TORONTO -

Among the popular themes and topics of discussion at the recently held Auto Remarketing Canada 2011 conference was the emerging role of the dealer-to-dealer online wholesale sales of used vehicles, as well as the growing presence of auction sales that are open to the public.

Do these remarketing avenues work, and are they ideal for dealers?

To shed some light on these topics, Auto Remarketing Canada interviewed Cheryl Munce, vice president of strategy for online and business development at Manheim Canada, as well as Trevor Henderson, ADESA Canada’s vice president of e-business and business development.

Munce and Henderson both participated in the “Executive Panel: New Technologies and Trends for Sourcing Vehicles in the Wholesale Market” session, where these subjects were both hot topics.

Starting with Munce, the Manheim executive offered her take on dealer-to-dealers sales.

When asked what she would say to dealers who might express trepidation at the thought of buying wholesale units from other dealers online, Munce had this piece of advice.

“I would encourage dealers that if it’s the right car with the right mileage and the right disclosures and the right color at the right price, to not look at who the seller is,” she told Auto Remarketing Canada. “The seller is Manheim and we will be there to support the purchase right through to the end.”

As far as the role of public auctions and where the industry may be headed in that regard, she suggested: “Like a lot of my panelist members were alluding to, we really believe that in order to increase the source of vehicles for our dealer buyers for our customers, we need to look outside the box.

“We need to get closer to the retail consumer and offer services to grow our consignment and inventory,” Munce continued. “But … we will walk before we run. We need to be cognizant of the relationships that we have built over time with the dealer buyers and sellers.”

Next, Henderson shared his perspective with Auto Remarketing Canada, as well.

When it comes to dealer-to-dealer wholesale transactions, he stressed the need for education, reassuring dealers that buying wholesale units from other dealers is a safe way to go about securing inventory.

“We really need to do more education. We need to make dealers comfortable that the car they’re buying off another dealer, as long as they are buying it through one of us at the auctions — whether it’s a physical auction or virtual auction —they’re going to be protected,” Henderson emphasized. “We treat a dealer sale the same way we treat a Ford Credit sale.

“At the end of the day, what the auction does very well is we stand in the middle of the transaction to protect both the buyer and the seller. And our focus right now is really educating the dealers,” he continued. “All of that dealer inventory that’s now starting to find its way into the wholesale market is just as good as a lot of that other inventory and the dealers who are looking to source cars are starting to really recognize that.”

Henderson went on to suggest that confidence in dealer-to-dealer sales will increase, provided that auctions and sellers stand behind the cars that are being sold.

He added: “I think a lot of the credit has to go to the sellers themselves, who are really pushing to do better disclosure. They’re pushing us to be consistent in the way we disclose cars. Vehicle history reports are very good now … everything is coming together just right, to make it less risky for a dealer to buy another dealer’s car.”

Moving along, Henderson also shared his thoughts on the emergence of public auctions and how they may fit into the auto industry.

“I think as a company that has been doing public auctions for 20 years, we’re really quite excited about the opportunities,” he explained. “We’ve looked at other markets around the world, and we do recognize that in a number of advanced markets, there isn’t as clear of a distinction between wholesale and public as we have in North America.

“So, I think what we’re in the midst of now is a very natural and organic transition. I think what it ultimately provides our buyers and sellers is a larger marketplace, more channels and more flexibility in how they offer their vehicles,” Henderson continued.

“And I think that’s a good thing. Whether you’re a commercial consignor, like a captive finance company, or you’re a dealer looking to market a piece of your inventory, the public auction gives you another avenue. Perhaps you’ll get some more money, perhaps because you’re exposing it to a retail-type buyer, your return on that asset may increase,” he added.

However, a more important benefit is that public auctions foster larger markets, Henderson stressed.

He suggested that “larger markets, whether it’s the auto business or anything else, always generate a better return for the seller. On the buyer’s side, public auctions are going to allow us to bring in different kinds of inventory.”

“If you’re looking for something that’s a little out of the normal — not your typical off-lease vehicle or out-of-service daily rental vehicle — you’re going to be able to tap into that type of variety in a public auction that maybe you couldn’t tap into in a wholesale market,” Henderson concluded.