Honda Dealership Enhances Trade-In Process

Based in Wilsonville, Ore., Parker Johnstone's Wilsonville Honda is a franchise dealership that markets primarily within a 50-mile radius of Portland. Since October 2010, Trade-In Marketplace has played a pivotal role in the dealership's integrated trade-in and sales process, helping it to enhance the consumer's dealership experience, as well as providing the dealership with a method to acquire used inventory without having to rely solely on auctions. 

At Wilsonville Honda, the Trade-In Marketplace is so ingrained into the dealership's in-store process that the first thing customer service representatives (CSRs) do when discussing a trade-in value with consumers is to generate an offer through the Trade-In Marketplace. By using the tool for each and every trade, Wilsonville Honda is able to provide visibility into how it arrives at a trade-in offer amount, which helps build rapport with consumers. 

"Generating a Trade-In Marketplace quote is the first thing the CSRs do and it's really a major part of the car deal because obviously the first thing people want to do on the four-square is find out what their car is worth," said Larry Skreen, business development manager at Wilsonville Honda, adding that the Trade-In Marketplace helps them involve the consumer in the process: "There is no coming through the used car manager and whispering. It is all electronic and visible to the consumer from the moment they first step into the lobby."

Trade-In Marketplace is an AutoTrader.com vehicle valuation tool accessible via links on AutoTrader.com, KBB.com or participating dealer websites. Select dealerships can also use Trade-In Marketplace in the store to offer consumers visibility into the trade-in valuation process. Consumers and/or dealership representatives populate the Trade-In Marketplace form with detailed vehicle information, and the tool generates an instant cash offer, valid for 72 hours, redeemable at the dealership.

"When Trade-In Marketplace came out, we were excited because it provided a valuation that we can validate – and especially because it's an instant cash offer and not just our opinion. An opinion is only worth what is behind it, and when it's backed by an actual cash offer, it's a much more powerful tool for us," added Bob Moore, general sales manager at Wilsonville Honda.

Wilsonville Honda's story becomes even more compelling due to the fact it maintains an average monthly sales volume of 80 and 100 new vehicles and 40-50 used vehicles, despite doing virtually no traditional advertising and having no drive-by traffic. Additionally, the dealership uses trade-ins as its primary source of used vehicle inventory acquisition, as opposed to relying heavily on other methods like going to auctions.

Juan Flores, director of operations for AutoTrader.com's Trade-In Marketplace, commented, "A tool is only as strong as the processes built around it, and Wilsonville Honda is a prime example of how a dealership can experience a multitude of benefits from the Trade-In Marketplace when it is fully ingrained into the dealership's operations and in-store experience for consumers."