LOS ANGELES — Westlake Financial Services debuted its inaugural quarterly ranking of top-performing auction partners on Wednesday. Taking the No. 1 spot for the first quarter was Manheim Indianapolis, followed by ADESA Lexington and ADESA San Antonio, respectively.

Kansas City Independent Auto Auction was ranked No. 4 and Manheim Metro Dallas was fifth.

"We are extremely proud to be partners with these auctions," shared Ian Anderson, president of Westlake Financial. "Our remarketing department works with many auction houses across the country, and these top five have consistently demonstrated excellence in both their operations and customer service."

Bill Walters, vice president of remarketing for Westlake, explained that these rankings came out of a year-long project the company was conducting.

"There are 22 components that make up our overall score," he pointed out. "Half of the components are objective and can be measured definitively. The other components are subjective, based on the post-sale feedback from our auction representatives."

Discussing how Westlake determined final overall first-quarter scores for each auction, officials noted that these 22 component scores were quantified over the course of the period. Then, Westlake weighted them by utilizing the department's proprietary scoring model to get the final score. 

"We've spent the last year tabulating the scores and coming up with a formula that we feel accurately ranks the various auctions we partner with," Walters shared. "Our scoring model smooths out regional differences in vehicle stock and book values. 

"We've gotten very positive responses from our auction partners," he continued. "They are happy to get the feedback."

Continuing on, Anderson noted that the company will explore possible expansion in the top auctions' coverage areas. 

"Our ultimate goal is to have strong partners with auctions and dealerships," Anderson concluded.