Talks About Cars

The recent 2007 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates shows that AutoTrader.com is the best website for satisfying dealers with online buying services for new and used vehicle models. The 2007 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study determines the leading online automotive services and information that offers buying guides and services.

According to Steve Witten, executive director of marketing/media research at J.D. Power and Associates: "As products and services offered by online lead service providers continue to evolve, so does dealer satisfaction with those services. However, with dealer satisfaction averaging 585 on a 1,000-point scale for the new-vehicle lead segment and 613 for the used-vehicle lead segment, there remains considerable room for improvement in delivering the level of service dealers expect. In particular, the quality of leads is of prime importance to dealers regarding new-vehicle leads, while quantity is emphasized for used-vehicle leads."

Mr. Witten added: "Walk-in and call-in shoppers receive responses in a more timely manner at auto dealerships compared with online lead shoppers. An opportunity exists for dealers to improve on the return on their investment in lead services by paying as much attention to online leads as they would to in person or phone sales leads and by responding just as quickly."

The automotive websites are being ranked by J.D. Power staff in two major categories: independent new-vehicle and independent used-vehicle. In addition, rankings are based on five major criteria including business generation, dealer support and service, fees, transmission of leads, and advertising. J.D. Power rates the websites based on 1,000 point scale and AutoTrader.com earned the highest rating with 628 points in the New-Vehicle Lead Services Segment, and 672 for the Used-Vehicle Lead Services Segment.

Anyway, just check out the complete results of J.D. Power and Associates' 2007 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study below.

Dealer Satisfaction Index Scores - New-Vehicle Lead Services Segment

AutoTrader.com 628
Dealix 616
AutoUSA 605
Cars.com 605
New-Lead Services Segment Average 585
Autobytel Inc. 584
CarsDirect 559
eBay Motors 541
Vehix.com 503

Dealer Satisfaction Index Scores - Used-Vehicle Lead Services Segment

AutoTrader.com 672
Cars.com 668
Used-Lead Services Segment Average 613
Autobytel Inc. 601
Dealix (UsedCars.com) 588
eBay Motors 554

Meanwhile, Mr. Witten concluded: "Most online leads include price inquiries, so the practice of withholding price information until after shoppers come into the dealership could conceivably deter them from buying at that dealership. However, dealers who have a policy of postponing price discussions until shoppers come to the dealership report higher sales close rates, on average, than dealers who offer pricing information online before a visit to the dealer. While shoppers increasingly are contacting dealers via e-mail during the vehicle shopping and selection process, personal contact between the shopper and dealership is still very important."

[source: J.D. Power and Associates]