Trader Desk, which helps dealers to maximise potential online sales, links to several consumer sourcing sites including Auto Trader, Exchange & Mart, Fish 4 Cars, Autobytel, Yahoo and Glass's website, Virtual Showroom. Dealers choose the sites where they wish to display vehicles.
Graham Elmer, Glass's commercial manager, said: “Trader Desk simplifies the process for dealers wanting to advertise their vehicles on the internet.
“They enter the vehicles' details, add historic and price information and attach a digital image of the actual car with the vehicle record.
“We know from experience that a potential customer is far more likely to pursue a vehicle if a photo of the vehicle rather than a library picture or no image is attached,” he added.
“The internet will soon be one of the primary methods for dealers to advertise stock, reaching a wider audience than traditional methods.”
Trader Desk is installed in nearly 500 franchised and independent dealers in the UK. In an extension of its internet strategy, Glass's has put its Consumer Valuation Service online through the websites of Abbey National, Autobytel, CarSource, Peugeot and IC24. Customers enter the car valuation service through links on the sites and are guided through the process, selecting make, model, mileage and year of registration.
The service will arm consumers with up-to-date valuations that can be used when negotiating part-exchange prices with dealers.
Jane Bloore, Glass's director, consumer groups, said: “Motorists are usually unaware of the true worth of the car and tend to over-estimate its part-exchange value. These expectations can lead to fraught or aborted transactions where neither the consumer nor the dealer sees any benefit.
“We aim to eradicate the guesswork and remove the uncertainty.”
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