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TORONTO, Ontario — OPENLANE recently brought its iDEAL Open Seller program into the Canadian market, providing dealers and other sellers an efficient online avenue to sell used vehicles to other dealers throughout the country.

Dealers, fleet/lease companies, daily rental operators, repossession companies and other sellers throughout Canada can use iDEAL to market and sell used units online to other dealers throughout the country without having to move them to a physical auction, and while also still offering the vehicles on their own lots for retail sales.

OPENLANE contends that iDEAL is beneficial for both buying and selling dealers, as it can mean lower costs in online transactions, no costs associated with transporting to and from auctions and employees don't have to spend as much time away from the store since they are not attending auction sales.

There are also vehicle inspection services offered as well as clear disclosure policies and arbitration policies to foster confidence among both buyers and sellers.

Officials also stress that iDEAL serves as a "viable alternative" to liquidating aged units on the lot.

Moreover, some of the value-added services included with iDEAL are as follows:

—Third-party inspections.

—Vehicle history reports.

—Vehicle condition reports and OMVDA disclosure: Vehicle condition data, such mileage, prior work and damage information, can be included for compliance with the Ontario Motor Vehicles Dealers Act.

—Sales support team: The company said its sales support team can help with settling payment, transferring registrations of ownership, setting up transportation and also arbitration, if necessary. 

—Seller Marketing Page: There is a new area on the site allowing sellers upload a logo and add descriptive information about their business. This lets potential buyers learn more about the seller.

"Now sellers of all sizes can easily list and market their vehicles for sale across Canada and leverage all the benefits of our fast growing Canadian Open Auction," said Peter Kelly, president and chief financial officer at OPENLANE. 

"The iDEAL program brings Canadian dealers a new sourcing option with comprehensive value-added services, which are designed to help them to maximize profits and efficiency to remain competitive and successful amidst changing market dynamics," he continued.

Offering a dealer's perspective, Larry Wright, president of Wright Auto Sales, noted: "We've been buying cars from OPENLANE for a number of years and are really excited to hear about the iDEAL program.

"With iDEAL, we'll be able to market our own used and aged vehicles to other dealers across Canada and sell them more quickly, with the added benefit of all the services that OPENLANE already provides us on our purchases," he added. "It's a win-win for all involved."

OPENLANE Shares Market Index

Continuing on, the OPENLANE Market Index Report for April provided a glimpse into the Canadian wholesale market.

There was a 1-percentage point decline in the average level of the Canadian Market Index compared to February and a 5-percentage point decline from March 2009. 

Officials said that wholesale prices in Canada during March were somewhat volatile, but in the final week of the month auction prices were up 1 percentage point from February.

And when it comes to year-to-date movement, it appears the drastic slide in Canadian prices that occurred between December and February has ceased, officials shared.

Breaking down Canadian wholesale pricing trends by vehicle category, minivans showed the heaviest month-over-month increase, as their prices capped the month 14 percentage points ahead of the previous month's level. Minivan values hit an apex in the fourth week of the month.

Meanwhile, there was a decline in car prices mid-month, but they still finished higher than they did in February.

There was a bit of volatility in SUV prices, but they finished March up 2 percentage points month-over-month, as did truck prices, which remained on a steady level during March.

As far as dealer interest, it climbed 8 percentage points month-over-month for cars (which were up 42 percentage points from March 2009) and 5 percentage points from February for minivans (which were up 19 percentage points year-over-year).

Dealer interest in SUVs was down 10 percentage points on the month and 18 percentage points compared to a year ago.

The truck segment showed a 5-percentage point dip from February and a 51-percentage point drop from March 2009.