12:14 pm, November 17, 2025
Auto Trader boss Nathan Coe has promised to set up dealer advisory panels to help it shape future decisions following the anger aimed at its Deal Builder roll out.
The advertising marketplace boss spoke exclusively to the Car Dealer Podcast on Friday – the video of which can be seen above – where Coe promised to set up advisory panels for independent and franchised dealers.
In the podcast, Coe said sorry for the impact the roll out the new reservation tool has had on dealers but doubled down on its implementation for all its customers.
He told the podcast: ‘We recognise that there’s certainly a group of customers that feel like they’re not being listened to, so we’re going to establish an advisory group for both independent and franchise retailers to make sure that we’re getting their input from a broad range of customers, including those that don’t feel heard.’
Although detail on the make-up of these advisory groups has not yet been confirmed, Coe said the firm will release more information on them soon.
He told Car Dealer: ‘We have heard the collective feedback from our retailer community. We know that trust is earned, and our goal is to move beyond assurances of listening to provide concrete support and clear, actionable solutions.
‘To that end, we already continually engage with our retailer partners to help us shape our products and services, but we are looking to formalise our feedback processes with the creation of advisory groups for our independent and franchise customers.
‘We’ll be sharing more details on how these groups will be created and how they’ll run in the coming days.’
Deal Builder – which lets consumers reserve cars on the ad platform for £99 – will become mandatory for all dealers in the near future.
That announcement saw a backlash from dealers and protest Facebook groups set up calling for a mass cancellation of contracts last Wednesday.
Auto Trader said 59 dealers followed through with their threat to cancel completely and added 70 dealers had downgraded their packages as a result of the protest action.
Dealers say that it’s not just the roll out of the Deal Builder product they’re unhappy about, though.
Many claim leads have fallen since consumers were forced to sign in to the Auto Trader platform to submit a lead, dislike the new button layout on the website and are unhappy at annual price rises.
Changes coming
Auto Trader said it will this week implement a new design for consumers to contact car dealers. The Deal Builder change saw the message the dealer button removed in favour of reservations.
Coe said the buttons will be tweaked to give ‘retailers more of those leads that they care about’.
The change (pictured below) will see a ‘next steps’ button added next to one for calling the dealer which will expand to give consumers the option to build a deal, reserve or – importantly for many dealers – message them.
Coe said the roll out will happen ‘progressively’ and a spokesperson confirmed that the changes should be carried out for all dealers by Wednesday at the latest.
In a variety of trader groups, dealers have said their Auto Trader leads have dropped significantly since the changes were introduced. Some have uploaded pictures of their WhatsApp numbers to their adverts as a workaround to the contact changes.
Coe addressed a number of elements of the controversial Deal Builder roll out in Friday’s podcast including rumours they would charge for the product in the future – he said they won’t – and explained why the firm felt it was the right thing to do.
The episode, which was published on Friday, has already become the most listened to episode of the Car Dealer Podcast.
He said: ‘Rolling back deal builder isn’t something that we’re going to do.
‘We’re very convinced that it’s the right thing for retailers. It’s the right thing for car buyers.’
Hundreds of people have commented on the video version of the podcast. The comments are predominately negative towards the new product, including from motor traders and consumers.
One car buyer, Robert Butler, said: ‘I go to Auto Trader to see what sellers have in stock, not to buy off them.
‘I definitely won’t put a deposit or trade-in price via them, I will go straight to the dealer to reserve every time.
‘I travelled from South Wales to numerous places in the UK and dealers do a great job with on-line sales.’
In a separate comment following the podcast, Coe told Car Dealer: ‘We recognise that any change can raise questions and, at times, cause frustration.
‘We are fully aware of the strong feelings expressed by some of our partners, and we truly regret the confusion and anxiety that the rollout of Deal Builder has caused.
‘More broadly, our commitment is to work directly, openly, and constructively with every retailer to help them effectively manage their unique sales processes and experience the proven benefits of higher conversion and richer customer insights.
‘We’re already taking steps to tackle some of the concerns that have been raised, including an updated Deal Builder product page that addresses the contact type challenges to drive more of the leads we know our partners care about. This is being rolled out this week alongside Buying Signals which surfaces powerful buyer insights, and some broader refinements on how deals and enquires work in Portal.
‘Our partnership is unwavering, and we are dedicated to supporting every partner through this transition.’
