We’re a digital used vehicle auction platform. We offer stock from multiple sources, including OEMs, fleets, finance companies, dealers, and consumers. We aim to be the go-to for dealers looking for trade stock to fill their forecourts.
We’re Dealer Auction
We’d like to introduce ourselves…
Since our launch in 2019, we’ve been on a mission to revolutionise the way trade vehicles are bought and sold, making it quicker, easier, and more profitable for everyone.
The Dealer Auction you’re currently reading about is an ambitious and disruptive technology start-up formed through a joint venture between Cox Automotive and Auto Trader in 2019.
Why a joint venture?
Quite simply, we recognised by combining our respective skills and experience, we could create a digital marketplace that would meet the needs of dealers, manufacturers and fleets for the benefit of all.
We brought together three very successful and complementary digital platforms used by thousands of sellers and buyers daily to transact used vehicles: dealer-auction.com, Cox Automotive’s Manheim Online and Auto Trader’s Smart Buy.
We took the best bits of each – together with some new functionality – within a brand-new digital platform that takes advantage of the latest technologies, to give our customers a the best solution when looking to source or dispose of trade stock.
Our heritage is an important part of our story.
Cox Automotive and Auto Trader bought together three leading remarketing solutions to create a digital marketplace that makes buying and selling trade vehicles smarter, faster and more profitable for everyone. Click below to discover more.
The original trade-to-trade online marketplace.
The original dealer-auction.com was launched in 2009 as a no-frills online auction platform that allowed franchise dealers to cut out the middleman and trade part-ex and overage stock to independent dealers easily and quickly. The site developed a loyal customer base and accumulated a shelf full of awards.
When Manheim (part of Cox Automotive) acquired the business in 2012, this winning formula was gently honed and given the investment it needed to grow. And grow is exactly what it did – in 2019, dealer-auction.com offered 120,000 vehicles.
Pioneering the evolution of wholesale auctions.
Manheim Online meanwhile was developed to provide manufacturer and fleet customers with the ability to sell their stock digitally rather than through the physical auctions. Customers valued the ability, amongst other things, to shorten their sales cycle, host closed sales to specific buyer groups (such as franchise dealers) and reach buyers nationally without them needing to attend a single physical location.
The dawn of data insights.
Auto Trader’s Smart Buying platform – previously known as Autotrade-mail – was a classified listings portal designed for independent dealers to trade overage or unwanted stock to one another. The platform gained significant popularity due to the way in which it overlaid valuable data insights on listings, helping to inform profitable decisions.
For buyers
Why wait for the next physical vehicle sale when you can snap up the used car stock you need now?
For sellers
We are a trusted trade-to-trade auction platform for the sale of unwanted part-ex and overage wholesale stock.
Take us for a test drive.
Curious about what you see? Then why not try Dealer Auction for free for 30 days?
