, the Trade-In Marketplace is so ingrained into the dealership's in-store process that the first thing customer service representatives (CSRs) do when discussing a trade-in value with consumers is to generate an offer through the Trade-In Marketplace. By using the tool for each and every trade, Wilsonville Honda is able to provide visibility into how it arrives at a trade-in offer amount, which helps build rapport with consumers. 

"Generating a Trade-In Marketplace quote is the first thing the CSRs do and it's really a major part of the car deal because obviously the first thing people want to do on the four-square is find out what their car is worth," said Larry Skreen, business development manager at Wilsonville Honda, adding that the Trade-In Marketplace helps them involve the consumer in the process: "There is no coming through the used car manager and whispering. It is all electronic and visible to the consumer from the moment they first step into the lobby."

Trade-In Marketplace is an AutoTrader.com vehicle valuation tool accessible via links on AutoTrader.com, KBB.com® or participating dealer websites. Select dealerships can also use Trade-In Marketplace in the store to offer consumers visibility into the trade-in valuation process. Consumers and/or dealership representatives populate the Trade-In Marketplace form with detailed vehicle information, and the tool generates an instant cash offer, valid for 72 hours, redeemable at the dealership.

"When Trade-In Marketplace came out, we were excited because it provided a valuation that we can validate – and especially because it's an instant cash offer and not just our opinion. An opinion is only worth what is behind it, and when it's backed by an actual cash offer, it's a much more powerful tool for us," added Bob Moore, general sales manager at Wilsonville Honda.

Wilsonville Honda's story becomes even more compelling due to the fact it maintains an average monthly sales volume of 80 and 100 new vehicles and 40-50 used vehicles, despite doing virtually no traditional advertising and having no drive-by traffic. Additionally, the dealership uses trade-ins as its primary source of used vehicle inventory acquisition, as opposed to relying heavily on other methods like going to auctions.

Juan Flores, director of operations for AutoTrader.com's Trade-In Marketplace, commented, "A tool is only as strong as the processes built around it, and Wilsonville Honda is a prime example of how a dealership can experience a multitude of benefits from the Trade-In Marketplace when it is fully ingrained into the dealership's operations and in-store experience for consumers."

Click here to read the full case study. For more information about Trade-In Marketplace and to access a comprehensive white paper released earlier this year that details how dealers can align a tool like the Trade-In Marketplace with their in-store processes, visit TIMforDealers.AutoTrader.com.

About Trade-In Marketplace

AutoTrader.com's Trade-In Marketplace is the only tool available in the market today that gives consumers an instant offer on their used cars while setting expectations on the trade-in value of their vehicle. For consumers, Trade-In Marketplace is a free resource that offers a no-haggle way to get an instant offer on their car, sight unseen, which they can take to a participating dealership to turn the offer into cash or use it toward the down payment on another car. To be a participating dealer in the Trade-In Marketplace program, dealers pay a monthly subscription that gives them access to consumers who generate a trade-in valuation through the tool. Instant Cash Offers provided through Trade-In Marketplace are calculated and generated by an AutoTrader.com third-party vendor using an algorithm that takes into account local market data, including what other dealers in the market would be willing to pay for the vehicle on trade. Participating Trade-In Marketplace dealers do not have any input or influence on the trade-in value generated by the tool. The third-party vendor assumes the risk on behalf of participating dealers that the vehicle will be worth at least the amount of the Instant Cash Offer, and in return, receives a share of the overall subscription revenues generated by the program.

Initially launched in a few select markets in June 2009, Trade-In Marketplace became available nationwide in October 2010. One year later, AutoTrader.com partnered with Kelley Blue Book, a subsidiary of AutoTrader Group™, to bring Trade-In Marketplace to the KBB.com website. For more information on the Trade-In Marketplace program, dealers can visit TIMforDealers.AutoTrader.com or speak with their AutoTrader.com representative.

About AutoTrader.com

Created in 1997, Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com is the Internet's ultimate automotive marketplace. As a leading resource for car shoppers and sellers, AutoTrader.com aggregates millions of new, used and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of dealers and private sellers and provides expert articles and reviews. AutoTrader.com, which also operates the AutoTraderClassics.com auto marketing brand, is wholly owned by AutoTrader Group. Additionally, AutoTrader Group owns Kelley Blue Book (KBB.com®) as well as companies that provide a full suite of software tools that help dealers and manufacturers manage their inventory and advertising online: vAuto®, HomeNet Automotive®, VinSolutions®, AIS Rebates™, Genius Labs® and Haystak™. AutoTrader Group is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. For more information, please visit http://press.autotrader.com

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SOURCE AutoTrader.com