12:54 pm, November 11, 2025
It’s fair to say that Auto Trader’s new Deal Builder platform has caused a good deal of uproar among dealers.
Car Dealer reported yesterday how retailers are threatening a mass cancellation of their Auto Trader contracts in protest at the offering, which they say is costing them leads.
That action is being led by Ibrar Mohammed, whose Facebook group Autotrader Dealers Community has reached ore than 2,000 members in just a matter of days.
However, there are also others leading the rebellion, including one dealer who has come to the motor trade via a pretty unconventional route.
Tim Atkinson spent a number of years working in the aviation industry, working his way through the ranks to become a senior inspector of air accidents.
In that role, he worked with the government to investigate plane crashes – something he says has stood him in good stead for his current work.
After deciding to move away from the world of aircraft, he set up Sports & Touring Ltd – a high-end specialist used car dealer, based in Andover.
The business, launched in 2019, has enjoyed rapid growth in the years since, stocking prestige used cars from the likes of Jaguar, Audi and Land Rover.
Despite the success of the business, Atkinson says that his discontent with Auto Trader has been growing for some time, before Deal Builder became ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’.
Speaking about his journey into the motor trade, he told Car Dealer: ‘I was in aviation, and I ended up as a senior inspector of air accidents, which is where I did a lot of kind of high level investigative work.
‘I then left that industry. I wanted to do something completely different, and for better or worse, that thing ended up being motor retail.
‘It’s been an interesting ride. Had I known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have done it, but you’re always wise after the event!’
‘Monopoly’
Atkinson says he has consulted specialist lawyers about Auto Trader, which he says has a ‘monopoly’ on the used car market.
He is now set to send his case to the Competition and Markets Authority, after admitting he cannot afford to ‘cut off his nose to spite his face’ by cancelling his Auto Trader package.
The 58-year-old is also running a campaign group on Facebook – The AutoTrader Trade Customer Group – which has reached more than 800 members in just over a week.
‘In my previous work, I had cause to investigate corporate psychology and corporate behaviour in the course of working for the government,’ he explained.
‘I see in Auto Trader the same things I’ve seen in other large corporations. While it can be extraordinarily difficult to address, it’s the kind of thing you see when an organisation becomes so utterly compelled in its belief that it is excellent, that it ceases to be able even to consider that it might not be.
‘It ceases to regard questions about its conduct as being legitimate cause for at least investigation, if not concern, and instead, it ploughs on doing its thing.
‘I think I share with everyone in motor retail that I simply cannot understand how these giant profits can possibly be justified by anything other than abuse of a monopoly position.’
Auto Trader’s take
Dealers are angry at the mandatory adoption of the Deal Builder product which allows car buyers to reserve cars for £99. This process then marks the car as reserved on the advertising platform, effectively taking it off sale in the minds of dealers.
Car dealers are concerned that with their stock advertised on multiple platforms, they’ll be letting customers down if they sell it to someone else and cancel the reservation, leading to bad reviews.
Auto Trader’s boss Nathan Coe has told Car Dealer he and his team is ‘listening’ to the feedback from its retail partners.
Last week, the firm’s COO Catherine Faiers told Car Dealer that Deal Builder will become mandatory for all customers in the coming weeks. Up until now it has been optional with 6,000 of its 14,000 using the product.
The firm has also clarified that rumours of an additional 0.25% transaction fee are ‘simply not correct’ and told Car Dealer that deals with or without a reservation will not be subject to an additional charge for retailers’.
‘As we’ve outlined in our various communications over recent weeks, our strategy is to move beyond traditional leads to deliver higher-converting, profitable deals for our partners.
‘We believe that making Deal Builder the centre of the car buying journey on our platform will deliver the efficiency and competitive edge our retailers need.
‘We recognise that a change of this scale will generate questions and friction, as retailers need to change to connect with buyers. The concerns raised are actively being reviewed by all of the team here at Auto Trader.
‘Our commitment to our partners is absolute. We have nearly 300 dedicated account managers actively engaging with customers to discuss their circumstances and demonstrate how this evolution is designed to drive long-term performance.
‘We also urge our partners to join our dedicated webinars – we’re hosting another one later this week – and invite all questions, as we remain focused on supporting every retailer through this transition.’
‘Great people’
Despite admitting to having some regrets about entering the used car industry, Atkinson says that the trade remains full of ‘really great people’.
He also hit out at the notion that the industry is full of ‘Arthur Daley types’ – a reference to the famous con man from the TV series, Minder.
Speaking about the used car industry, he said: ‘I continue to be absolutely delighted by the very significant number of really great people in the business.
‘I was struck when I started joining dealer groups on Facebook by how many people there were who would clamp down on someone even suggesting something inappropriate.
‘The idea that the motor trade is full of Arthur Daley type characters simply isn’t true.
‘There are some out there, but I think the majority of us are really trying to do the very best that we can.
‘I think that we carry with us a very unfortunate burden of public expectation of how will how will be, and sometimes it’s difficult even with the best will in the world, for retail buyers to see past that.
‘While I acknowledge that there maybe are darker parts the motor trade, an awful lot of it is very good. It is something I enjoy doing.’
Auto Trader’s CEO Nathan Coe is set to appear on the Car Dealer Podcast this week. The episode will be published on Friday afternoon on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and later on YouTube. If you have any questions you’d like to put to him please send them to [email protected].
