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Best "Value Your Trade" platform?

tomfohr

CSI Bandit
Dec 15, 2011
54
10
First Name
Tom
I currently have the Black Book Trade in tool but am considering looking at the Pure Cars Value Your Trade instead because I think the user interface is nicer and more engaging.

Anyone have any comparisons or opinions?

Any other platforms I should be considering instead?
 
Our Black Book subscription ended several months back, so the dealer decided to start using TIM which is included free with our AutoTraders package; but to be honest we used to see 5-10 times more leads with Black Book.

TIM leads can't get dumped into your CRM or ILM so retrieval is more labor intensive, and you must log into TIM to see them.

I'm not sold on TIM, and BlackBook is better IMO, but from what I've seen PureCars dominates the dealer branding on your website a little too heavy, but if you're willing to pay to find out, nothing ventured nothing gained right! Try pushing BlackBook a little more, get a customer who bought a car using BB to make a testimonial to improve efficacy.
 
Have you looked at TIM (Trade in Marketplace) by AutoTrader or Edmund's "Value my car" tool?

I've looked at Trade In Market Place in the past and I'm not overly fond of the user interface and really struggle with giving more money to Autotrader for as poorly as they perform on my current package that I pay through the nose for.... Sorry, I'm not much of an Autotrader fan but I will definately re-look at TIM to see if that fits what I am looking for.

I have never seen Edmunds "Value my Car" tool and would be curious to take a look at that one as well.

What I am really looking for is something with smooth user interface that generates quality leads.

I like the idea of the PureCars with the TradeHook and the fact that they include Re-Targeting with their package and it is really affordable (less than half of what I am paying for BlackBook)

Any other contenders I should be considering?
 
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I've looked at Trade In Market Place in the past and I'm not overly fond of the user interface and really struggle with giving more money to Autotrader for as poorly as they perform on my current package that I pay through the nose for.... Sorry, I'm not much of an Autotrader fan but I will definately re-look at TIM to see if that fits what I am looking for.

I have never seen Edmonds "Value my Car" tool and would be curious to take a look at that one as well.

What I am really looking for is something with smooth user interface that generates quality leads.

I like the idea of the PureCars with the TradeHook and the fact that they include Re-Targeting with their package and it is really affordable (less than half of what I am paying for BlackBook)

Any other contenders I should be considering?

Tom,

I believe you can buy TIM as a stand alone product. If the regular ATC program doesn't work maybe cancel that, but what you pay a company shouldn't be the base to buy a product or not.

I have quite a few dealers that claim TIM has worked very well for them. Remember that you can add it to your website as deep as your VDP pages. I have some dealers that have added TIM to a landing page behind their Craisg List ads. I think the TIM program allows for a more flexible use than the regular ATC advertising package.
 
We've recently used Black Book, AutoTrader TIM & PureCars all to mixed results. It very well could be the market here in the Detroit area, but we just don't receive many customers attempting to value their trade on our web-site. Most around here seem to do it on a third party site.

Now, if we include a call-to-action in a targeted email and land the customer on our Trade In Tool, that's another story. :)

I'll also add that the Accu-Price Trade in Tool from Dealer eProcess is worth checking out as well.

Good luck in your quest, Tom. Be sure to keep us posted on which product you choose and what kind of results you get.
 
I will chime in with saying that there really is no "best" platform, as no matter what tool you use the value is never going to be 100% accurate, so it is more about selling the actual cash value (what the dealer will REALLY pay for the trade-in) when the customer is sitting in front of you. Whatever tool you use, you need to make sure your salespeople are trained to handle those types of leads based on the valuation model that is used. And, that the tool is ultimately about setting the appointment and getting the customer in the store.

I will also say the the valuation tool you use needs to be realistic, but also give the customer some "hope for gain" - they need to think that in the end you will be giving them more than the average dealer for their trade.

I will throw in the tool I like Packages | TradeInVelocity -- a few things I like about this tool:

- You can remove the "book" branding (they use NADA) - this makes it look more like a quote from your dealer... rather than just a value from one of the other tools.
- You can up/down the value from book by %% based on your marketing .. giving you an edge and the "hope for gain" I was talking about.
- It ranges the customer value while being realistic - not locking you or the customer into one number. And, most people will agree it is hard to value a vehicles without REALLY seeing it so a range is good.
 
I will chime in with saying that there really is no "best" platform, as no matter what tool you use the value is never going to be 100% accurate, so it is more about selling the actual cash value (what the dealer will REALLY pay for the trade-in) when the customer is sitting in front of you. Whatever tool you use, you need to make sure your salespeople are trained to handle those types of leads based on the valuation model that is used. And, that the tool is ultimately about setting the appointment and getting the customer in the store.

I will also say the the valuation tool you use needs to be realistic, but also give the customer some "hope for gain" - they need to think that in the end you will be giving them more than the average dealer for their trade.

I will throw in the tool I like Packages | TradeInVelocity -- a few things I like about this tool:

- You can remove the "book" branding (they use NADA) - this makes it look more like a quote from your dealer... rather than just a value from one of the other tools.
- You can up/down the value from book by %% based on your marketing .. giving you an edge and the "hope for gain" I was talking about.
- It ranges the customer value while being realistic - not locking you or the customer into one number. And, most people will agree it is hard to value a vehicles without REALLY seeing it so a range is good.

Yeah, I am not really looking for anything to be used in our sales process... Just the best performing to capture/convert leads. I am leaving heavily towards the PureCars with the TradeHook feature tied in as it seems its the best value.
 
TIM leads can't get dumped into your CRM or ILM so retrieval is more labor intensive, and you must log into TIM to see them.

TIM leads should be sent just like any other lead, here's a snippet from one we received:

From: [email protected]
To: email
Date: 25 May 2013 12:21:47 -0400
Subject: Autotrader TIM Lead - Source: Dealer's Website For: Any Make
Any Model / Any Make Any Model
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
X-ASG-Orig-Subj: Autotrader TIM Lead - Source: Dealer's Website For: Any Make
 
Tom,

I believe you can buy TIM as a stand alone product. If the regular ATC program doesn't work maybe cancel that, but what you pay a company shouldn't be the base to buy a product or not.

I have quite a few dealers that claim TIM has worked very well for them. Remember that you can add it to your website as deep as your VDP pages. I have some dealers that have added TIM to a landing page behind their Craisg List ads. I think the TIM program allows for a more flexible use than the regular ATC advertising package.
As an added benefit, if you have TIM, it is fully and seamlessly integrated into the vAuto appraisal module. <end of shameless plug> :)
 
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