TORRANCE, CA – Toyota Financial Services is changing its remarketing Web site in an effort to help dealers feel more confident buying and selling used vehicles online, according to Automotive News. The changes to the Dealer Direct site are scheduled for mid-2009. The revamped site aims to simplify searching for and buying vehicles. It will notify dealers electronically when a specific vehicle is available for purchase.

Toyota Financial is considering a site tool that would enable dealers to buy and sell vehicles to each other online. The company also is looking at allowing dealers to buy vehicles online at fixed prices before they are sent to physical auctions.

About one-third of Toyota and Lexus dealers use Dealer Direct to buy off-lease vehicles from Toyota Financial, the captive finance company of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. Toyota Financial expects to sell about 50,000 off-lease cars and trucks online this year.

Toyota Financial gives Toyota and Lexus dealers first choice at buying its end-of-lease vehicles. After that, vehicles are offered on Dealer Direct in daily auctions. Vehicles that don’t sell there go to physical auctions open only to Toyota and Lexus dealers. Toyota Financial is considering whether to offer the vehicles for sale at a fixed price, according to Automotive News.