JudgeService has announced a major partnership with Auto Trader to offer independent dealer reviews.

The review service developed exclusively for the motor trade is expected to help inform consumers when they are buying a car, and boost enquiries at the search listings stage.

To date, the company has recorded more than 500,000 reviews of over 1,000 dealers across the country and has recently expanded its offices and doubled its researchers to meet an increasing demand.

Dale Woodley, sales director at JudgeService, said: “Online reviews are becoming increasingly important for dealers in understanding their clients’ needs and developing their business strategies and staff training.

“The findings from Auto Trader’s research show just how much buyers value car reviews to help them make an informed decision so this partnership with Auto Trader will help to increase conversions and boost dealers’ sales.”

Auto Trader’s Annual Car Buying Research showed that some 30% of people surveyed had bought a car based on dealer reviews or recommendations by family and friends, an estimated two million overall when applied to the 7.2m used cars bought in the UK in 2015.

The data also showed that visitors spend around ten per cent more time on the pages of dealers that show reviews on Auto Trader compared to those that do not.

Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s retailer and consumer product director, said: “Reviews and testimonials are a great way for dealers to build trust with consumers. 

“Our research highlights just how important factors like having access to dealer reviews, transparent pricing and clear information on the vehicle and history checks are to car buyers.

“The car buying process is changing for consumers, mirrored in other sectors where there’s total transparency.

“Ultimately for dealers to increase levels of trust with consumers, they need to provide far more transparency throughout the process and reviews are a great start.”