PRESSURE on car fleet operators to boost residual values and achieve efficiencies in the way they dispose of their older company cars will lead to more use of online trade auctions. That’s the view of Roger Woodward, managing director of the UK’s leading online auction, CD Auction Group.WHATEVER your view of the economic prospects for 2011, there’s no doubt that we’re all going to have to get better at doing business.
That means the typical business car manager will need to work harder at achieving high sales values, reducing costs and improving cashflow through selling ex-company cars more quickly.
In the old days, that would have meant casting your net wider and physically placing your ex-company cars in more auction halls – costing time and money. Now the answer is to trade online where ‘savvy’ motor dealers are increasingly buying stock and having it delivered straight to the forecourt.
We conducted a survey of major vehicle and plant operators recently. All said they were planning to switch more defleet business to online trade auctions over the next five years.
A critical factor we believe in successful online buying and selling is comprehensive condition reports and high quality digital photographs of all the cars for sale.
Good descriptions and photos build buyer confidence
In the online world, it is vital that you build confidence between the vendor and the buyer. A comprehensive condition report that everybody can trust, plus pictures that genuinely show the true quality of the car, is the only way to do that.
We always offer full condition reports with photos. All vehicles and plant offered for sale are professionally photographed from every angle in a specially created, neutrally lit booth and their condition fully described – even down to minor chips and scuffs.
The high quality photographs, details of service history and any accompanying notes allow buyers to bid in complete confidence on every vehicle in the sale. In fact, we guarantee them. What you see is what you get, or we will rescind the sale.
But I believe there are not just economic arguments for online trade sales; there are strong environmental arguments too.
Online trade auctions make so much sense for both buyer and vendor, not just in the present economic climate but also for the future. Just think of the carbon footprint of all those trade buyers driving to auctions all over the country every week. Businesses that are genuinely interested in reducing their carbon emissions should be looking at the alternatives.
