CarGurus suspends free dealer listing option

[Retail My Ride]

Understandable move. Important to protect/incentivize paying dealers to stay on pay plan. Anyone know what percentage of dealers are on their free Restricted (aka Basic) listing plan? Will no longer receive customer leads (more lead volume available for payers)

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Thanks for posting this - this was sent to me 2-3 weeks ago and it slipped my mind to post it. In one of the many CarGuru threads this topic was brought up - some dealers receiving MORE leads being on the Free listings package for CarGurus. For well over a year, I kept it to myself but knew as soon as I/we would mention it here in the forums, they would take some action. It was a matter of only 2ish weeks...

Coincidence?

 

[ChrisR]

Looking at my past reports, I am convinced I had better closing rates as a free listings dealer on CG, than as a paid dealer.

 

[Alexander Lau]

Thanks for posting this - this was sent to me 2-3 weeks ago and it slipped my mind to post it. In one of the many CarGuru threads this topic was brought up - some dealers receiving MORE leads being on the Free listings package for CarGurus. For well over a year, I kept it to myself but knew as soon as I/we would mention it here in the forums, they would take some action. It was a matter of only 2ish weeks...

Coincidence?

Disheartening! Absolutely the truth and I suggested to my dealers to do the same. That's why they put the kibosh on it. Their SEO is so damn good, dealers were making more off of free than the paid listings and I don't think CG understood how to control it properly or measure it as such. HA HA! Obviously, they wanted dealers to pay, but...

Then there is Cars that cries about CG's optimization tactics. A hilarious situation if you ask me. Both are crybabies.

 

[Retail My Ride]

Thanks for posting this - this was sent to me 2-3 weeks ago and it slipped my mind to post it. In one of the many CarGuru threads this topic was brought up - some dealers receiving MORE leads being on the Free listings package for CarGurus. For well over a year, I kept it to myself but knew as soon as I/we would mention it here in the forums, they would take some action. It was a matter of only 2ish weeks...

Coincidence?

Not a coincidence at all. Everything is open for review and change in this "new world."

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Looking at my past reports, I am convinced I had better closing rates as a free listings dealer on CG, than as a paid dealer.

@ChrisR our closing percentage fell but only because we were receiving more leads. Would still sell the same amount though.

 

[DrewAment]

<<Cross Posting>> -- didn't see this thread.

LOL --

Guess we are not all "in this together" -- no more free/non-paying leads

Changes to CarGurus free and paid listings products | CarGurus | Dealer Resource Center
The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly reshaping large parts of our daily lives – more quickly than some businesses can adapt. In our industry, dealers, vendors, and OEMs are facing incredible uncertainty and business pressures as consumers stay home and governments shut down operations. CarGurus is...
dealercenter.cargurus.com
Dealers that cancel also go into this "suspended activity" -- leads to be delivered back when things return to normal.... like dealers really want a 4 week old lead?? maybe 6 weeks?? 8 weeks?? "Hey mister customer, that car you requested information on last month?? You still interested??"


Shoppers that submit leads are normally in market/serious ...right? Isn't that what these listing sites pitch?

-- Dealers pay nothing, but their inventory stays live on our site.
-- Leads are not sent in real time. Instead, shopper interest will go into a queue for later delivery. We’ll make clear to shoppers on VDPs and in confirmation emails that they won’t hear back from dealers immediately.

So basically, using our inventory to seem like they "have all the vehicles" -- but creating a shit-poor user experience, which ultimately passes to the dealer.

If I was a dealer - I would force CarGurus to remove my inventory -- don't let them USE YOU, to make themselves look better!

 

[roukyweal20]

I love the car buying process. It's fun, I take my time, test drive cars, find what I like and try to find a good deal on a 2-4 year old car.

Car salesmen are not the ones you need to fear. Many of them are great, and work long hard honest hours to push some cars. As my dad told me before he dropped me off to buy my first used car, "When they get you in the back room, that's when they're going to try to screw you."

If you think that's a joke or an understatement, please accept the fact that it is neither. When you snaptube vidmate sit down in the chair in the finance office, you need to be as alert as a deer in hunting season. Here's how they tried to get me, and I hope I can help one person not get taken.

 

[Jacques de Molay]

When is this going to come back?

 

[roukyweal20]

If the revenue goes towards policing ads to make sure they're in the right categories, aren't stuffed with irrelevant keywords, and stops listings with a fake price and real price hidden in the description, then it makes CL immeasurably better. I've avoided CL's auto section for the last few years because of that mess.