The internet is helping used car dealers speed-up their sales of secondhand cars and improve their customer service, with knock-on benefits for residual values.

A new report by Cap Network reveals that 79% of dealers now have dedicated staff to update their websites, and almost half have a formal business plan for their internet activities.

'Dealer attitudes to the web - September 2001' also reveals that 81% of dealers will respond to emails within a day - compared to 63% in the last survey six months ago.

The number of dealers with websites has risen sharply over the same period, to 81% from 74% in March, although three-quarters of dealers claim that they generate fewer than 5% of their sales via the internet. Among the success stories, 9% of dealers now generate 16-20% of their sales on the web - last week Mercedes-Benz Direct sold its first used car online. (September 25, 2001)