What gets into your mind when you think of web sites for posting your car inventory online? Craigslist? E-bay? Autotrader perhaps? It can be quite mind boggling selecting one site from another. Essentially, it all boils down to which one is the most effective. With this in mind, you would need a site that does not necessarily have the highest traffic but something that has the highest PURCHASING traffic. This means that you would need to look for a site or host that has a continuous and stable flow of targeted traffic or site visitors which have high sales potential.
Here is a comprehensive list of the current top 5 websites that have the target visitors where you could market your car inventory.
1. www.AutoTrader.com
This has about 8 million targeted visitors. It provides services like car research, car pricing tools, loans, insurance and tutorials on the optimum way on how to sell your car.
2. www.Edmunds.com
This has close to 7 million targeted visitors. It offers three different dealer programs which are the Free Listings, the New Car Leads and the Premier Dealer Program.
3. www.Cars.com
This has about 3.5 million targeted visitors. Their Ad Package connects you with quality buyers at a lower cost per vehicle than single dealer ads. They offer exclusive partnerships, advertising campaigns and free training and resources to help you sell more cars, drive traffic to your store, and build your dealership brand.
4. www.CarMax.com
This has about 3 million targeted visitors. They provide research as well such as ratings and reviews, payment calculators, fuel economy, and offer tips. They also have various financing plans.
5. www.MotorTrend.com
This also has close to 3 million targeted visitors. Although 5th based on site visits, it has one of the most comprehensive lists of car dealers which can be searched either by car make (brand) or by State.
The information here regarding estimates of targeted visitors each one of these sites get on a monthly basis as of 2011 has been provided by Compete.com.
Now, although these sites are extremely effective, that’s not to say that they are the only sites you have to be concerned with. New would-be car owners do not know these sites but know Craigslist which is not a site exclusively dedicated to car dealerships or car selling. The downside to Craigslist is that it doesn’t provide any form of buyer protection plan and doesn’t offer any car or car pricing research. It’s just a straight-up, independent nationwide classified-ad website. As such, online scams are a common occurrence here.
What you have to remember that not all paid ads provide the best return for your dollar. That said, you may want to check out different reviews or postings from previous customers or dealers as well.
So many dealers report getting great results of out Craigslist (and emulators like cargigi) that it deserved mentioning. The difficulty with these sites is that they always attempt to limit mass postings making it difficult for car dealers to market aggressively on them.
The actual whoaeslle value placed on the car by the dealer (they will almost NEVER tell you this number) will be within pocket change regardless of what dealership you go to. What really matters is your negotiating skills vs the sales staff’s skills. (They will win most of the time unless you are an experienced negotiator in your own right.) The next factor will be how much “wiggle room” exists in the vehicle that you are buying. If you are looking at a new compact at a Chrysler dealer and a new mid-sized Ford there will be more bargaining room at the Ford house so it may appear that they are offering you more on your trade. They really are not, they’re just shifting the numbers around to make it appear that way.The best way to buy a new car is to sell your old one privately for cash. You’ll ALWAYS get more money on a private sale than a dealer will allow whoaeslle on a trade. If you insist on trading in, say for convenience sake, bargain on the new vehicle as if you were a cash buyer who is NOT trading in a car. Once you have a firm deal signed by management, bring up your trade. Don’t let them mess with the selling price on the new car after that point. What they are offering you on your trade is something close to the true whoaeslle value. That number should be very close no matter what dealership you are at.Watch out for one trick that I’ve seen a lot of lately. Dealers will show you the Black Book whoaeslle price and claim that that’s all that it’s worth. What they are showing you however is the pricing for vehicle AUCTIONS. Auction pricing is always less than whoaeslle because the buyers are not permitted to do much more than look over the cars and listen to the engine running. They can’t drive them or put them on a lift for a close evaluation. Insist that they use the NADA whoaeslle dealer guide pricing which will always be higher. That’s fair because they have had a chance to carefully inspect your car, unlike when they buy at auction.