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Wednesday, October 21, 2009
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Issue 44
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VOLUME 3
ISSUE 44
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News and Industry Trends
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Auction prices, conversion rates fall in Sept.
The used vehicle market seemed to take a break last month from its "very robust" performance throughout most of 2009, with auction prices and conversion rates declining as dealers grew more conservative in their inventory management strategies in light of tight working capital availability, said Tom Kontos, executive vice president at ADESA Auctions. According to ADESA Analytical Services’ monthly analysis, wholesale used vehicle prices in September averaged $9,742 -- a 2.1% decrease from August but a 2.1% increase from September 2008. Generally, prices for the truck segments were harder hit than for the car segments, as corrections following last year’s gasoline price volatility have largely played out
[FULL STORY]
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Move Ahead of your Competitors with Content Based SEO Strategies
By leveraging free and low-cost web publishing platforms, dealers can target any search phrases with effective content-based SEO strategies for Google page one dominance
More info on the Digital Dealer Conference
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Getting to the Inbox is No Longer Enough
What’s hot in e-mail marketing now
More info on the Digital Dealer Conference
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GM: 15 vehicles returned under money-back program
Just a tiny fraction of General Motors customers have returned their cars for refunds under the automaker's heavily advertised money-back guarantee program — and most buyers aren't even choosing to participate in the plan, opting for a rebate instead, The Associated Press reports. About 400 vehicle buyers, or "less than 1 percent" of sales since the program launched, have signed up for GM's 60-day money-back guarantee program, spokesman Tom Henderson said Tuesday. The rest took a $500 rebate, he said. Of those 400 vehicles, just 15 have been returned in the four days since customers could begin doing so, Henderson said. GM launched the money-back guarantee program on Sept. 14 with an advertising blitz, including TV spots starring GM Chairman Ed Whitacre, in a bid to get on-the-fence vehicle buyers to consider GM products after its stint in bankruptcy court this summer. The program runs through Nov. 30 and allows customers to return any new 2009 and 2010 Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC or Buick vehicle for a refund of the purchase price and sales tax if they are unsatisfied with their vehicle.
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Rising prices don’t stop used car shoppers
A quick glance at a used Lincoln Navigator and Samuel Varner already sees what he likes, reports SC.com. “It’s nice, it’s got the power-fold seats, the automatic lift gate. It’s pretty much fully loaded,“ he said, admiring the car he and his wife were considering buying. But he also likes the price, which he expected to be around $20,000 - much less than the $50,000-$55,000 he says a Navigator would cost brand new. The lower price is only one reason Varner is searching for used cars instead of new ones. Many other car shoppers are doing the same, in spite of reports by Manheim Consulting firm that used cars are at their highest value ever. According to the firm’s Used Vehicle Value Index, used car values have risen 6.9-percent in the past year. Dealers say that’s in part because of an increase in demand, but also because of a decrease in supply. Charles Saverance, owner of Saverance Family Auto Center, says this decrease is partly caused by the Cash for Clunkers program. “There were 700,000 vehicles that may have been used as a trade in, that have now been scrapped,“ he said. “They’re off the road.“ But he says the good thing for customers is that now they can get better trade-in value - good news for Varner, who’s trading a car he bought new, and hoping for a good deal in return.
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Study: Car buyers still downsizing
It's been more than a year since gas prices soared above the $4 per gallon mark and fell back to earth, but Americans are still trading their way out of their large cars, U.S. News & World Reports writes this week. A pair of new studies show that this trend has taken hold particularly among those who drive luxury cars. Autoblog reports, "According to a new study...fewer premium buyers are moving up and more buyers are actually moving down." As recently as 2006, according to a study compiled by the Power Information Network, nearly 16% of new car buyers moved up, trading in a compact car to buy a midsize. "But through the first half of this year, only about 11% did so. And compared to 2006, this year two other categories showed 4% gains: people moving from large to mid-sized cars, and those moving from mid-sized to compact cars." A second study showed similar results. Motor Authority reports, "According to a study by J.D. Power and Associates, the trend of luxury buyers trading in their full-sized cars for their mid-size siblings has increased from 12.6 to 16.2 percent over the last three years, while those going from mid-sized to compact premium cars have increased similarly from 10.8 to 14.8 percent."
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DealerGenius.com hits milestone
DealerGenius.com says it has expanded the vehicle listings in its dealer-to-dealer Aged Inventory Marketplace to include more than 65,000 vehicles from a network of over 1,100 dealers nationwide. DealerGenius.com connects dealerships that are buying inventory with dealerships that are selling inventory, with a particular focus on aged new and used vehicles. The company says selling dealers gain extra exposure for vehicles they need to sell while avoiding the high costs of brokers and auctions, while buying dealers get access to a list of vehicles they can get at or below wholesale pricing.
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Smart Auction in deal with CenterOne Financial Services
SmartAuction, a remarketing industry wholesale auction Web site, has signed a deal with CenterOne Financial Services LLC to begin listing its off-lease vehicles for sale. CenterOne is the division of World Omni Financial Corp. that handles remarketing for numerous financial organizations and captives including Southeast Toyota Finance (SETF).
[FULL STORY]
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CDMdata, DealerTrack announce 'enhanced strategic relationship'
CDMdata, Inc., a Kelley Blue Book company and DealerTrack, Inc., a provider of on-demand software and data solutions for the U.S. automotive retail industry, announced an enhanced strategic relationship. The companies said they will work together to leverage DealerTrack`s vehicle inventory data and analytics integrating CDMdata`s Internet marketing experience and Kelley Blue Book`s marketing and valuation expertise.
[FULL STORY]
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ALG releases residual value analysis tool
Automotive Lease Guide (ALG), a provider of on-demand software and data solutions for the U.S. automotive retail industry, today announced the addition of monthly residual value updates to its Residual Risk Analysis tool, which is used by vehicle lessors to analyze their automotive lease portfolio risk.
[FULL STORY]
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Stop Chasing Shiny Objects
How to get ahead and stay ahead by changing the way you manage everything about your Internet marketing
More info on the Digital Dealer Conference
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Selection, Hiring, Orientation, and Training
Giving new hires a S.H.O.T. to be successful in the Internet department
More info on the Digital Dealer Conference
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In Dealer magazine
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Do you know how to measure online success?
by Dale Pollak
I believe there is a “black hole” at many dealerships due to a lack of understanding around the statistics that .jpg?i=102309120907) measure whether or not a store’s online merchandising of used vehicle inventory is hitting the mark. I have dug into the performance of many velocity-minded dealerships in order to come up with some reliable benchmarks that will help answer the “How do we know we’re doing a good job?” question I hear from decision makers who rely on third-party sites like AutoTrader.com and Cars.com to help them retail their used vehicle inventories. I selected a sample of over 100 dealerships across the country that retail around 100 vehicles a month. I limited my analysis to their performance on AutoTrader.com because the investments made on this site are typically larger than those made on Cars.com. I then evaluated the number of Search Results Pages (SRPs) and Vehicle Detail Pages (VDPs) each of these stores achieved over a three-month period. Read more
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