AutoTrader.com and vAuto announce the integration of AutoTrader.com’s Trade-In Marketplace (TIM) into vAuto’s suite of inventory management tools.

Integrating TIM with vAuto enables dealers to efficiently acquire more trade-ins and deliver a more market-transparent and customer-satisfying appraisal and purchasing process.

“This integration advances our goal to build greater synergies between AutoTrader Group companies and provide more value for dealers,” says Jim Menard, vice president and general manager for vAuto. “Combining TIM and vAuto simplifies the trade-in appraisal and acquisition process at dealerships. It helps dealers more efficiently identify and purchase a greater number of the used vehicles they need from the best source possible—their own customers.”

“TIM offers car shoppers the most transparent and easy-to-use method to determine the current market value of their trade-in vehicle and locate a dealer who wants their car,” says David Berry, senior manager of operations for TIM. “This integration streamlines the workflow for dealers as they match TIM offers to their used vehicle buy lists and use market-specific data with customers to appraise and acquire their vehicles.”

The integration’s benefits for dealers include: 

• Less effort and time to access TIM offers and complete appraisals.  Specific vehicle data moves seamlessly from TIM to vAuto’s appraisal tool. This eliminates the data entry and multiple logins dealers currently perform to view vehicle condition and valuation reports to complete appraisal offers.
• Additional market data for better dealer appraisals. The integration includes the new TIM Market Report, which dealers can use with customers to detail the vehicle-specific options and conditions that drive TIM offers and their own appraisal amounts.
• Greater confidence in trade-ins. The integration synchronizes Provision’s Inventory Recommendations List with TIM offers. Dealers no longer have to guess or double-check whether a customer’s trade-in vehicle is a “right” car for their store. Similarly, Provision’s letter grade ranking helps dealers quickly assess the retail opportunities and risks each TIM offer vehicle represents. Dealers can receive e-mail or text alerts when customers complete TIM offers that match vehicles Provision recommends for their used vehicle inventories. The feature allows dealers to respond more quickly when vehicles they need most become available.