Edmunds.com Opens Dealer Registration for Innovative Used Car Selling Tool
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — July 6, 2015 — The recent popularity of leasing will continue to pour used cars into the market at unprecedented levels for years to come, generating sales opportunities that could easily increase dealer profitability. With this in mind, car-buying platform Edmunds.com today opened dealer registration for Edmunds Used+, an innovative used car sales program carefully designed and market-tested for effectiveness in closing used car deals quickly and beneficially.
"Edmunds Used+ helps dealers address used car shoppers' biggest pain points: difficulty searching for and buying a used car, and fear of buying a lemon," said Edmunds.com President Seth Berkowitz. "Through this program, we'll connect in-market shoppers with dealers, providing peace of mind and sweetening the deal for car shoppers so that the deal can close more quickly."
Dealers present their used vehicle inventory to in-market shoppers with a Vehicle Protection Plan and a $200 gas card, both underwritten and administered by Edmunds through third-party providers.
Edmunds' Vehicle Protection Plan includes:
- 30-day/1,000-mile warranty
- 12-month roadside assistance
The new program was successfully tested in five states (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Nevada) for six months prior to this national rollout. The pilot program generated, for the average dealer participating in the pilot, three times the engagement of Edmunds' existing used car program. Dealers who offered guaranteed lowest prices – an optional but recommended element of the program – earned seven times as much.
"Edmunds' exclusive offers through Edmunds Used+ create a very high perceived value for shoppers and they provide a solution that doesn't put the burden on the dealer," said Brent Rogers, chief marketing officer at Patrick Dealer Group in Chicago, which participated in the pilot program. "It's an easy and turnkey product with a price structure that gives our dealership a favorable cost per sale. We're very excited about its potential to take our used car business to another level."
Participating dealers may also choose to take advantage of Edmunds' pricing tool, which simplifies the back-end process.
The Edmunds Used+ sign-up period kicks off today. Dealers can choose to participate through a subscription model or a cost-per-sale arrangement, where applicable.
Edmunds will begin marketing the program to shoppers later this summer.
To learn more about Edmunds Used+, visit www.edmunds.com/dealers.
About Edmunds.com
Car-buying platform Edmunds.com serves nearly 20 million visitors each month. With Edmunds.com Price Promise®, shoppers can buy smarter with instant, upfront prices for cars and trucks currently for sale at 10,000 dealer franchises across the U.S. Shoppers can browse not only dealer inventory, but also vehicle reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories on both Edmunds' wired site and on its acclaimed mobile apps. Regarded as one of the best places to work in Southern California, Edmunds.com was also named one of "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Automotive" by Fast Company. Edmunds welcomes all car-shopping questions at our Help Center and on Twitter and Facebook. The company is based in Santa Monica, Calif. and has a satellite office in downtown Detroit, Mich., but you can find Edmunds from anywhere on YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+ and Flipboard.
