DealerRefresh

Obstacles, Observations and Opinions of an Automotive Internet Sales & Marketing Manager

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AutoTrader.com buys vAuto – rumor says

There have been some rumors floating around about this purchase for a little while now, but as of today DealerElite.net is saying it is true.  Is it?

About the Author

Jeff Kershner

I’m the founder of DealerRefresh. I got my start in the dealer business when I was 18. From there I've worked throughout several departments within fixed to variable ops. Whether it’s managing the desk, perfecting sales process or studying online marketing and media trends, I absolutely love this business and the challenges it brings. On top of keeping up with DealerRefresh, I consult with dealerships and key industry businesses. My passion has been and continues to be helping dealers leverage new media to sell and improve customer service.

Comments

  2. I haven't heard anything from the horse's mouth yet, but there are quite a few people in positions to know this sort of thing saying it is true.

    True or not, I'm very curious to hear what the dealer body has to say.

  4. If vAuto is for sale, my suitor's prediction is below.

    I have been blessed over the years to have some intense and exciting discussions with Dale. We have had many a chat about what vAuto does and what it COULD do. I felt that on top of what vAuto does already, its just a few steps from becoming an engine to power all sorts of internet marketing opportunities.

    Back in the day, I would lobby to Dale that we all know vAuto deeply analyzes classified site traffic, but with a little creativity and some vAuto capital they could expand the vAuto scope greatly.

    One idea was to expand the platform to where vAuto could build an Internet Command Center where all the internet stats from ALL internet points all come together. I mentiioned it would be easy to grab stats from a dealers site via an Embed of a snippet of code. It would open a door into the vAUto platform for a FULL analysis. This "window" into vAuto would allow me to ask questions like:

    Is my inventory balanced?
    vAuto could tell me the VDP traffic of SUV's for my home site is 26% of all VDPs, BUT, your SUV inventory is only 11% of your inventory.
    vAuto could tell me that 60% of the VDP traffic of SUV's for my home site is between 10,000 and 16,000, yet only 3% of my inventory matches this profile.

    Not good.

    AutoTrader.com is not an ideal match, no, IMO the perfect would be a digital marketing player that has a large portfolio of digital marketing offerings and vAuto would fit nicely in that portfolio.

    Not only would the suitor acquire several thousand dealers (with a butt load of new sales opportunities) but the vAuto platform expansion opportunities are off the charts.

    IMO, there is only ONE high energy match to vAuto with the cash, the resources and the VIBE to match vAuto.

    That would be Dealer.com.

    Add vAuto into the Dealer.com portfolio and now you've got SYNERGY.

    …game…set…match.

  6. V-auto has always said they wouldn't use the data for retail customer research and so on but I haven't heard the same thing from autotrader.com??? I hope this doesn't have anything to do with the acquisition….

  8. If this is true then Auto Trader will completely eff up vAuto! AT has been a joke for years and have messed over dealers with the crap they dole out. They have been eaten alive on this site forever. I hope and expect that Pollock is smarter then to sell his jewel to a black hole company like AT. It would be a total sell out if he does and a damn dirty shame! vAuto is one of the only dealer tools out there that is credible. AT buying vAuto is like a super model getting mated with Frankenstein!

  9. Kelley Blue Book for sale, sources say

    …Kelley Blue Book, the family-owned automotive information provider, has hired a bank for a sale, two bankers claiming knowledge of the situation told mergermarket.

    JP Morgan was retained within the past few weeks for the sale process, one of the bankers said.

    A spokesperson for the Irvine, California-based company declined comment. Kelley Blue Book was founded by Les Kelley in 1926 and its online arm, kbb.com, was launched in 1995.

    The second banker said Kelley Blue Book is likely to be valued between USD 500m and USD 1bn.

    AutoTrader.com, which recently sold a 25% stake to Providence Equity Partners, is said to be the lead bidder, the first banker said, adding that both financial and strategic suitors are involved in the process. He mentioned KKR as a likely bidder. EBay and Googlealso would be logical bidders for this asset, he said.

  11. There are many more acquisitions to come. Nearly every company selling online marketing products to auto dealers is for sale. This was the exit strategy for vAuto and nearly everyone else. ADP, Google, eBay, and Microsoft are the most obvious exceptions.

    On its own, this is neither good nor bad for dealers. The leading questions for dealers will always be how to measure value and hold vendors accountable.

    Very few dealers know their total cost per Vehicle Details Page (VDP) or Search Results Page (SRP) for the various listing products they buy. Some of the worst values are from local websites carrying listings.

    I can look at a handful of numbers on an AutoTrader.com or Cars.com report and get a very accurate reading on the value received and what can be done to improve that value. This is not rocket science. I created a free tool for dealers to download for exactly this purpose. http://revenueguru.com/content/revenueguru-toolbo…

    None of the acquisition news, now or in the future, changes the way value is measured and vendors are held accountable. It is interesting but not actionable. Dale works hard to help dealers understand how to get full value from listing products. Whether or not a listings company buys vAuto has no impact on his logic or the need to put it to work.

  12. Vauto is a joke. Nothing like paying to have someone tell me to slash my pricing, sell more cars but make no money, but yet they are guaranteed their subscription, all because they "keep an eye" on my competition. Crazy thing is, everyone feels he is the best salesman around with a great idea! At the end of the day. Vauto wins no matter what anyones numbers are.

  13. Timothy…Timothy…Timothy…V-Auto doesn't tell you to slash your prices. Unless of course you are not very good at buying your inventory. V-Auto is helping you succeed in today's ultra competitive market. If you aren't making money, it's because you aren't acquiring the right inventory for the right price. As a matter of fact, it sounds like you need V-Auto.

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