5:00 pm, December 8, 2025
Auto Trader has tweaked its controversial Deal Builder product as the firm ‘listens to feedback’ from its customers.
Consumers will now be able to ‘request a reservation’ from dealers without paying the £99 fee on the Auto Trader platform.
It will then be up to each dealer whether they want to offer a full reservation process via the Deal Builder product or simply deal with reservation requests as and when they come in.
Contact will need to be made between the buyers and the dealer and they will need to agree on the next steps, which may include the sale progressing without the need for a reservation.
Since Deal Builder was rolled out – something that will soon become mandatory for all retailers using the Auto Trader site – the firm has made a number of tweaks.
One included adding a ‘next steps’ option for consumers rather than simply calling or reserving the car on the site.
In an email bulletin to customers, Auto Trader said: ‘We’ve heard you and we understand that introducing reservations, for some, can require more significant process changes and we know they may not be right for every business today.
‘To support retailers, we are developing an alternative option: A Reservation Request.’
Today’s email bulletin to dealers also explained other changes the firm had made including less prominent ‘reservation in progress’ flags on cars, so customers can see they are still for sale.
Auto Trader said it had also removed language suggesting buyers can ‘secure the vehicle’ to ensure dealers remain in control of the sale.
And it reminded dealers that ‘no transaction fees are charged on deals, including those with a reservation’.
Following the roll out of Deal Builder a wave of discontent among some Auto Trader customers led to some cancelling or downgrading their packages with the firm.
Speaking to journalists today, Auto Trader CEO said he had been ‘surprised’ and ‘hurt’ by the level of criticism the firm had received in the wake of the Deal Builder roll out.
However, he said he welcomed the ‘constructive’ feedback dealers had given the firm.
He added that he believed Deal Builder was also ‘one of the best products’ the firm had launched.
Coe said: ‘All the things we’re trying to do is about trying to provide what we’re good at to a fragmented customer base that don’t necessarily have the same technical capabilities that we do.
‘Most of the products that we’ve been launching are all about reducing the sales effort.
‘We think that the retailers who will do well are seriously looking at that question using their own technology but also our technology as well.
‘If you’re a small retailer and you don’t have any of that technology we can obviously reach out to help with that as well.
‘That being said, of course we have seen over the last couple of weeks that change isn’t always easy. We had been going at a pace. It turns out that pace was quicker than what our customers could handle.
‘We have made changes on the back of that just to accommodate some of that feedback.’
Coe told the Car Dealer Podcast recently that it would be launching customer advisory panels so it could hear feedback directly from its customers. The first meetings of those will take place soon.
The email to dealer added: ‘We’ll continue to listen to your feedback and work closely with you to ensure Auto Trader supports your current processes whilst helping you engage more confident, higher-intent buyers.’
Additional reporting: Jack Williams
