Joe, I know that you have the Chevy store and the three large used car centers. How much, if any, do you consider CarMax as a model?
I think that jberna was looking at the clutter more than the individual packages. In Phoenix, I could go with the featured package and still be at the top of the listings. I couldn't see the benefit in paying extra. I'm seeing a lot of new car listings (some volume franchises), in the premium section, without a discounted price, description and with stock photos. You have to go down to the standard listings for discounted prices and they don't permit descriptions and actual pictures. I seriously don't understand the thought process here. Dallas seemed to be a much more competitive market.
Cars.com has always been my ROI leader due to price. I closed a higher percentage of my AutoTrader leads. I think that having the MSRP and a discounted price (new cars), on the SRP helps along with having a brief description. If you have a discounted price, again on new cars, the customer has no way of knowing unless you put the MSRP in the comments section. They would have to click on the vehicle to learn this.
I'm still a big fan of vAuto. I don't think that you have to have the lowest price. There are just too many other factors to consider. The great thing is that it gives you the information to make that determination. If you are not careful, you could be pricing against yourself.
I have never felt comfortable taking full responsibility for pricing new and used cars. I have always been compensated on volume where the new and used car Sales Managers were paid on gross.
