Focused Marketing for Empowering Car Salespeople

What would happen to the car sales industry if it changed it's focus to begin marketing with the sales representatives, rather than the dealership? According to Auto Alliance, in 2015 there were 1.65 million Americans working at car dealerships. Just think of the the untapped resource of marketing individual salespeople as well as the dealerships.

The majority of time customers spend during the car buying process is with their salesperson, and 71% of customers say they bought their vehicle because they liked, trusted and respected their salesperson, according to Jeff Kershner of Dealer Refresh. Now imagine fostering those relationships before the customers even walk on the lot.  

With a personal website, regular blogging, emailing, and social media integration a salesperson can do just that. It is a win for the dealership too, as all leads and sales through their reps ultimately come to them. Failure to encourage and help their salespeople to do so means the dealer is not maximizing their advertising dollars. Remember, buying a car is one of the most expensive and personal purchases that people make, so focusing on building a rapport between a customer and their salesperson is really a no-brainer. Why do you think most dealers don't embrace this potential?

Best Used Car Classified Site #9

Previous post on this topic
Which Classified Site Works Best to Sell Cars #8

Lead #10: It's been a while since I've updated this topic because the leads seem to have dropped off. The person in Lead #9 followed up with a couple of phone calls and set an appointment to come see the car but was a no-show. A lead came in today through the dealer's website from someone who found them in a Google search. No questions about the car, no phone calls, just submitted a credit app. Usually when customers submit an app and don't even ask about a vehicle, that tells me they're shopping around for someone who will approve them with bad credit. Seemed to be the case here, as the dealer told me they had a 380 beacon. Guess the car isn't getting sold today.

Autotrader.com - 1
CraigsList.org - 4
Cars.com - 2
AutoExtra.com - 0
Google Base - 0
A Dealership Website - 2
Kijiji - 1

Best Used Car Classified Site #8

Previous post on this topic
Which Classified Site Works Best to Sell Cars #7

Lead #9: Another lead from Craigs List came in yesterday. This shopper said they ready to buy immediately but had a few questions. They want to know the VIN, location, maintenance records, financing ability, and "more information". I supplied them with the info they requested so we'll see what happens.

Autotrader.com - 1
CraigsList.org - 4
Cars.com - 2
AutoExtra.com - 0
Google Base - 0
A Dealership Website - 1*
Kijiji - 1

* Denotes the lead originated from an affiliated site not listed above

Next Post on this Topic:
Which Classified Site Works Best to Sell Cars #9

Autotrader Producing Smaller Returns, Raising Rates

Once a year there is a post that comes up on Dealer Refresh about Autotrader.com raising rates again, and it always causes a lot of dealer discontent to surface. I've made it clear in the past that I'm not a dealer, and I also worked for Autotrader.com for about two years. There are always people who think dealers should stop complaining about the constant rate hikes, but I am not one of them. Some dealers say the ROI from Autotrader.com is flat at best. Nothing speaks louder than facts and figures, so I decided to take a look at three random dealerships and compare a five-month period from last year to the same five-month period this year, and the proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

The three dealerships chosen at random are in different areas of Virginia between Virginia Beach and the Washington, DC area. Since each has a different number of vehicles on the lot and use different packages with Autotrader.com, I've tried to break everything down to a common denominator: leads per vehicle per month. Here's what I found for these dealerships:

		June through October
		2006	2007	Change
Total Emails:		428	291	(137)
Total Calls:		1634	1292	(342)
Credit Apps:		151	67	(84)
Total Leads:		2213	1650	(563)
Total Vehicles:		1111	849	(262)
Leads/Car/Mo:		1.99	1.94	(0.05)

Big difference? Not really, but over the course of the 5 months examined it does add up. For a dealer with 50 vehicles on the lot each month this translates into 12 less leads over the same period last year. A dealer with 100 vehicles on the lot would see 25 fewer leads over that period. Like I said, not huge numbers, but fewer nonetheless. The important thing to consider is that with fewer leads from the previous year, how is a rate increase justified by Autotrader.com? I submit to you that it is NOT justified, but as the 800-pound gorilla they're doing what they want until the 900-pound gorilla shows up. Is the 900-pounder a Googlerilla? A Cars.comorilla? Time will tell, but it will happen.

Best Used Car Classified Site #7

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Which Classified Site Works Best to Sell Cars #6

Lead #8: Another lead from Craigs List today. This shopper was definitely looking for a deal. They supposedly drove 100 miles to look at another one yesterday - same year/make/model with similar miles. They asked me if they could buy mine for $5500 which is about $2000 below asking price. The justification: they didn't want to drive 100 miles back to conduct the transaction on the other one.

Autotrader.com - 1
CraigsList.org - 3
Cars.com - 2
AutoExtra.com - 0
Google Base - 0
A Dealership Website - 1*
Kijiji - 1

* Denotes the lead originated from an affiliated site not listed above

Next Post on this topic
Which Classified Site Works Best to Sell Cars #8

Best Used Car Classified Site #6

Previous post on this topic
Which Classified Site Works Best to Sell Cars #5

Lead #7: The first lead from Autotrader.com. This lead came in as a credit application. The person who submitted the credit app clicked over to the dealer site from the dealer's "specials" page. Since my vehicle isn't listed on the dealer's specials page, this illustrates one of the benefits of Autotrader.com driving traffic to the dealer website.

Autotrader.com - 1
CraigsList.org - 2
Cars.com - 2
AutoExtra.com - 0
Google Base - 0
A Dealership Website - 1*
Kijiji - 1

* Denotes the lead originated from an affiliated site

Next Post on this Topic

Which Classified Site Works Best to Sell Cars #7

Best Used Car Classified Site #5

Previous Post on this topic

Which Classified Site Works Best to Sell Cars #4

Another day, another lead. I think I just found a vehicle for a third experiment so I'd like to get this one off the "lot" soon.

Lead #6: This guy was looking at the vehicle on the dealer's website and called me direct. Of course I asked him how he got to the dealer's site (which most dealers fail to do) and he said Cars.com. He was looking for a Jeep in the $7000 to $8000 range, had bad credit, and didn't want to put a penny down on the purchase. Perhaps I should become a bookie with all these people calling who can't get financed.

Autotrader.com - 0
CraigsList.org - 2
Cars.com - 2
AutoExtra.com - 0
Google Base - 0
A Dealership Website - 1*
Kijiji - 1

* Denotes the lead originated from an affiliated site

Next Post on this Topic
Which Classified Site Works Best to Sell Cars #6

Best Used Car Classified Site #4

Previous Post on this topic

Which Classified Site Works Best to Sell Cars #3

Pricing has been reduced across all sites to $7599 to see what that does for leads.

Lead #4 Update: The person who I spoke with the other evening did finally submit a credit application through the dealer website, however it was for a different vehicle. Not surprising since a large percentage of shoppers end up in a different vehicle from the one they first inquired about.

Lead #5: Another Craigs List response. This woman called yesterday and told me her entire story about why her credit was bad and that she needed financing. I referred her to the dealer site for an application just like I did for Lead #4, so we'll see if she gets sidetracked into another vehicle too. So far she has not submitted an application, but from what she was telling me it sounds like she should be approved (significant down payment, no repo's, $45k annual salary).

Autotrader.com - 0
CraigsList.org - 2
Cars.com - 1*
AutoExtra.com - 0
Google Base - 0
A Dealership Website - 1*
Kijiji - 1

* Denotes the lead originated from an affiliated site

Next Post on this topic
Which Classified Site Works Best to Sell Cars #5

Which Classified Website Works Best to Sell Cars?

I wrote a post a while back which chronicled my experiment to determine if Autotrader.com or Craigs List would work better to sell a budget car. Craigs List generated more leads than Autotrader, but ultimately I ended up dumping the car on eBay after 6 months. The experiment was informative for me (and hopefully our readers), but it did leave some questions behind. The biggest question I have is that I'm curious if my instinct is correct in assuming Craigs List will do better for the lower budget cars. I've decided to tackle this question through Autotrader vs. Craigs List, Round 2.

This time around I've included a few other classified sites to look at the broader picture. The sites the vehicle will be listed on include:

Autotrader.com
CraigsList.org
Cars.com
AutoExtra.com
Google Base
A Dealership Website
Kijiji

The vehicle is a more desirable vehicle than the last one, and in the "sweet spot" as far as pricing (between $5k and $10k). For this experiment I've purchased a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee. After a couple hundred in parts to fix a couple minor details, sales tax, registration costs, etc., I'm into the thing for about $6000. More than what a dealer would have paid, yes, but I'm a private party so I think I did fairly well.

Vehicle Details:
Total Cost Basis: $6000
108k miles
4.0 Liter, 6 cylinder
4 wheel drive
Fully loaded with all options except sunroof
Brand new tires

I'm listing the selling price at $7850 to start. Sure it's a little high, but if I don't need to sell it quickly, why not start there? Worst case scenario I don't get any action and have to drop the price. I'll be updating this post periodically, so be sure to check back and see....

Which Classified Website Works Best to Sell Cars

See the next post in this series about
Which Classified Site Works Best to Sell Cars #2

Some Selling Problems Seem Worse on eBay Motors

A while back I did an experiment on Craigs List vs. Autotrader.com to see which fared better when selling economy vehicles. The experiment dragged on for about 6 months, so the vehicle was finally listed on eBay Motors to "wholesale" it. Six months of traditional online advertising with no sale, and then 7 days on eBay and it's gone. All good, right? Not necessarily.

The first problem with selling cars on eBay is that you shouldn't expect to get a high sale price unless it's a unique vehicle (classic, exotic, etc.). eBay says it themselves that their marketplace is intended to be a wholesale arena where dealers can sell cars that they would normally run back over the auction block. A dumping ground. That's what I used it for in my experiment so I didn't expect to make a lot of money on the sale. I say this is a problem because a lot of dealers expect to get retail price for their eBay units and it doesn't happen all the time. As long as you go into it knowing what to expect, it's really not a "problem" per se.

The main problem I've had on eBay is the buying customers. It's not too far off from the average customers walking onto a lot, but I do think it's a little worse. The vehicle I sold went for over $1000 below book price. I still made a little money on the deal, the buyer got a good price on the car, everyone was happy. Everyone was happy until a couple of days later, that is. The buyer of my vehicle flew in from about 5 hours away. I picked him up at the airport and drove him to where the car was located. He spent about an hour going over the vehicle inside and out and then was ready to make the deal. We took care of the paperwork, I got my money, and he drove the car 5 hours to his home.

A day or two later I received an email from the gentleman saying he wanted his money back plus travel/hotel expenses he paid to pick up the car. He said the car had been in an accident at some point even though the Carfax did not indicate this. Of course the Carfax does not guarantee that all accidents with a vehicle are reported and included on their reports. He said he bought the car for a 16-year-old nephew and the nephew didn't want a car that's been in an accident. The description I used when I listed the car on eBay Motors specifically said that according to carfax it had never been in an accident. I also made it clear that I was not the original owner of the car, so even though I did my best to accurately describe it, it was a used car and was being sold as-is.

It wasn't my fault for selling a car that has supposedly been in an accident. There are a lot of cars out there that have been, but it was never reported to anyone. Unless I took a much closer look at a few parts I wouldn't have been able to tell. It wasn't the buyer's fault for coming 5 hours to pick up a car that he thought was never in an accident. He did however purchase a vehicle "as-is" after inspecting it himself in person.

I got to thinking...would this situation be as bad if it wasn't an eBay buyer? The bottom line is that the buyer got a decent looking and running car for well below book value. He had the opportunity to check it out thoroughly (which he did) prior to purchase, and nobody forced him to purchase the vehicle. Would this same thing have happened on a walk-up customer? Personally I don't think so. I think a lot of shoppers on eBay are more picky than the average shopper. Part of it probably has to do with the reach of eBay. A lot of people aren't going to see a car in person because they shop outside their local area. Good for sellers, bad for buyers. No matter what you tell them, send them the photos of, etc., they still expect a new car when they arrive. I had the same thing happen years ago when I sold a '69 Mustang Mach 1. The buyer picked it up in person then called very upset the next day because he got it home and realized it didn't have disc brakes which he assumed it did. I don't know that there's anything that can be done in situations like these, but it's still one thing that I see selling cars on eBay more than on the other classified sites.

Autotrader vs. Craigs List - The Results Are In...

My highly un-scientific study of Craigs List vs. Autotrader.com is finally complete after 6 months. Which classified site works the best to sell used cars? The ongoing post and final conclusion can be seen in the Autotrader vs. Craigslist results. Stay tuned for another experiment with a different type of vehicle and additional classified sites thrown in the mix.

Latest Inventory Management on Autotrader.com

While some might think I'm a disgruntled former employee of Autotrader.com based on some previous comments, this isn't true. The fact is, Autotrader was a decent place to work, and more importantly, grow as an auto industry professional. One thing I learned during my time there was that the employees on the technical side of things (programmers, etc.) are a very talented group of individuals.

This is clear with the latest launch of Autotrader's inventory management system (Dealer Community). The old system worked well and rarely went down, however it was probably a little too basic for some dealers. An important thing to note is that different dealers have different levels of computer experience, and some just plain don't care about a lot of bells and whistles. One advantage of the new system is that the old system is still available to those who are more comfortable with it. As someone with fairly good technical abilities, the new system is a lot better.

If you're not an Autotrader dealer and don't have access to the Dealer Community, you can see the demo of the new system by clicking here. Time will tell if dealers actually use the tools provided, but they are at least there for the dealers who want to make the most of their Autotrader.com marketing dollars.

Will Cars Sell Better on Craigs List or Autotrader?

I wrote a post a while back comparing a few of the major players in online classifieds. I've worked for a few of these companies personally, and several of my closest friends are National level managers with the other companies, so I have some unique insight into each. One site I gave some opinions on was Autotrader.com. Another online classified site which was left out of the mix was Craigs List. If you're not yet familiar, Craigs List is a "no-frills" type of site with free auto classifieds. Their web traffic is among the highest of all sites, and continues to grow month after month. Currently they're the 9th ranked site in popularity in the U.S., ahead of even AOL.com, CNN.com, and Microsoft.com. Although they pride themselves on catering to individuals, many auto dealers have been using the site to sell cars. What better way to gauge the effectiveness (at least in my local market) than to actually sell a car.

For my experiment I purchased a 2000 Pontiac Sunfire GT for $700. After spending about $1100 to fix a few things (exhaust system, wheel bearing, radiator, power window) and a good detailing job, I was good to go. Into the car for $1900 and it books for a little over $4k retail, should be an easy sell this time of year.....an economy car at tax time.

Two days ago I placed an identical ad on both Autotrader.com ($55 "fully loaded" ad with 9 photos) and Craigs List (Free ad with 4 photos). I'll be updating this post frequently with feedback as to what sort of leads each site provides, and general sentiments.

As far as the listing process, both sites were easy to list and edit the vehicle. One area I feel is a real drawback on Craigs List is that my ad has already moved down the list considerably. Every ad that has been posted after mine is placed at the top of the list, so as time goes by I expect leads to fall off.

*****************************************
Leads #1 and #2
*****************************************
I received my first lead early Sunday afternoon. A younger sounding woman left a message saying she saw the car on Craigs List and had some questions about the vehicle. When I called her back 30 minutes later, her tone of voice told me she wasn't very serious about buying a car. She wanted to know the mileage (120k) and hung up. This brought me back to the days of selling cars and having to answer a lot of questions that I knew didn't matter in the long run.

My second lead appeared in my inbox this evening, again from Craigs List. One thing did catch my eye about this lead...the email subject. This person had somehow seen the ad I originally placed before my edit.....the ad I had up for about 2 hours two days ago before the price was corrected. Not sure how he found a price from two days ago that was fixed, but it could present a problem with negotiating price if he's a serious buyer.

*****************************************
2 days and 2 leads, both from Craigs List
*****************************************

Not much new to report on the leads. Maybe the used car market is really as bad as everyone says, or maybe just that not many people have received their tax returns yet and are ready to shop? I received one additional lead from Autotrader a couple of days ago. A gentleman called wanting to know how many miles were on the car. I told him, and he said he was shopping around for a first car for his daughter, and that he might call me back. The person who had previously emailed me sent another message saying he would check out the car this past weekend if it was still available, but he was a no call/no show. One thing that has proven a little annoying, and takes me back to the car sales days, is that I've taken the time to write a very detailed description about the vehicle, and the mileage is displayed prominently on both Autotrader and Craigs List. For whatever reason, people always ask questions that are already answered in the description. Just part of selling vehicles online I guess, but I have to wonder how many pointless calls are averted by having the detailed info on the ads. Surely I must be saving time by giving the details up front. This begs the question though: is it better to be as detailed as possible up front and weed out the non-interested buyers, or is it better to be vague and give myself the opportunity to sell more people over the phone? From a dealers point of view this depends on personal preference, but I'd rather let the car sell itself so I have time to focus on other activities.

*****************************************
2 leads from Craigs List, 1 from Autotrader
*****************************************

Well as a new twist on my experiment I re-posted to Craigs List to get my ad back to the top, and the listing on Autotrader has been cut down. I wanted to take a closer look at the impact a shorter (and more vague) description has. Sure enough, I got two calls from Autotrader shortly after modifying the description. Both people left messages, and when I called them back and left messages myself, they never returned my call. Found another car? Changed their mind? Who knows, but having SOME leads come in keeps hope alive for me that it will actually sell, and I imagine a dealer would feel the same way.

*****************************************
2 leads from Craigs List, 3 from Autotrader
*****************************************

Seems re-posting the vehicle on Craigs List has helped out. I have pretty much consigned the car through a local dealer I'm working with so interested parties can get financed on it, and also to see if Automart or Autoextra produce any decent leads. I received one call today from someone who sounded serious (off Craigs List) and actually showed up at the dealers lot where I've got the car sitting. Supposedly he'll be back tomorrow with a down payment. Another customer saw the car on Craigs List and filled out the dealer's online credit application, so things are looking good for Craigs List in this experiment. Hopefully I'll have the "dramatic conclusion" over the weekend.

*****************************************
4 leads from Craigs List, 3 from Autotrader
*****************************************

If you've been following this post for a while, you probably think I've forgotten about it. On the contrary! In the three months since first posting, there have really only been 7 total leads and the car is still sitting on the lot. Why isn't it selling? Is it a junk car? Probably. Is the market bad now? Perhaps. Am I trying to get too much for it? Probably. Am I holding out for my price? You bet! This car would not have sat in a dealer's inventory for this long unless they really didn't care about turnover rates. I'm not worried about cash flow or sales numbers, but if I were a dealer these things would certainly come into play. One thing that does surprise me is that Automart and Autoextra have not produced any leads at all. The original purpose of this post was to compare Autotrader and Craigs List, so maybe it's not fair to throw AM/AX in the mix later in the game. Time to repost to Craigs List and see if that drums up any more interest.....

******Latest Update 5/10/07******

Well reposting on Craigs List certainly helped get some action. I know most people on Craigs List seem to browse from newest to oldest rather than search, so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise. I posted 1 week ago, and literally 5 minutes after posting I had a response. Within about 6 hours I had 3 more people who all seemed VERY interested. I couldn't believe it. After talking with the first guy he filled out a credit application and would pick up the car in a day or two. Great, it was sold.....or was it? The guy got to the dealership too late last Saturday to do anything, so he was a "be-back" for Monday. No-show, and a follow up email revealed he spotted another car that he was approved for. On to plan B. The second guy also filled out a credit app and was very serious about the car. I put him on ice for a few days until I knew what the first guy was really doing (since he was willing to pay full price). Once the second guy's credit was pulled, he couldn't get approved without a down payment which he wasn't willing to do. Poor credit, 5 months on the job, 6 months in an apartment, and more delinquent accounts than you'd believe. All those issues, he didn't want to put a penny down on the car, and didn't want to pay more than prime interest. Yup, a crazy person, but still a lead for my purposes. The other two responses seemed like good leads too, but neither wanted to fill out the credit application online so I told them to visit the dealership in person. Not sure if they did or not. Since I'm in a military area, a few of the larger ships are coming in over the next couple weeks and that means a lot of Navy kids with big checks burning holes in their pockets.

*****************************************
8 leads from Craigs List, 3 from Autotrader
*****************************************

******Latest Update 6/3/07******

Activity has definitely picked up, and to my surprise it seems to be people on Craigs List finding my older posting. If they were just browsing they would have to go through a ton of listings before they got to mine, so this tells me that people are using the search feature more. Since the last update I've received another 6 leads from Craigs List and not one from Autotrader. Yup, the car is still for sale......

*****************************************
14 leads from Craigs List, 3 from Autotrader
*****************************************

******Latest Update 7/17/07******

Not a whole lot to report this time around. One email lead came in from Autotrader.com on the vehicle and 6 leads from Craigs List. I did repost to Craigs List again which always produces a spike in inquiries. The usual pattern with Craigs List contacts - several seemed interested and wanted to meet the following day to see the car in person, however no follow up email/call was ever received. I must say I'm still very surprised at the response rates between both sites. At this point Craigs List is generating 5 leads for every 1 Autotrader.com lead, but the most important thing is sales, and neither has produced this after 6 months. I know a dealer wouldn't usually hold a unit this long, so I'm attempting to abandon this project through the only auction I have access to: eBay. eBay is intended to be, in most cases, a wholesale network, so while I may not get as much for the car as if I held on to it I'd rather just get rid of it at this point.

*****************************************
20 leads from Craigs List, 4 from Autotrader
*****************************************

Craigs List vs. Autotrader.com: Who wins? There are a couple of ways to look at this evaluation I've done over the last few months. There are advantages to each classified site. Autotrader.com boasts the highest number of vehicles, and therefore the highest number of visitors for auto classifieds. One thing that isn't known is the number of visitors in my particular area. Sure, the number of times my vehicle was looked at is available from Autotrader, but these numbers are not available from Craigs List, so it's tough to compare. The more important number that auto dealers should be concerned about is the number of sales and return on investment. Autotrader is one of the highest price per vehicle sites out there, and Craigs List is free. Craigs List produced a significantly higher number of leads, and also produced the only leads where someone actually came and looked at the car in person. At the end of the day, neither site produced a sale, but after 6 months I attribute that to poor inventory selection. eBay served its unanticipated purpose in this experiment. I eventually dumped the car on eBay for no reserve and made a few hundred bucks profit, even though it sold for well below book value.

My conclusion: Craigs List generated a lot more action than Autotrader.com, and by numbers I would have to say it would produce better results with the right inventory. The downside is that if a car sits on the lot long enough, it's going to require much more work with Craigs List, because you need to keep posting the same car to keep it at the top of the results. Posting more than once every 45 days is against Craigs List terms of use, but to be effective it has to be done probably once a week. If I made a living out of selling cars, I think first and foremost I would buy the right inventory, and second I would put more emphasis into Craigs List than Autotrader based on cost. Like most dealers out there I would still use Autotrader for its reach and simplicity, but in a limited role based on cost. Maybe only with the Select Ads they offer (pay per listing) for certain units. $80 to finally get rid of any aged units on eBay seems worth it to me too. Even though $80 is a high cost per unit, consider the alternatives: having your cash tied up in a car that's not moving off the lot or paying auction fees at the dealer auctions.

Stay tuned for part two of this experiment which might be coming up in the next few weeks.

Does Autotrader.com or Cars.com Work Better For Dealers, or Traderonline?

I'm asked at least once a week by a dealer what third party site will bring them the most customers. Is Auto Trader or Cars.com better? Here's a little insight into each company and the feedback I've received from dealers that use each.

My first point of information, and probably the most confusing thing to most dealers is that Auto Trader magazines are not the same company as Autotrader.com (at least at the present time, but soon there will be some changes with the business relationship between the two). Cox Communications owns half of Autotrader.com and also half of Trader Publishing (Auto Trader Magazines). Each is treated as a separate company, and therefore compete against each other for marketshare. Autotrader.com got their name from the widely recognized brand of magazines in 1999 when the online auto advertising industry was really getting started. There are even business relationships between the two such as magazine ads automatically showing on Autotrader.com as very basic listings. A couple of years ago Trader started Automart.com and Autoextra.com because while they had capitalized on specialty markets, they had essentially missed the boat on the automotive sector of online advertising. While Autoextra.com and Automart.com have significantly lower traffic numbers than Autotrader.com or Cars.com, I'll include them in this cross-analysis because their market penetration is significant with the print publications.

Autotrader.com: Self described as the "Biggest, Best Used Car Site on the Planet", Autotrader.com is definitely the most widely recognized site out there. Their marketing campaign for 2006 was somewhere in the neighborhood of $60 million and expected to make 1 Billion impressions. If you're looking for the most shoppers, this is where you want to be. Autotrader.com boasts over 2 million vehicles for sale at any given time, and recent traffic reports show about 12 million visitors per month to the site. Consistently ranked at the top of the JD Power Reports for customer recognition and dealer satisfaction. An impressive resume indeed. With all this comes some downsides from the dealer point of view. Such a big site means your cars are in the mix with literally millions of others. Autotrader.com is geared toward driving local buyers to your lot, so this helps, but if you search for a vehicle in your local area you'll notice that there are still a lot of competitors you're going up against. The other issue with Autotrader.com is price. If you want to be with the "biggest, best" site, you're going to have to pay for it. Overall dealer impression from the people I've spoken with: a great site that you have to use to stay competitive, but pricing makes it hard to diversify your advertising money.

Cars.com: Not as many vehicles for sale, not as many dealers, not as highly regarded, but worthwhile for sure. As I pointed out in the previous paragraph, not having so many cars for sale or competitors can be a good thing for the people that use the site. Cars.com is really making a run at Autotrader.com, upping their own advertising campaign significantly. They're aligned (and owned) by several major newspaper companies. They actually got their start in response to declining newspaper classified revenue. This association with the local papers and websites through co-branding, etc. really drives local buyers to the site much like Autotrader.com has done. The major advantage of Cars.com is the price. They have many options just like Autotrader.com has, but the price is typically about 1/2 to 1/3 the price of Autotrader.com. A good bargain, but one thing I've really noticed in speaking with dealers is that Cars.com seems to do very well in some markets (Philadelphia for example) and not well at all in others.

Traderonline: The Trader websites of Automart.com and Autoextra.com have similar advantages as Cars.com. Price seems to be the major advantage. Trader knows they're far behind Autotrader.com and Cars.com as far as features and traffic, so it makes sense pricing is lower. They also seem to be using a business model to keep other arms of the company alive and well (i.e. Auto Trader, Auto Mart and Auto Extra magazines), so they have programs that are comprehensive across several media. This provides advertisers with a great opportunity to diversify their advertising for a low cost, even though it's all within the same company. What most dealers have told me is that the Trader sites don't come close to Autotrader.com or Cars.com in terms of leads/sales, but the pricing structure makes it an appealing addition to other advertising campaigns.

The bottom line: Talk to 100 dealers and you'll get 100 different answers as to which online site is best and why. These are just some common statements I hear on a daily basis. Research shows that most car shoppers visit both Autotrader.com and Cars.com, and some visit the Trader sites. There are going to be shoppers on each site that don't visit the others, so it all comes down to advertising reach.
The old saying seems to hold true: you have to spend money to make money, and and it seems like the more you spend, the more you'll sell. If you can afford it, you'll get the best return by diversifying your advertising money. If not, determine which is best for your particular market, what's going to give you the most bang for your buck, and which one you think will really bring you the most local/regional customers.