Comments on: Autotrader.com for sale? Not anymore – is that too bad?

By: D

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:12:34 +0000

Lol, there are several Ad sites that are giving them a run for their money. Autotrader been sending attorneys after people so they can monopolize. So, if you have autotrader in your name you are F'ed. They think they created other peoples domains names and paid for it. There is a site that is awesome looking in design and their ranking isn't bad for the time they been on the net called Bogartautotrader.com. They got attacked – funny thing is it seem like they waited to see if they were goin gto do good then hit them from a repliable source of mine. Internet monopoly I mean you are goin gup against COX, corporate gangbangers it seem. If you are a small guy they can't handle competition what do they do – gangbang in suits and ties instead of man up and give people that made them rich help like all those dealerships that are going down Im sure they made COX and AutoTrader.com rich so when they going to help the car industry like lowering their fucking feed prices. I know BogartsAutoTrader.com was doing this and people were happy. Spread the word, in my opinion they went after them BogartsAutoTrader.com because they are honest and is trying to help the car industry instead of rob them when the economy is down. Our country needs more honest businesses like BOGARTSAUTOTRADER.com. I won't doubt if Autotrader start harrassing them to give up their domain name. Thats what wussies do in my book must know you suck when you got to worry about the little guy, lmao sad. Money gangbangers once the corporate peanut butter kicks in they will get you stuck like a ghetto with no option "AUTOTRADER".

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:44:56 +0000

Super Sales- that’s interesting because I’ve heard that same thing recently. A lot of their recent behavior can be explained by them dressing up AutoTrader.com for sale. I’m curious if anyone else has heard this, seen any signs, or has any additional info?

By: Rumor?

Rumor? — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:25:39 +0000

The likely suitors would be Google, Microsoft, or somebody with VERY deep pockets. Imagine what Google could do to the market if they owned ATC.

By: SuperSales

SuperSales — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:32:26 +0000

So after reading all of this, there is another rumor that AutoTrader is back on the market. Is there any truth to this rumor? Is Cox once again trying to unload?

By: MikeMTempe

MikeMTempe — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:02:38 +0000

The ATC subject is always interesting to say the least. As a former employee of ATC and ATP over an 8 year period I am amazed at the loyalty from dealers. Does ATC work? Off course. Is it worth the investment? That is up to the dealer and the ROI they are expecting. Does ATC innovate? Without a doubt. But how does that innovation help the dealer? Is real or perceived? Again, the answer is subjective. In the beginning ATC was to be a targeted advertising venue. They thought the buying process would be changed and the need for dealers per se would change dramatically. Well that didn’t happen. Now they are introducing products such as the ALPHA programs for thousand more. How does a dealer resolve the ROI question? Some have because of basic marketing and advertising models. We spend the money we HAVE to be getting our moneies worth. I question that logic and do openly as a competitor of ATC on the streets. While they serve a need, does the invention of new more expensive prducts really increase ROI or just justify them building brand recognition for a future sale? There are many opportunities out there for dealers, but the “newspaper syndrome” has taken hold, “I need to be there and in a big way since my competition is there”. Mr.Perry and crew have done a great job, building their brand on the dealers back.

By: Kool-Aid

Kool-Aid — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:51:19 +0000

veh…

ATC has been piloting different versions live for the past several months. You will be seeing the new version shortly.

By: veh

veh — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:16:13 +0000

Have you looked at the Vehix website lately? It is a much nicer site than Autotrader. It looks like the code was written in the last decade, not 1999 like ATC. Very nice filtering options, although sadly they still don’t enforce consistency in the listings (if you don’t put trans type in a listing, a shopper can’t filter for it).

AT website is a PITA to navigate and looking for specific vehicle characteristics is useless. They don’t seem to be putting any money into IT and development; could it be they are trying to cut expenses to make it attractive to a buyer?

By: Goldberg

Goldberg — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:17:57 +0000

I have been in the car business 45 years and sold a trillion dollars in cars.ATC is only as good as the ROI it produces. It should at minimum be double in terms of the spend.

By: Rosenbaum

Rosenbaum — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:34:15 +0000

(I am, 20yrs car guy, 10 on my own,$34million sals in 2008) ATC is expensive, but so is a Duramax Diesel, ATC gets the job done.===Real issues==Dealers aren’t using the tools they have to be effective. I’ve seen dealers with partnership packages that still have dealer specialties to come take 9 pics….they pay for 27 but only use the 9…they have the best placement on ATC and have lame descriptions, I’m sure that’s a good indicator on how they handle the customer when they call in………

They billboard at Times Square is expensive….but you never see it blank…or with some corn-ball hokie ad…..or half used…..

Dealers right now are targeting ATC as a big ticket expense to cut….they should train staff instead….that’s what I do now….there is a great need for it…

By: Trader Hokie

Trader Hokie — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:43:44 +0000

Former and Ex-ATC, it definitely all falls in line with what’s been going on lately. Just about everything you hear in rumor these days is based in fact. A former co-worker and I started hearing bits, pieces, and rumors, and we predicted, EXACTLY how the demise of Cox Auto Trader/Auto Mart was going to go down, and we got it down EXACTLY, even to the utilizing of the print reps to convert revenue before they ditch them, which, mark my words, is the plan. Why do you think they are only giving them a $25,000 base as opposed to the $40,000-$45,000 starting base all other advertising consultants make. They are looking for a low-cost solution to converting dollars. Sure, they are paying them some heavy commissions up front (200% on converted print revenue), but in the long run, they overall value of the upsell is worth more.
It’s all way too transparent.