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Mobile Auctions - Bringing the Vehicles to You

Dealers realize having the right vehicles on their lots is crucial to their success. They will often travel to auctions in other cities to ensure they have the inventory that their customers want. However, that is not the only way to find the right vehicles. Mobile auctions bring the vehicles to the dealer, allowing them to stay closer to home when replenishing their inventory. We spoke with representatives from Manheim and ADESA to learn more about their mobile auction programs and how they might help dealers obtain vehicles without having to leave their hometowns. 
 

Alison Spangler
Director of Manheim Mobile Auctions


What is a mobile auction and how do they work?

A mobile auction is as simple as we bring the auction to the client. We give them what they want, how they want it. It is very customizable. We bring the technology such as simulcast, our processes, and people and literally load them up in a truck and trailer, bring them to a location and execute a sale. We are really able to emulate a traditional Manheim sale with the power of Simulcast from any location. While we predominantly do work with dealers we also have done special event sales with commercial clients, such as BMW at the NADA conference in New Orleans this past year.

What should a first-time attendee need to know before attending?

Well, mobile sales are simpler, convenient and hometown, especially for those local clients. It is really the same process as it would be any time you go to a Manheim location for the first time. You just need to make sure you are signed up with Auction Access at Manheim.com and then you're good to buy.   

What benefits do mobile sales have for dealers?

Honestly, mobiles sales really came out of listening to our dealers. Dealers were asking for flexible options to help them manage inventory, save time and grow their business. Mobile auctions are just one of the ways that we're responding to that. For buyers and sellers, transportation costs and times are drastically reduced because we're coming to them. For clients in underserved markets, we bring more choice and competition along with giving them more options in where and how they can wholesale their inventory.

Where can dealers find out more information about these auctions?

On Manheim.com under our BUY tab, we have a mobile auctions page and all this information can also be found by asking your local representative or going to your local physical auction.
 
Jane Morgan
President, ADESA Specialty Division


What is a mobile auction and how do they work?

ADESA mobile auctions are just one channel among the many platforms that ADESA, and our parent company KAR Auction Services, offers our customers. At ADESA and across KAR, we don't dictate where and how a vehicle should be sold. We're committed to providing the best, most technologically advanced venues for selling and buying used vehicles. Whether it's physical auctions, online, mobile and mobile apps—we want to be in every space and are creating marketplaces to sell any vehicle, any time, in any channel.

Mobile auctions are exactly what they sound like—we bring the sale to the customer. ADESA mobile auctions provide dealers the convenience to host auctions at sites they choose—whether it's on their dealership lot, an open field or a hotel parking lot.

Another example of using technology to bring the auction to the dealer is TradeRev. It lets dealers launch one-hour, real-time dealer auctions with live bidding at any time from their mobile devices. With the TradeRev vehicle appraisal and auctioning system, dealers can know what their vehicles are worth and reach a national network of actual buyers—all from their dealership lot. 

Mobile auctions, when combined with ADESA's strong local presence nationwide, address the unmet wholesale auction needs across our numerous marketplaces. We believe it's our responsibility to our customers to provide as many channels as possible to buy or sell a vehicle or specialty unit.

What should a first-time attendee need to know before attending?

First-time attendees should understand all the nuts and bolts of how an auction is run and all the rules of attending a new auction. For example, dealers should research the mobile auction's hours of operations so they know when they can preview vehicles and when sold vehicles need to be picked up. Dealers should also make sure they have met all the registration requirements before attending the auction and understand the payment process.

What benefits do mobile sales have for dealers?

There are many benefits of mobile sales. They are convenient. Sellers pick the date, time and venue that work best with their busy schedule. They are cost-effective. Mobile sales eliminate the time and cost to travel to a physical auction site, which can sometimes be hundreds of miles away. Sellers also avoid paying transportation expenses to ship their cars to physical auction sites.

Mobile auctions are also beneficial to the dealer's business. There is a captive audience at a mobile auction, with all eyes on the seller's vehicles. Mobile auctions may also attract new customers that typically don't attend physical auction sales.

Where can dealers find out more information about these auctions?

Dealers can visit http://mobile-auction.adesasource.com/ to learn more or contact ADESA directly at mobile.auctions@adesa.com.

Editor's Note: Check out the October issue of Texas Dealer for the full, extended versions of these interviews.  

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