AUTO TRADER UK will offer consumers the ability to search by monthly price before the end of 2017.
The new option will arrive on December 20 and will be a step towards the creation of a complete finance offering for both dealers and consumers.
According to research from Google, 71 per cent of car buyers want to start the process of purchasing a car on finance online. The new search feature will allow them to see how much a car will cost them on finance, as well as giving dealers an opportunity to sell their finance deals at an earlier point in the customer’s car buying journey.
At present, any FCA-authorised dealer can show finance offers on an Auto Trader advertisement, displaying a monthly cost alongside the standard purchase price. There are currently around 4,500 dealers advertising stock in this way.
The upcoming finance search function, which has been developed in conjunction with Codeweavers, will allow customers to enter a monthly budget and find cars available for that amount.
Jason Biffin, retailer and consumer product director at Auto Trader, said: ‘We know just how influential finance is for today’s car buyers, many of whom view the affordability of a car based on their available monthly budget, and not the total price of the vehicle.
‘However, in many cases, before a dealer has had the opportunity to discuss finance options in person, as part of their online research, buyers have already secured their finance from other providers. We wanted to give our customers a competitive advantage with the opportunity to promote their own offers much earlier in the buying process when consumers are making their key decisions.’
The finance search function is not limited to FCA-approved dealers. Biffin continued: ‘We want to ensure all of our customers can capitalise on the increasing role of finance in today’s car buying journey.
‘Even if a dealer is not authorised by the FCA, car buyers will still have access to up to 70 different finance products from 17 lenders, including Barclays and Santander, through our trusted credit broker and longstanding partner, Zuto.’
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