Used car values expert Glass's has relaunched its website with a new portal offering better services to consumers.

And importantly for its dealer customers, the Glass's site can generate qualified leads which feed through to the consumer's local dealers.

It allows consumers to gain accurate retail, private and trade-in values for a vehicle, including condition-based valuation on detailing any scuffs, scratches or light damage present.

They can also search for new or used cars through an inventory of 180,000 vehicles, and select to have their details, and their part-exchange details, forwarded to whichever dealers they choose from Glass's Dealer Directory. 

Heiko Haasler, chief commercial officer, said: “The negotiation around the valuation of a trade-in vehicle can be a complex and emotionally charged one, and this is a major contributor to the majority of customer leads ending in no sale. Many customers have very unrealistic expectations of what their car is worth, either due to a lack of information or misleading information, often from the internet.

“We believe it is in the interest of dealers that consumers can obtain a more accurate assessment of the value of their vehicle online. In providing consumers with a trusted valuation source, Glass’s manages their expectations – giving dealers a very real opportunity to build trust with their customers, and offering a good base for negotiation.”

The company said Glass.co.uk is designed to generate leads for dealers, improve conversion rates and increase footfall. It provides access to a host of new sales tools, channelling customers seamlessly from valuations to dealer stock listings.

A free Dealer Directory provides dealers with a personalised listing, meaning they can be contacted by interested customers for information or a test drive. They can also buy leads of consumers requesting valuations.

Glass.co.uk is an additional shop window for dealers from which they can generate sales from serious car shoppers.

Dealers will also be offered the chance to take Lead Driver and Quick Quote plug-ins and SMS. This is a suite of tools for dealers to use on their own websites, helping them to add more value and capture visitor details:

- Quick Quote is a simple plug-in enabling dealers to provide their web visitors with a valuation there and then on their site.
- Lead Driver is an easy to install plug-in giving adjusted values in return for visitor details.
- Premium Valuation is an additional revenue stream for dealers when their website visitors want more detailed valuation options.
- SMS Service allows dealers to offer mileage adjusted valuations to visitors whilst collecting mobile leads and receiving a revenue share of the fee consumers pay.

Heiko Haasler continued: “All of these tools allow dealers to turn website visits into leads, generate additional revenue, manage customer expectations, create trust through greater transparency and create competitive advantage.

“In today’s tough economic climate, for dealers it’s ultimately about growing business and increasing profitability. We believe better informed customers are good news for dealers, and we have no doubt that utilising the opportunities on this website will have a powerful impact on dealers around the UK.”