whitestone679231

I find it frustrating to monitor where a sale has come from, I sold a Honda CRV yesterday and they said they had seen it on Autotrader but obviously I no longer advertise on there so they said they think maybe e bay, I asked them to check and they sent me a link to my advert and it was parkers.co.uk, I didnt even know I advertised there!!!! but on closer inspection it says powered by motors.co.uk, so I guess well done motors.....

yes i usually manage a couple a month off them and at £25 a week for 65 cars its a no brainer.

Gavin I use Motors and have stuck with them through lean times as they built up to compete against AT, we are now at a point where e bay, motors.co.uk, AA Cars and exchange and mart combined are giving us as many sales as AT were for less than a third of the price, I hope more dealers keep supporting these other sites and help them build on their success, they are actually nice people to deal with which is a refreshing change from the arrogance that AT has towards the trade. The job is tough at the minute even for people advertising on AT so immediate results are not going to be obvious but I look forward to the future with serious competition for Auto Trader.

Thats good news gofaster lets hope it helps Motors to knock the big hungry wolf off its top spot..

Out of interest Chris how many cars do you advertise on AT, I found that it was costing me on average £400 to £500 per sale in advertising costs with AT ie monthly advertising with AT £3500 and only 6 guaranteed sales from it, others said they saw on AT but also saw on motors e bay etc, so working on £1000 margin, give vat man £200 AT £500 that leaves £300 for prep etc so nothing left in pot, Since leaving AT we sell almost as many cars but the advertising spend per car is under £100 and because we are not competing to be on page 1 our margin has also crept up, and not as much stress when some computer kid tells you that your stock is overpriced and you need to just order a showroom full of white golfs at under book etc.

I also left Autotrader and get good results from Ebay motors, exchange and mart, AA cars and motors.co.uk, I think people sit at there computers and trawl through all the sites before making a decision so if you are on at least a couple of the sites they should find you, the annoying thing is that even though I am not on Autotrader most customers when asked will still say they saw it on Autotrader, when I tell them it wasnt advertised there they remember the other sites they looked at so it is very hard to monitor, I think for a couple of hundred pounds a month E Bay is a no brainer and is currently our best advertising spend but I hope motors.co.uk etc keep plugging away at AT,s stranglehold and knock them off there arrogant perch.

There was once a rumor that Autotraders unofficial motto was "THEY NEED US MORE THAN WE NEED THEM" and they did/do have an arrogant attitude dictating how to run your business how to price stock etc etc and laughing when we questioned annual double figure price increase, fortunately the competition has gained ground on them and personally having stopped advertising with AT we sell just as many cars without them as we did with them but have £3500 a month less overheads so now there motto must be "WE NEED THEM MORE THAN THEY NEED US".. Previously it was only a handful of dealers with big balls that left AT and advertised elsewhere but talking to the trade and ex autotrader employees it is the norm for dealers to jump ship and not look back, hopefully AT execs will realise before it is too late that there arrogance and unaffordable price hikes are killing a brilliant market leading product..