Car dealers lose £11,000 a month using ‘opinions’ to price used vehicles

Auto Trader has claimed that car retailers pricing their used car stock using “opinion” instead of live market data are losing almost £11,000 a month.

The online automotive marketplace and data provider claimed that its July data indicated franchised retailers are losing an average £12,700 per month while independents are missing out on of £10,000.

It said retailers are at risk of losing crucial profits due to using “editorial opinion” instead of “up-to-date retail data”, adding: “Stock that’s priced too cheaply not only runs the risk of not appearing in the results of a consumers’ initial budget range search, but it can also often create that ‘too good to be true’ situation, casting doubt and mistrust in the eyes of the buyer.”

Auto Trader’s bid to sell the virtues of its own market data offering comes just days after former Cazana vice president of insight and analytics Rupert Pontin told AM that Cazoo’s acquisition of the used car valuations provider had left a “gap in the market”.

The platform, re-named as Cazoo Data Services, saw its whole-market data offering was withdrawn from a growing client base following its £25 million acquisition by the online car retailer in September last year.

Pontin said: “The loss of Cazana has certainly left a gap in the market. There are other players out there and Auto Trader offers a vast array of tools that undoubtedly help retails gain visibility and sell cars, but nobody else served-up that whole market data piece.”

Commenting on Auto Trader’s data about accurate stock valuations, Auto Trader data and insight director Richard Walker said: “In today’s market conditions, it’s easy to lose track of current market value of your used car stock. But with significant profits at stake, it’s more important than ever retailers keep using the data to ensure their vehicles are priced to market meaning they’re getting the best possible margin for their stock.

“Ask yourself what daily, weekly and monthly checks you should be carrying out to ensure you’re not leaving profit on the table.

“It’s also important to note that this figure could be significantly more if retailers choose to follow unsubstantiated speculation or editorial guidance instead of the live retail market data, so check your sources carefully.”

Back in January, Auto Trader made its Auto Trader Connect real-time car retail market data portal free to all advertisers in a bid to help car dealers adapt with a market “moving at record pace”.

At the time the online automotive marketing platform has said that over 2,500 retailers have already signed up to receive the benefit of real-time data sharing, while 70 third-party system providers have already integrated Auto Trader Connect into their platforms.