Thx Alex -

Hope you were able to make it...

@Mike - hope you were able to as well. (and it didn't come off as "creepy" lol)

I'm in! Glad you're putting this on Eric.

This could be an awesome marketing tool if used properly, I've set up our dealership and linked it to my other social networking sites...Jeff, thanks for the article. Always good stuff.

I'm not sure im on board with this program yet, a little creepy?

Thank you! I've been thinking about foursquare for awhile and this post pushed me to join foursquare, set up our dealership, and register for the webinar!

Q: What would a private equity firm want with 25% of AutoTrader.com?

A: To buy them out. ATC's floor management fucked over many employees!!

Autotrader is a cash cow but their business model is not sustainable as the market shifts to a pay for performance model. They know that and are smart enough to use that money to start to buy assets like KBB to create some sort of competitive advantage

I hope one day that the "magazine",will return. Its been a year since it dissolved,and I miss working for one of the best jobs of my life. Only wishfull thinking. Thanks for the memories.

ATC didn't need to sell 25% to an equity investor. Kleiner Perkins could have easily jumped up with more cash (for more equity) if they thought the company was in peril and/or believed it was a good investment. The fact KP didn't jump in for the extra 25% is very telling. Ed Brooks is right for the most part. He spent time with ATC and understands the culture of the company. At the inception of ATC, the board moved people from the Atlanta newspaper company (Cox owned) to run the show. These were died in the wool newspaper people. I believe some of the early years provided slower growth than the investors liked. In the past few years, some of the old newspaper executives have moved on and retired. This has left openings near the top for younger/faster blood.

Take the fact KP didn't want the other 25% coupled with the assumption ATC can get a substantial line of credit from just about anyone. Since KP has been there since the beginning; do they simply not trust the guys with a half billion more(?). There is more here than we're being told. And that's their choice. When you run in the Corporate circles that the executives at Cox run around in...you know a LOT of people with a LOT of money. This could have just been a 'sweetheart' deal. Maybe it's just that simple.

One can do a lot of damage with $525MM. It's my assumption ATC is recognizing the upward shift in the auto industry and they are going into acquisition mode. And why not? That's what I would do. If in fact ATC goes on a buying spree (and chooses the right acquisitions), then I applaud Providence for their investment. ATC has the name recognition and talent pool to pull off some serious revenue and profit generators. I'd look to buy DMS/CRM and mend them into the AT software. Could be an intersting summer.

AutoTrader has to buy Vast.com inc because they have made huge pool against them uniting everybody from KBB to Aol from 'publishers side' and all Autotrader competitors in car inventory... and 525M is in the range of Vast value

KBB or AOL buy Autotrader.com ROFL thats funny! AOL is hardly in business and just how big of a company do you think KBB is?

Autotrader.com is a prfitable company already so does COX really need to sell it?

COX has been having a very hard time selling AutoTrader, they've had them on the market since 2008, and all the major players like YAHOO, Comcast, Google, AOL, MSN, KBB have not been interested.

Jimbo - The differences between the deal announced by AutoTrader.com and the leveraged buyout/private equity deals, like Simmons, quoted in the NY Times story are profound. Most importantly AutoTrader.com will still be controlled by Cox Enterprises.

Perhaps this says more about Cox than about AutoTrader.com. ATC has been profitable for years, but has been been paying back the huge initial investment Cox and it's other investors made at the beginning. This influx of capital dramatically speeds up that repayment. Much of Cox's portfolio is made up of businesses in shrinking segments; Newspapers, TV, Radio, Auto Auctions, etc. AutoTrader.com is a rare commodity for them: A business unit with a growing valuation.

AutoTrader.com has been, and I think will continue to be, a media success story. When other media outlets were seeing drops in advertising revenue during the tough economy, ATC was holding it's own. With a recovery they could easily be back to double-digit growth rates.

They will load it up with debt and cash out while the business will go bankrupt.

For an example, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/business/econom...

Private Equity loves businesses with recurring revenue streams. Companies like pest control, lawn fertilization, cleaning companies, etc. I'm sure that is what is prompting this investment. They probably see some opportunities to cut costs and boost cash flow while maintaining and/or growing the recurring income stream. Should be interesting to watch play out...

AutoTrader has to buy Vast.com inc because they have made huge pool against them uniting everybody from KBB to Aol from 'publishers side' and all Autotrader competitors in car inventory... and 525M is in the range of Vast value

I have a Honda van that was involved in an accident that we did not know of as it wasn't disclosed to us when we bought it used from a dealer...we are now upside down with this car and discovered that at the first time we tried trading it in...we are looking at a $1500 loss in value due to CARFAX's BS!!!!!!! We didn't have the accident .. we are now paying for it..there has to be a better system!

After meeting with our new Carfax Rep today, I was left with the impression that they are not changing their policy on valuations. My opinion is that they should use their resources and manpower to correct the odometer issues from minimum wage Walmart oil change guys before starting a new venture that they know NOTHING about. I will still use them for our CPO vehicles, but I'm calling Autocheck!

We are switching to Autocheck!

Todays Automotive News
http://www.autonews.com/article/20100517/RETAIL04...

I have a meeting with two reps from CARFAX next week. They are very aware of what is going on here as well as other automotive sites.

I clarified my concerns and position and asked that they come prepared to answer "What Book Value" is being used and exactly what criteria is used to establish the + / - values. They understand that if they do not have clear answers to these questions they should not bother having me paged to the showroom.

I think what has taken place here on Dealer Refresh has had a tremendous effect on the industry. I know for a fact that other vendors like Cars.com and Autotrader have been watching this exchange very closely.

Regardless of how this ends up being handled or not handled by CARFAX, a message has been sent that Dealerships have matured beyond having things rammed down their throats or glossed over by software and internet vendors.

We the Internet Directors are the eyes of the dealerships and we take our positions very seriously. We will only accept what is best for our stores and we are communicating with our peers like never before in the history of the Auto industry at any level. We place value in vendor partnerships and expect them to do the same.

hmmm.... sounds like the beginning of an Automotive Vendor Manifesto, jump on and add something if you care to.

Tim,

Great post. You guys in stores need to also press your GMs and Owners to bring this up at 20 groups and state associations too.

Joe Turner

502-230-1563

So CarFax calls to try and sign me up on their Free service reporting product. (They have been trying for all 3 years its been out) 32 min later (I checked the time stamp) I had rep somewhat agreeing with me about flaws in the pricing tool they just rolled out. He didn't know how they came up with the + - = number as well. He gave me his speech and I said, ' You told me you sold cars, If you used that word track to a customer, do you think that would buy that explanation? He said probably not. Point is he was taking notes and said he wanted to hear all feed back If the powers at be hear enough feed back maybe things will change. SO LETS CONTINUE TO GIVE THEM THE FEED BACK!!!

Dan P.-

I was in an accident last month and incurred $3500 damage. It was the other drivers fault.

So I settled with his insurance company had my car repaired and i then proceeded to file my claim with the other drivers insurance company for vehicle depreciation claim. I knew that in the future when i go to sell my car the CARFAX will show the accident. I received $1600 for my claim with no questions asked. So i now have the money I will be out when I go to trade in and they offer me less because of my CARFAX.

Much easier than the police report and sueing scenario.

I don't understand your input there, Vin. Are you agreeing with me or do you not think I am who I say I am?

In any case, I went to another dealer yesterday and pretty much heard the same thing, that there would have to be some deduction based on there being an accident on my CARFAX report. "This is because when a buyer of a used car sees the report, the first thing they want is a discount." So I threw this question out to the salesman...If I have a brand new vehicle and some little old lady backs into me at the grocery store, not only should I get her insurance info and call for a police report, I should contact a lawyer to sue her for the $1,200 loss that I will realize when I go to trade in my vehicle in 3 years? He just laughed. No, seriously I said. I guess you could try, he said. I think that any vehicle that had an accident should be inspected after repair and an "accident impact value" be reported to CARFAX. That way the owner of the vehicle, the dealer, and the buyer of the vehicle are on some sort of level playing ground.