Massachusetts Dealer Credits vAuto for Top Pre-Owned Car Sales

CHICAGO--Acton Toyota of Littleton, Mass., credits its use of vAuto’s proprietary used-vehicle inventory management system for helping it become the top seller of certified pre-owned vehicles in Toyota’s northeast region.

“For the past 17 years, Acton Toyota of Littleton has had a major focus on pre-owned vehicles in Massachusetts,” said Mike Hills, the dealership’s general manager. “Now Toyota Motor Sales USA has recognized us as the number one retailer of Toyota Certified Used Vehicles in the northeast.”

In 2008, Acton Toyota sold 893 certified pre-owned vehicles, an increase of more than 31 percent compared to 2007.

As the number one retailer of Toyota Certified Used Vehicles in the northeast (Boston) region, Acton Toyota competed against 72 dealerships in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island.

Acton Toyota was an early user of vAuto’s Live Market View system, a unique program that allows dealers to better manage their inventory of used cars and trucks.

“We started using vAuto's Live Market View system in November 2007,” said Craig Belowski, Acton Toyota's general sales manager. “Having a heavy focus on the Internet, vAuto played a major role in our recent success. It helped us develop our pricing in a realistic, fair and competitive way. vAuto’s data is always up-to-the-minute or even ahead of the market.”

The Littleton dealership joins a growing list of successful dealers, including Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Queens and Woodside, New York, that have earned leadership status for certified pre-owned vehicle sales.

Industry experts consider certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicle sales to be one of the fastest-growing segments of the late-model used-vehicle industry.

Dealers recondition low-mileage vehicles, achieving an almost new condition, based on manufacturer standards. Certified vehicles are sold with manufacturer-specified warranties and benefits. In 2007, some 1.7 million CPO vehicles were sold in the U.S.

“Consumers are discovering that owning a pre-owned car is easier and more reliable, especially with the added assurance of extended warranty coverage that comes with a certified pre-owned car or truck,” said Belowski.

“No part of the used-vehicle market is easy now,” said Keith Jezek, president and CEO of vAuto. “We are able to help dealers compete more vigorously and earn greater profits through the industry’s best stocking, appraisal and pricing tools.”

Despite a sharp decline in auto industry sales last year, vAuto remained the auto industry’s fastest-growing provider of web-based inventory-management systems for the nation’s more than 70,000 franchised and independent used-car dealers.

About vAuto

Headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, Ill., vAuto maintains a research and development center in Austin, Texas. The company provides the auto industry’s only “live, real time” analysis of used-car markets with up-to-the-minute information about used-vehicle supply, demand and pricing tailored to specific dealership market areas.

All six of the nation’s highest-volume franchised dealerships by brand, including Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Lincoln-Mercury and Toyota, use stocking, pricing and appraisal strategies supported by vAuto software solutions. Virtually every imported and domestic vehicle brand is represented on the company’s customer list, including Acura, Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia, Lexus, Mercedes, Porsche and Volkswagen, as well as all Chrysler and General Motors brands.

Further information about vAuto is available at www.vauto.com. Insights and discussion on used-car trends can be found on Dale Pollak’s blog at www.dalepollak.com.