OPENLANE,
Inc., a leading online auction company in North America for
automotive dealers to buy and sell wholesale vehicles, today announced a
number of significant new features to its iDEAL dealer-consigned
program. OPENLANE’s iDEAL program provides independent and franchise
dealers with the ability to market their vehicles to a nationwide
network of more than 25,000 buying dealers while still offering cars for
retail sale on their lots to maximize sale potential, profitability and
reduce turn time without the extra costs associated with physical
auctions.
With an industry-wide need for increased efficiency, dealers are turning
to OPENLANE’s iDEAL program as the most convenient and easy-to-use
solution for wholesaling both recent trade-ins, as well as older
inventory. New and enhanced features to iDEAL include:
Pre-Sale Third Party Inspections (TPI): OPENLANE has partnered
with Alliance Inspection Management (AiM) to allow dealers to easily
arrange a professional third-party inspection to support their
listings. Dealers simply submit the VIN and the location of the
vehicle and OPENLANE generates a real-time request to AiM, which
dispatches an inspector to the dealership within a few days. Upon
completing the inspection, the report is automatically loaded to
OPENLANE and the listing dealer is notified.
Post Sale Inspection (PSI): Buying dealers can now order a
post-sale inspection with each purchased vehicle, including a review
of overall vehicle condition, a visual frame check, validation of
equipment and more.
Seller Performance Panel: This provides a simple way for
dealers to view all OPENLANE iDEAL activity in an easy-to-digest
summary matrix, along with indicators of sellers’ performance with
regard to such things as time to deliver title and number of voided
transactions.
Seller Marketing Page: This new area of the site gives sellers
the ability to upload a logo and add descriptive information about
their business so potential buyers have more confidence in who they
are buying from.
Market Value Guide (MVG): Dealers can now access Black Book
values both when pricing a car for sale and at the time of purchase in
order to aid them in their pricing and purchase decisions.
Arbitration Management: Sellers can now easily submit, review
and track arbitration cases online using the OPENLANE Customer Service
Portal.
Partner Assisted Listing Service (PALS): Dealers can now have
their inventory and pictures automatically sent to OPENLANE from many
leading inventory management, listing or inventory merchandising
companies. Users then simply review the vehicle detail page with the
listing information, price the vehicle and release it to auction.
Enhanced Customer Service: OPENLANE customer representatives
are available at every step in the dealer’s buying and selling
process. By having a dedicated one-on-one representative, dealers have
a single point of contact to ensure consistency and attention during
the sale and/or purchase process.
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Carfax Vehicle Reports: Every dealer can now purchase Carfax
vehicle history reports for any vehicle listed on OPENLANE.
Advanced Search Functionality: Dealers can search for cars to a
level of detail as specific as transmission, interior upholstery
choice and rear seat entertainment.
“The OPENLANE iDEAL program allows me to easily reach a nationwide
audience for my aged inventory without the hassle of having to move my
cars to a physical auction and waiting for them to sell,” said Ted
Kelemen, Keleman’s Kars, Irvington, New York. “I now am able to get more
money and get it faster for the vehicles I need to wholesale and
OPENLANE takes care of all payment, title, arbitrations and
transportation logistics for me.”
“There is a new paradigm in the used car industry. What worked in the
past is no longer a viable and long-term strategy for dealers that need
to stay one step ahead of the evolving automotive marketplace,” said
Daniel Farrar, CEO of OPENLANE. “The significant new features we have
added to iDEAL have made it an even more comprehensive platform for
dealers across North America to maximize profits and increase
operational efficiency, which is crucial for success in this economy.”
All dealers who buy vehicles through the OPENLANE auction also gain
access to a broad nationwide inventory of vehicles, including off-lease,
rental, repossessions, fleet and dealer consigned vehicles. OPENLANE
also provides dealers with a single point of contact for complete
end-to-end vehicle purchase and/or sale support including title
processing, access to floorplans and integrated transport options.
Exclusive Incentives for NADA Attendees
OPENLANE, exhibiting at Booth #2515 at the upcoming NADA Convention &
Expo, Feb. 13-15 in Orlando, is offering a $50 gift card to any dealer
who stops by the booth to register and view a demonstration of
OPENLANE’s online wholesale automotive auction. In addition, dealers
attending the show are privy to the special exclusive incentives that
will only be offered at NADA 2010.
For more information on the iDEAL program, or to get started, please
call 866-969-0321 or visit: http://www.openlane.com/pdfs/F_OPENLANE_iDEAL.pdf.
About OPENLANE
OPENLANE, Inc. is a leading online auction company in North America for
automotive dealers to buy and sell wholesale vehicles. The company
offers end-to-end auto remarketing solutions to auto manufacturers,
captive finance companies, lease and daily rental companies, financial
institutions and wholesale auto auctions throughout the United States
and Canada. OPENLANE powers online remarketing programs for American
Honda Finance, Audi Financial Services, Avis Budget Group, Chase Auto
Finance, Chrysler Financial, Porsche Financial Services, Volkswagen
Credit, among others. For more information, please visit www.openlane.com
or call +1 (866) 969-0321.
Bateman Group for OPENLANE
Lisa Melsted, 415-503-1818 ext. 15
openlane@bateman-group.com