@Troy I sent you that pdf although what @Mitchell posted was exactly what was in the file.
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CARFAX - What Are You Thinking?
- Thread starter Jeff Kershner
- Start date
Question for the board:
For years some dealers have used the "CarFax One-Owner Car" sticker/designation as a way to justify listing one particular unit higher than another. The conventional wisdom being that if I have a 5-year old car that is a one-owner and dealer "X" down the street has the same make/model with similar miles that has had three owners mine is worth "a little" more because of it's "one-owner" status. We have all done it. But HOW much more is it worth? $100/$500/$1000?
Who knows? It's arbitrary.
It seems to me that all CarFax is doing is putting a dollar figure on the data that they are providing; not a value on the car as a whole. If you look at the example the "Book Value" block is blank and CarFax instructs you to go to the vehicle valuation tool of your choice to enter that amount.
So is this tool really valuating your cars or valuating the information that they are already providing?
If they are only monetizing the already available information on the vehicle then I really don't see what the fuss is about.
For years some dealers have used the "CarFax One-Owner Car" sticker/designation as a way to justify listing one particular unit higher than another. The conventional wisdom being that if I have a 5-year old car that is a one-owner and dealer "X" down the street has the same make/model with similar miles that has had three owners mine is worth "a little" more because of it's "one-owner" status. We have all done it. But HOW much more is it worth? $100/$500/$1000?
Who knows? It's arbitrary.
It seems to me that all CarFax is doing is putting a dollar figure on the data that they are providing; not a value on the car as a whole. If you look at the example the "Book Value" block is blank and CarFax instructs you to go to the vehicle valuation tool of your choice to enter that amount.
So is this tool really valuating your cars or valuating the information that they are already providing?
If they are only monetizing the already available information on the vehicle then I really don't see what the fuss is about.
@Troy with all due respect, This discussion has never really been about what the feature does or how it works. Based on what you are saying it is further evidence that we (dealers) are left to figure it out for ourselves and try and create our own spin on the product. It's never been about handling a $300 objection. I can't imagine anyone on this forum lacking the sales skills to overcome price objections.
The bottom line is that Carfax added a feature to OUR Websites that gives the customer pricing information that is contrary to what we have posted. Their spin is that we can say "Yes Mr. Customer we priced this car based on the - $300 History Impact" Does anyone really believe that is what the consumer is seeing when they see the History Impact figure? They are seeing a discount, a discount provided by a trusted third party right there on the dealers website that contradicts what the dealer has posted as their selling price.
The bottom line for me is that this was an ill conceived product launch with little or no consultation with the people that are paying for it, the dealers.
This discussion has been going on nine days now without any interaction form Carfax other than the company line. I have not heard from my rep and she is aware of these discussions as I am sure all of their reps are. Carfax is playing a waiting game. Pretty soon we'll all grow tired of this. Some will switch to Autocheck, but most with CPO obligations will not. In any event Carfax should be held to a higher standard. They have left the vendor / partner relationship behind and have become the dictator of our business practices. That is a relationship that I am not comfortable with.
The bottom line is that Carfax added a feature to OUR Websites that gives the customer pricing information that is contrary to what we have posted. Their spin is that we can say "Yes Mr. Customer we priced this car based on the - $300 History Impact" Does anyone really believe that is what the consumer is seeing when they see the History Impact figure? They are seeing a discount, a discount provided by a trusted third party right there on the dealers website that contradicts what the dealer has posted as their selling price.
The bottom line for me is that this was an ill conceived product launch with little or no consultation with the people that are paying for it, the dealers.
This discussion has been going on nine days now without any interaction form Carfax other than the company line. I have not heard from my rep and she is aware of these discussions as I am sure all of their reps are. Carfax is playing a waiting game. Pretty soon we'll all grow tired of this. Some will switch to Autocheck, but most with CPO obligations will not. In any event Carfax should be held to a higher standard. They have left the vendor / partner relationship behind and have become the dictator of our business practices. That is a relationship that I am not comfortable with.
@Rob Thanks and I agree that it was/is ill conceived on CarFax's part. Unfortunately we dealers are dealing with the CarFax's, Autotrader's, Cars.com's, AutoChecks, etc of the world that have revenue streams from both the end consumer and the dealers.
That, in itself, is a conflict of interest. On one hand CarFax charges the dealer a very big fee for each report that is pulled. Then Carfax advertises to the buyers to go into every dealer and "Ask for the CarFax" which the buyer gets for no addition cost to them( and do not realize that some dealers pay as much as $40 for it).
As I mentioned in my second post on this thread, CarFax is becoming more Apple/Steven Jobs-like by the day. They set up these strategic alliances with the CPO programs and sites like Autotrader.com and once they feel that they are in the driver's seat enough they do what they please.
Unfortunately this product adds no value to the CarFax report for the customer or the dealer. It's just something someone at CarFax thought was neat, but it is more something that just muddies the already murky used car waters even more.
That, in itself, is a conflict of interest. On one hand CarFax charges the dealer a very big fee for each report that is pulled. Then Carfax advertises to the buyers to go into every dealer and "Ask for the CarFax" which the buyer gets for no addition cost to them( and do not realize that some dealers pay as much as $40 for it).
As I mentioned in my second post on this thread, CarFax is becoming more Apple/Steven Jobs-like by the day. They set up these strategic alliances with the CPO programs and sites like Autotrader.com and once they feel that they are in the driver's seat enough they do what they please.
Unfortunately this product adds no value to the CarFax report for the customer or the dealer. It's just something someone at CarFax thought was neat, but it is more something that just muddies the already murky used car waters even more.
Had a great call with CarFax yesterday. I have a better understanding of how this value system works, and on some levels I think it makes sense.
HOWEVER
I still take issue with CarFax getting into this game at all. I say that because we have not had the negotiation issues over CarFax results in the past. Now we have a lot of them. Basically, CarFax has created a whole new negotiation point that was barely there before.
Are our sales people better versed at handling it today: Yes.
Do we feel CarFax needed to take us here: No.
HOWEVER
I still take issue with CarFax getting into this game at all. I say that because we have not had the negotiation issues over CarFax results in the past. Now we have a lot of them. Basically, CarFax has created a whole new negotiation point that was barely there before.
Are our sales people better versed at handling it today: Yes.
Do we feel CarFax needed to take us here: No.
The price of a used car is impossible to be determined by some nation wide service. However, due to the massive amounts of people who try to provide this service the validity of what they are saying, even in the customer's eyes, is being extremely diluted. Market conditions including availability and demand consistently effect the price of used vehicles far more than many of the things that these companies use to determine the price. I had thought of carfax as a company trying to protect the consumer but I don't believe that this new product falls upon those lines. CarFax should stick to what they are almost good at.
Rob-
Amen- It isn't about the pricing objections. But what I can't stand is how these vendors are constantly trying to win influence of consumers (Autotrader's trade-in value and the new Carfax fiasco) illustrate to me their marketing departments may not be hitting on all cylinders. The dealers are the ones who pay their bills, and they need to be finding ways to strengthen those relationships, not trying to win over customers (I realize Carfax's success is largely predicated on being branded as the de facto vehicle history check).
I have been with dealers who have used either system, and for me, the Autocheck scoring system is probably the strongest argument for a premium price for your vehicle when it scores higher than the average vehicles.
As one earlier comment pointed out, customers may ask for the Carfax, but when showed Autocheck, and the differences explained, I have never had a customer decline the Autocheck.
Amen- It isn't about the pricing objections. But what I can't stand is how these vendors are constantly trying to win influence of consumers (Autotrader's trade-in value and the new Carfax fiasco) illustrate to me their marketing departments may not be hitting on all cylinders. The dealers are the ones who pay their bills, and they need to be finding ways to strengthen those relationships, not trying to win over customers (I realize Carfax's success is largely predicated on being branded as the de facto vehicle history check).
I have been with dealers who have used either system, and for me, the Autocheck scoring system is probably the strongest argument for a premium price for your vehicle when it scores higher than the average vehicles.
As one earlier comment pointed out, customers may ask for the Carfax, but when showed Autocheck, and the differences explained, I have never had a customer decline the Autocheck.
Dale, Thanks for the clarification on the fact that you now have the ability to adjust for low ball listings. My assumption was based on a conversation I had in a vAuto training class over a year ago where I kind of stumped the trainer with that low ball scenario. I will also pass this info to our Used Car Managers and please accept my apology for assuming this issue was not addressed in a timely manor or at all.
It seems we car dealers are once again circling the wagons. i'm fed up with it. I will not be dictated to by these arrogant bastards. I canceled my car-fax account. Imagine if every dealer in America did the same thing.
WHAT IS IS THE VALUE OF MY2008 DODGE GRANDE SE VIN 1D8HN44H688137246 SPORTS VAN 3.3L V6 SFIOV FRONT WHEEL DRIVE
