CARMEL, Ind. -

ADESA and Toyota Financial Services unveiled their new online auction platform on Tuesday, giving Toyota and Lexus dealers a new version of Dealer Direct that includes a slew of new features and upgraded functionality.

Dealer Direct lets Toyota and Lexus dealers buy off-lease units prior to them being sold at physical auctions.

“We have created a one-stop solution for our Toyota and Lexus dealer customers by fully integrating each step of the lease-return process on a single site,” explained Jason Ferreri, ADESA vice president of e-business, sales and operations.

“Thanks to the hard work of both the TFS Remarketing team and our dedicated e-business team, the new Dealer Direct is a powerful channel for sourcing, managing and purchasing inventory,” he added.

Officials listed some of the perks to the latest Dealer Direct, as follows:

—Quick and easy, 24/7 grounding
—Buy Now feature for 24/7 vehicle purchasing
—Grounding and Purchasing all on one website
—Convenient electronic funding and payments
—TFS/LFS floorplan financing
—24/7 Watch list notification tracks vehicles of interest
—Purchase Performance benchmarking feature

“The input and feedback of our dealers directly influenced the new website design and content,” said Mike Reid, national remarketing manager for TFS.

“Our tagline really says it all, ‘Simplified Processes … Maximized Results.’ I’m confident the new Dealer Direct will give our dealers a competitive advantage in the upstream environment,” Reid added.

Dealers also offered their perspectives on the new Dealer Direct program.

"The new Dealer Direct is very user-friendly," commented Tom Montilli, of Penn Toyota in Long Island, N.Y.

“It is definitely faster than the old site, and I love the Carfax function. It gives us an edge when we bring cars in off lease,” he continued.

Mike Schmit from Lexus of Roseville in Roseville, Calif., added: “I really like the Buy Now feature and the new condition reports are great! I love the functionality in the CR to allow you to drill into the pictures and take a closer look at parts of the car.”