Motor industry marketing company CarsAlive has introduced a 'Find It For Me' service that will identify the right car and pinpoint the appropriate dealer for customers who struggle with web searches or do not have the time to 'surf'. CarsAlive will also alert dealers to buyers matched to used cars.

The service is free to buyers and available by freephone, fax, email or on-line at www.carsalive.com. Requests are automatically matched against a database of over 34,000 used cars from all manufacturers, with the database updated with new stock every hour. CarsAlive also supports 1,003 franchised dealers.

Buyers can contact dealers or dealers can make direct contact with the buyers they wish to help. All leads are qualified, with buyers specifying the makes and models they are looking for and the distance they are prepared to travel. No commission is charged on introductions regardless of the outcome.

Toby Thompson, managing director of CarsAlive, said: "It might seem perverse for an essentially web-based service to offer telephone and fax searches for used cars, but we want to ensure that prospective car buyers using CarsAlive can find their ideal car by any method they like.

"It would be wrong to undervalue the buying power of people who either don't wish to use, or don't have access to a PC. So we will provide a helping hand by doing the mouse work and offering an alternative route into our dealer partners' showrooms.”

Thompson said that the Find It For Me service was an extension of his company's policy of providing direct support for used car buyers, and enhancing its service to dealers. And because, he said, CarsAlive represents only franchised dealers, they cannot be undersold by private or non-approved traders at any stage.

"Find It For Me is a consumer-facing initiative, but our prime objective is to ensure our dealer customers reap the rewards of capturing all possible prospects," added Thompson.

These leads are now part of a package including advertising of a franchised dealer's entire stock, all administration, referrals and unlimited dealer management service access for a single weekly, monthly or annual fee.

CarsAlive was launched in February 2001 working exclusively with franchised dealers selling quality used cars.