Lake Success, NY, June 1, 2009 - DealerTrack, Inc., a subsidiary of DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRAK), a leading provider of on-demand software and data solutions for the U.S. automotive retail industry, today announced the results of a study that quantifies the benefits to dealers of marketing used vehicles that have had only one previous owner. The data underscores the value of using DealerTrack's inventory management solution, coupled with integrated Carfax Vehicle History Reports, as a key step for dealers in managing their inventories more proactively and evaluating potential trade-ins.
The study revealed that average gross profit on the Carfax 1-Owner vehicles was 23 percent more than the average gross profit on vehicles that had two or more owners. In addition, Carfax 1-Owner vehicles sold in 26 days on average, five fewer than the 31-day average turn for multiple-owner vehicles. The study is based on actual used vehicle transaction data from 2008 for a national dealer group that uses DealerTrack's inventory management solution. The data included 49,897 retail or lease transactions involving Carfax 1-Owner vehicles, and 122,970 transactions involving vehicles with two or more previous owners.
"This DealerTrack study proves the value of Carfax data for used car dealers looking to make more money and sell cars faster," said Larry Gamache, communications director at Carfax. "Dealers can run a Carfax Report at auction or trade-in to identify 1-Owner cars early and cherry pick their inventory. In today's economy, used car shoppers are looking for great values like these."
Dealers using DealerTrack's inventory management solution have integrated, "one-click" access to Carfax Vehicle History Reports. Carfax reports are derived from more than six billion records in the Carfax database and can include ownership history, vehicle use, service records, mileage readings, title brands, and much more.
"While this study highlights the impact of a single vehicle attribute, it strongly suggests that dealers can realize even greater benefits from applying analytical tools to manage their inventory more systematically," said Tim Zierden, general manager, inventory at DealerTrack. "Using a robust inventory management solution driven by transaction-based data can help dealers stock the right vehicles, turn them faster and focus on profitability. Unlike market pricing utilities that focus on price alone, our data-rich inventory solutions help dealers uncover factors that drive higher profits, the most important consideration in the current economic environment."
DealerTrack provides automotive retail's leading suite of full-featured inventory management solutions, including AAX®, InventoryPro(tm) and PriceDriver(tm).
About DealerTrack (www.dealertrack.com)
DealerTrack's high-value software solutions for the automotive retail industry enhance efficiency and profitability across every department in a dealership. DealerTrack's Dealer Management System (DMS) delivers flexible and cost-efficient functionality to manage dealership data and operations. Its Inventory Management, Sales and F&I, and Compliance solutions help optimize dealership inventory, increase sales and protect against legal risks. DealerTrack operates a leading online automotive credit application network, which includes approximately 19,000 dealers and over 730 financing sources. For more information, visit http://www.dealertrack.com.
About Carfax (http://www.carfax.com)
Millions of used car buyers and sellers each year rely on Carfax, the most trusted provider of vehicle history information. Using the unique 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN) found on vehicle dashboards and title documents, Carfax instantly generates a detailed Vehicle History Report on any used car or light truck. Carfax Vehicle History Reports(tm) provide valuable information that helps used car buyers and sellers make better decisions. Free Carfax Vehicle History Reports are instantly available with vehicles listed in nearly every online marketplace by Carfax-subscribing dealers. For more information or to become a Carfax-subscribing dealer, visit http://www.carfaxonline.com.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
Statements in this press release regarding the benefits of DealerTrack's inventory solutions and 1-Owner vehicles, and all other statements in this release other than the recitation of historical facts are forward-looking statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements of DealerTrack to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
Factors that might cause such a difference include: the adoption by dealers of the DealerTrack Inventory Management Solution, the performance by DealerTrack's third party partners, and other risks listed in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008. These filings can be found on DealerTrack's website at www.dealertrack.com and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date hereof and DealerTrack disclaims any obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or circumstances.
