AUTOTRADE-MAIL has launched a new addition to its trade-to-trade vehicle sourcing website, entitled ‘MultiSource’.
For the first time, vehicles available in auction houses and fleet sales will appear on the website – housed under a separate tab on the homepage to distinguish the vehicles from those available from other dealers.
The vehicle feeds appear on Autotrade-Mail in much the same format as any others on the site, with members free to search the stock and filter by make, model, colour and so on.
Unlike trade-to-trade vehicles on Autotrade-Mail, however, it’s not possible to bid or make offers directly from the site. Instead, buyers can view appraisals of each vehicle and are given contact details for the auction and remarketing firms that are offering the cars.
Live now, and included in the standard Autotrade-Mail subscription, MultiSource already offers vehicles from a range of auction and remarketing firms – including Aston Barclay, SMA and more.
‘The industry has talked about the need for such an aggregated source of used car stock for some time as franchised dealers in particular are placing more emphasis on their used car operations,’ said Autotrade-Mail’s operations director, Kevin Watson.
‘This is a win/win for all those involved in remarketing used cars whether buying or selling. MultiSource will enable dealers to view multiple sources of stock from one combined search within Autotrade-mail and assist them in finding the stock they need quickly and efficiently.
‘Meanwhile the partnership with auction houses, fleet operators and dealers will provide a much wider buyer audience to help maximise the values of cars being remarketed. With quality used stock becoming harder to find due to the shrinking car parc over the past five years, additional supply lines are vital to run a successful used car operation in 2013.’
