October 4, 2021
Used and new car dealers alike relied heavily on in-person auto auctions to ensure a steady stream of inventory was coming onto their lot. Besides the free snacks, controlled chaos, and socialization, auto auctions were the place for dealers to find the inventory they needed at a price they could (hopefully) afford. But with face-to-face gatherings no longer possible in the wake of the pandemic, dealerships were left scrambling to develop alternate sourcing strategies.
Flash forward to today, and dealerships are by no means out of the woods just yet. From global microchip shortages to ever-increasing consumer demand for used vehicles and delay of new ones, dealerships have a new host of challenges, even in the face of turning a profit. Luckily, online platforms are rising up to help dealers bring back time, save money, and better utilize internal resources.
Let’s take a closer look at online automotive trade platforms, from how they started to where they’re heading, and how they can help you.
A Quick Overview
Before online automotive trade platforms, there were trade desks. Trade desks enabled your dealership to get a vehicle on your lot in front of a team who could appraise your car in real-time. This was a huge value-add for dealerships who wanted to streamline the appraisal process and move more vehicles off their lot quickly and cost-efficiently.
Online automotive trade platforms have only evolved from there. Now, with CarOffer, the industry’s first instant trade platform, dealers can buy, sell, and trade their used vehicles with just the click of a button. The platform allows thousands of dealerships to source and sell pre-owned vehicles nationwide.
The Benefits of Automotive Trade Platforms
Major Time Savings
Think about the time that goes into walking away with vehicles from an auto auction. The standard process likely has you looking at 60 vehicles, being interested in 20 of them, actually bidding on 10 of them, and taking home 2 of them. That’s a lot of time and energy going into an auction that’s only providing you with 2 newly acquired vehicles.
With an instant trade platform, like CarOffer, you’re able to input your customizable buying preferences to specify exactly what vehicles you need, in what quantity, and at what price. Think of it as a limit order when buying and selling stocks. Through the CarOffer Buying Matrix platform, your buying orders will be automatically fulfilled based on your preferences - or specified price - ensuring you get a steady stream of cars coming onto your lot without worrying about overpaying or missing out on vehicles.
Simplify the way you source your inventory with an automotive trade platform that does the work on your behalf.
A Smarter Way to Bid
Pandemic or not, traditional in-person auto auctions were bound to become antiquated sooner rather than later. With used car demand at an all-time high, it’s simply unrealistic to think that bidding on vehicles one at a time and bidding against other dealers is a reliable way of sourcing inventory. While auto dealer auctions are both emotionally draining and highly inefficient, automotive trading platforms provide a much more reliable way of sourcing and selling inventory.
Instead of making split-second decisions on which vehicles you want to bring onto your lot, an automotive trading platform enables you to input your customizable buying preferences and let the platform handle the rest. Once you’ve specified which vehicles you need, at what price and at what time, the platform will work day and night to match your buy orders to fresh trades.
Connecting with other dealers who have what you need will happen instantaneously, saving you major time, money, and resources in the long run. In short, an online automotive trade platform can help you cut down the manual work behind managing your inventory and give you a smarter way to bid on used vehicles.
Source Beyond Your Geographical Area
If you have solid insights into your core inventory, you likely have a good sense of what vehicles are performing well and which ones aren’t. But simply knowing what your best-performing cars are doesn’t make it any easier to get them onto your lot. While traditional auto auctions keep you at the mercy of the vehicles being showcased, automotive trade platforms expand your buying bubble and give you countless opportunities to find the cars you need at the right price.
With access to used car inventory across the U.S., CarOffer's instant trade platform makes it easy to bring the right cars onto your lot. With inventory as scarce as it is, it’s important for your dealership to implement reliable ways to efficiently source vehicles in a cost-efficient manner, today and down the road. Being able to look beyond where your dealership is located ensures you’re able to acquire the right cars for your business.
Give CarOffer a Test Drive
If you’re ready to leave the traditional ways of managing used inventory in the past, CarOffer is here to help. Our dedicated support staff coupled with our advanced technologies ensures we get you the exact cars you need at the right price, and at the right time. Additionally, we can help you make sense of your core inventory and ensure you’re able to move aged or stale inventory off your lot quickly. Together, we’ll work to bring back valuable time and resources to your dealership and, in turn, increase revenue and position you well for long-term success.
Contact us today to request a demo or learn more about our inventory solutions.
