Interstate National Dealer Services, Inc. Subsidiary, UAUTOBID.com Inc., Launches the First Complete Internet Automobile Buying Site
13 September 1999
Interstate National Dealer Services, Inc. Subsidiary, UAUTOBID.com Inc., Launches the First Complete Internet Automobile Buying Site
MITCHEL FIELD, N.Y.--Sept. 13, 1999--Interstate National Dealer Services, Inc. today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, UAUTOBID.com Inc, has begun real time online new and used car and truck sales after an extensive beta test period. The first region in a nationwide launch is Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas.
Unlike other so-called online car purchasing sites, which are in fact referral sites, a UAUTOBID.com car buyer can complete the entire transaction online and simply go to the appropriate dealer to pick up his car. UAUTOBID.com was established to simplify the car buying experience and to eliminate the number one complaint of dissatisfaction with the entire car buying process.
A prospective buyer can review a broad selection of in-stock vehicles, search by price, make, model and location and other search criteria and bid a price. If the winning bid price meets or exceeds the dealer minimum the consumer is assured of owning that vehicle at his bid price. Each vehicle will come with a comprehensive warranty supplied by Interstate.
UAUTOBID offers two bid formats to the potential Internet car buyer. The first is a "Dutch" or reverse Auction. In a Dutch Auction the vehicle is initially listed by the dealer at a fixed offering price. The price is then lowered over time until the vehicle is either purchased or the "floor" or lowest acceptable price is reached. The first person who agrees to pay the current posted price is the successful bidder. The second is a name-your-price format. In a name-your-price format no bid other than the suggested retail price is displayed and the first bid that matches or exceeds the unpublished reserve price set by the dealer is the winner. In both instances the buyer is notified immediately that the bid was successful and that the purchase has been made.
The bidder then has 48 hours to visit the dealer and complete the transaction.
At the current time, UAUTOBID has hundreds of thousands of vehicles in posted inventory and expects to see that number grow dramatically as its dealer community expands.
According to J.D. Power and Associates, one of the world's premier automotive marketing information firms, in the year 2000 over half of new vehicle purchasers will use the Internet to assist them with their purchase. An anticipated 36 million new and used cars will be sold through dealers next year. A substantial number of those are expected to be purchased through on-line sites.
Mr. Chester Luby, Chairman and CEO of Interstate, stated, "We are very excited about the potential for UAUTOBID.com. We have thoroughly researched the marketplace and believe that UAUTOBID.com is unique among the various car buying solutions offered on the Web. It is the only place the consumer will be able to actually buy a specific vehicle on line. We will be a valuable resource to both the consumer and dealer saving both time and money. My many years of experience as an auto dealer gives me a clear understanding of the needs of the dealer and that, coupled with Interstate's status as one of the leading suppliers of extended service contracts and warranties, positions us to take advantage of this opportunity."
Michael Gannon, President of UAUTOBID.com, Inc. noted, "As more dealers recognize that UAUTOBID.com will drive incremental business to them at no additional, or possibly lower, sales cost, we expect a groundswell of activity and participation in the program. For the dealer it is a proverbial win-win situation. UAUTOBID.com's concept offers an e-commerce solution to the dealer with all of the benefits and none of the drawbacks. UAUTOBID.com Inc. is the best conceived, most complete auto buying web site available today."
Interstate is a leading nationwide provider of service contracts and extended warranties, primarily for new and used cars and recreational vehicles, as well as watercraft, manufactured housing, motorcycles and other power sport vehicles. Please visit our websites: http://www.inds.com for information on the Company and http://www.uautobid.com for the most comprehensive listing on the Internet of everything auto-related.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Such statements are based on assumptions and expectations which may not be realized and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which cannot be predicted with accuracy and some of which might not be even anticipated. Future events and actual results, financial and otherwise, may differ from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. A number of these risks and other factors that might cause differences, some of which could be material, along with additional discussion of forward-looking statements, are set forth in the Company's report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 23, 1996.