TAKE POLL Cars.com VS AutoTrader VS CarGurus

[joe.pistell]

I’m going to resurrect my boy Jeff’s thread…

He Lives!!

 

[Blake Arbogast]

Joe,
Do you have any insight on Todd leaving the third party vendors? Did he miss a beat? I can't remember if it was during your tenure or after...

 

[Alexander Lau]

 

[Mid-Grade Ford]

I don't like this question @Jeff Kershner. They are three very different platforms that bring different value at different times in the buying process. @Ed Brooks will tell ya!

Great advice from Andy above. It's all advertising. It needs to be managed appropriately and maximized as Andy also eluded to above.

Wait, how are they different??

 

[joe.pistell]

Joe,
Do you have any insight on Todd leaving the third party vendors? Did he miss a beat? I can't remember if it was during your tenure or after...

Hi Blake,
Todd left Cars.com after I left. Last I heard, he's back on.

 

[Darsh]

Demographics and location play a huge part in this question. Our dealerships are in a rural area and Cars.com is king. If you drive 100 miles from us in any direction its Autotrader. Edmunds in the Northeast US I heard is huge. Cargurus hasn't made a marketing push in our area.

 

[Alexander Lau]

Demographics and location play a huge part in this question. Our dealerships are in a rural area and Cars.com is king. If you drive 100 miles from us in any direction its Autotrader. Edmunds in the Northeast US I heard is huge. Cargurus hasn't made a marketing push in our area.

Bingo! I've been saying that for years. I am probably overstating the obvious though... LOL!

 

[atikovi]

No mention of Ebay in this discussion? As a low volume seller I can't use Auto Trader or CG. At least on Ebay you can still buy individual listings. A little pricey on a per car basis but I seem to do pretty good there.

 

[Dave Lemmon]

If you're doing well on Ebay, there's a better way to do it. Little pricier, but you can list 80 cars per month for auction and actually be delivered full contact information on all bidders as leads. That way, even if you aren't transacting through Ebay, you end up with a solid lead count you can engage to sell it offline.

 

[Digital Dealer]

I’m going to resurrect my boy Jeff’s thread…

In the last couple years Car Gurus has definitely taken over the number one spot. For years I’ve questioned whether we really need to be on all the third party sites.

For example a couple months ago I bought my wife a car and visited Car Gurus, Cars.com, Autotrader, eBay, and a few other sites. Did the dealer I purchased from really need to be on every site I visited? My thought is no.

So again I ask is it really necessary to pay stupid amount of money to every single vendor? Or can we pick a select few?

This year we’ve decided to pick a select few. Car Guru and Autotrader made the cut, Cars.com did not. We will see how it goes…

Hi Blake- so curious what was the outcome in visiting all three sights? What was the deciding factor on the car you chose? Did you see it on all three sights? Which sight do you feel help you make the most informed decision?