Having worked for Manufacturer/Main agents for many years, until last year, and now being a small independent, I can tell you that the big boys do not pay anywhere near as much as we do per unit. Especially the bigger groups, Autotrader offer a two tier pricing structure that they don't tell you about. When I worked for a German Manufacturer we were offered a very cheap introductory deal, so cheap that it was a no brainer, they kept the same deal when we threatened to cancel after the introductory deal ended. So now as a small independent I find their current attitude of "who has the most money wins" disgusting. Hopefully over time lots of smaller dealers will leave to join other platforms and Autotrader will be left with only the big boys, which hopefully will make their stock profile too expensive, forcing the Public to look elsewhere.
