Online car shopping

Online car shopping is a form of online shopping, specifically the process of utilizing services available on the Internet to gather information and/or purchase a new or used vehicle. High value advantages including quick price comparison, crash test ratings, fuel economy standards, and most importantly, shopping anonymously, keep the consumer in control and moving at their desired pace.

There are hundreds of shopping sites to choose from, ranging from the major manufacturers to third party sites. Not to be outdone, dealerships are launching comprehensive web sites with real time inventory updates, virtual vehicle tours, instant price quotes, and online credit applications. Some dealers provide full spectrum online services with convenient online service department and body shop scheduling.

Premier online shopping sites provide the ability to simply point and click to search for and compare the information most relevant to them, whether it be standard horsepower or number of air bags. Once the consumer has chosen the vehicle they are interested in, they simply fill out an online form to contact the seller. Many times, there is a phone number provided to call the seller for more information. With these sites, the seller may be a private party or a franchised dealership.

Shopping at a manufacturers website such as allows the consumer to get it straight from the manufacturer. When the consumer requests to be contacted with a price quote, the lead is dispersed out to the manufacturers network of dealers. Some sites allow the consumer to submit their request to several dealers at once, ensuring several options to consider. You can also build your dream vehicle, find the dealer that has it in inventory, and request their best price without having to leave your computer.

Aggregated classified services are also great places for car buyers to search and they are a great way for used car sellers to get more exposure for their vehicles on the web.

Going directly to an auto dealerships website has its own share of advantages. The more advanced sites offer hourly inventory updates. These types of websites will include all incoming inventory in the product searches providing a wider range of inventory options. The consumer can be confident that there is not third party involved and their information will be kept private.

Another benefit of going directly to a dealer's site is the comprehensive Used Vehicle inventory. Most sites offer virtual walkarounds with eight to ten snapshots per vehicle, inside and out. They even include a shot of the odometer and cluster so you feel like you are behind the wheel.

The dealership website can also offer services and advantages that no manufacturer or third party site can. Online Service and Body Shop scheduling, online Parts orders, customer testimonials, and sales staff pictures help the consumer become familiar with the dealership and the services offered before stepping foot in the dealership.

With 69% of car buyers using the Internet to do research, websites are always looking to improve the shopping experience for the consumer. Some sites experiment with ways to search for and view cars.

Categories of automotive websites

With exclusion of parts, hobbies and niche sites one can place any online car shopping website into one of three categories:

1. Full Service Automotive Portal

2. Vertical Focus Lead Generation

3. Advice and Redirect Lead Generation (Infomercials)

Full service automotive portal

This is the most extensive service offering to the consumer. The sites in this category provide a wide range of services, however it can be difficult and confusing to navigate them. For a site to be in this classification it has to offer a New Car Quote Service, Used Car Search Service and a Car Finance Service. Many sites offer additional features such as New Car Research and FSBO (For Sale By Owner).

Vertical focus lead generation

Sites in this category usually focus on only one of the three basic verticals. Some provide the New Car Quote service while others focus on the Car Financing vertical.
Sites in this category market themselves as having some sort of an edge that the visitor will gain if they use their services. Here is a quick way to tell a reputable site from a facade site: send them an email and see if you get a reply. A heartbeat on the other end of the Internet is usually a good sign.

Advice and redirect lead generation

The “Infomercials” sites appear to the reader like they offer advice but in reality the entire site is designed to entice the reader to click on one of the text links on the site. Almost every text link is in fact a paid advertising link.

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