Struggling used car dealers look to the Internet

Car dealers must “make better use of data, technology and processes to underpin interaction with their customers and prospects if they are to succeed in the face of the current economic slowdown.” Autowired

That was the theme shared by the presentations and interactive workshop sessions at last week's EurotaxGlass's conference, entitled

'Driving Business - opportunities for profit and growth in an uncertain market'.

All this information points towards more used cars being sold via the net, but perhaps more importantly - as in newspaper ads of old - the ante is being upped. With new technology and ideas coming to the market daily, as we have pointed out recently, more customers than ever are now leaving deposits on cars they have not yet seen on the strength of an internet image and description.
This continuing trend depends on the quality of data and selling techniques by the dealers, having identified the power of internet selling they must ensure that the selling experience is not compromised by misinformation and cars arriving badly described or customers will quickly revert to more traditional methods of purchase.

Where a dealer has a strong approved campaign backed by the manufacturer this form of selling can only be beneficial if carried out correctly as the dealer will not only sell more cars as a result of improved technology but will also not have the burden of having to physically stock and fund a used car which he can sell to his customer.

In some cases the dealer can have his customer pay for the car before he is debited by the manufacturer to assist in his cash flow. So whereas a few years ago the trade would say 'internet selling will never happen with used cars as people will always want to touch and feel before they buy' they may now change their tune but, as with a lot of things, it depends on how well they manage this change.

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