[June 18, 2013] vAuto and VinSolutions Introduce Integrate Used Vehicle Appraising, Pricing Tools Tweet Jun 18, 2013 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- vAuto and VinSolutions announced integrated used vehicle appraisal and pricing features for dealer customers who use both systems. "This integration marks another step in our effort to provide software solutions that drive greater efficiencies, process improvements and profitability for dealers," says Keith Jezek, president of AutoTrader Group's (ATG) Software Division. "In particular, this integration helps dealers deliver more customer-satisfying and seamless appraisals of vehicles, and makes it easier for dealers to align their used vehicle pricing to the current market." According to a release, the integration brings elements of vAuto's Appraising and Pricing tools into the VinSolutions customer relationship management (CRM) system's used vehicle inventory module. "Typically dealers lose efficiency and productivity as they toggle between systems to appraise and price vehicles," said Brian Skutta, vice president and general manager for VinSolutions. "Now, for dealers who use vAuto and VinSolutions, our new two-way integration is a 'best of both worlds' scenario that allows dealership personnel to easily access the information and tools they need while working in a single system." The 'single-system' integration features. as described by the Company, include: Customer-Centered Appraisals: The appraisal process in many dealerships is problematic for customers. Typically, salespeople must leave their customers to physically check on the status of the appraisal-an absence most customers don't appreciate. With the integration, a dealership's used vehicle manager can complete a vAuto-powered appraisal in the VinSolutions system. When the appraisal is complete, the salesperson receives an automated alert and can instantly access and share the appraisal details with customers. Similarly, a salesperson can print an appraisal voucher for customers who want to consider the offer and come back to sell or trade their vehicle at the dealership. "Salespeople don't like to leave their customers during appraisals-and now they don't have to," Skutta says. "Likewise, the integration eliminates double-entry of appraisal information, which minimizes errors and saves time." Productive, Market-Smart Pricing: In the VinSolutions system, dealers can now access vAuto's Pricing tool "Gauge Page" with a single click. The "Gauge Page" is a robust interface that lets dealers base their used vehicle pricing decisions on real-time market comparisons and data, as well as the profitability potential of each car. "A growing number of dealers understand that their used vehicles must always be competitively priced to appeal to today's price-smart buyers," said Jim Menard, vice president and general manager for vAuto. "The integration's single-click Gauge Page access saves dealers significant time by instantly giving them the real-time insights they need to make market-smart pricing decisions." Efficient, "Workflow-Smart" User Access: With the integration, the VinSolutions and vAuto systems "remember" individual dealership users and their workflows-instantly taking them to the screens and tools they need. This efficiency-focused enhancement effectively lets users "pick up where they leave off," Menard said. In the past three years, Auto Trader Group (ATG) has acquired Homenet, vAuto and VinSolutions. Each company is now a business unit within ATG's Software Division. "The vAuto/VinSolutions integration is only the beginning of key initiatives underway across ATG's software division business units to help our dealers gain a competitive advantage and achieve higher levels of success," Jezek said. vAuto provides technology, tools and business intelligence to help dealers with their used vehicle department sales and profits. VinSolutions is a company focusing on helping auto dealers attract, serve and retain customers. More information: www.vinsolutions.com ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]