GMAC’s SmartAuction Now Selling GM Rental Vehicles Online
FOR RELEASE: September 25, 2001GMAC’s SmartAuction Now Selling GM Rental Vehicles Online
DETROIT – GMAC’s SmartAuction, the industry-leading online tool for GM dealers searching for fresh off-lease vehicles, recently introduced a dramatic upgrade of its SmartAuction remarketing website with the addition of GM rental vehicles.
“For our dealers, this means a greater online opportunity to sell more GM cars and trucks. The increased number and broader mix of GM vehicles available through SmartAuction means that dealers should easily be able to find the exact GM car or truck their customers want,” said John Gibson, executive vice president, GMAC North American Operations.
Michael Grimaldi, GM vice president, Field Sales, Service and Parts, described the partnering as “a great channel to quickly move our off-rental vehicles to customers through our dealers. We can be fast and competitive.”
With SmartAuction, dealers can log onto the website every day, see what is available and make their bids. Vehicles that may have taken up to two months to reach the traditional auction lanes are now available to dealers within a few days of turn-in.
The SmartAuction website is updated daily with fresh off-lease, off-rental and retired company vehicle inventory for GM dealers to bid on. The number of vehicles available for sale over the website will vary, but it’s expected to average more than 2,000 a day.
Why Dealers Use SmartAuction
More than 4,000 of GM’s 7,000 dealers have signed up to use the SmartAuction site, and more than 1,200 currently log on each day. Since SmartAuction launched last year, GM dealers have purchased more than 135,000 cars and trucks --- more than 100,000 in 2001 alone.
“Dealers tell us they like SmartAuction because it offers them a broad selection of quality GM vehicles, easy on-line access, quick turnaround, and a simple return policy,” says Gibson. “SmartAuction also saves them money and time because they don’t have to travel to and from the physical auction.”
With SmartAuction, dealers can determine if the vehicle is a retail off-lease, rental or company car. They also can search for vehicles stored at central storage locations, which can make it easier to purchase a carrier load of vehicles.
“We’re not replacing traditional auctions,” Gibson notes, “we’re broadening GM dealers’ options, giving them a convenient alternative and priority opportunity to buy premium vehicles before those vehicles are sent to traditional auctions.”
Adding GM rental vehicles to the mix “just makes good business sense,” Grimaldi says. “Working better and smarter with our dealers is not an objective – it’s the way we're running our business. Teaming with GMAC is a win all around.”
