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The Web boosts cars sales, claims survey
Wednesday, February 13 2002
by Matthew Clark


According to a new survey, 80 percent of Irish car dealers with Web sites believe
that the Internet has resulted in increased sales. 

Autofinder.ie conducted a survey of over
400 car dealers in Ireland. The results, according to the company, suggest that
the number of car dealers with Web sites has increased by 11 percent over last
year, to 33 percent currently.  Moreover, the company says 65 percent of
dealers now have e-mail compared to 48 percent last year. 



"We were shocked by the results," claimed Richard Burke commercial director of
Autofinder. "We did a similar, although smaller survey last year and the growth
in the industry has been much more than we expected," Burke said. "One
interesting fact was that many of the dealers who were using free Internet
services for their sites and e-mail are now moving to a hosted service." 



According to Autofinder, the study also shows that there has been a six percent
growth in automotive Internet usage for the month of January alone, with Internet
sales predicted to double again this year.  "If you look at what most people
are doing, they are actually doing most of the research and finding all the
information about the car they want on-line. Then they are able to price the car
they want and find the dealer that is selling it," Burke said. 



For a commission, Autofinder provides a service whereby the company will search
for the car the user wants and will find the lowest price that vehicle is
available for on-line. The car can then be delivered to the customer's home, or
collected from a lot. 



Autofinder.ie currently employs eight and is in the process of launching a number
of new services, including a used car on-line purchasing facility. The company is
also developing an all-in-one pricing service that can tell users how much a car
will cost, including finance repayments, insurance and tax. Finally, the company
plans to launch its dedicated consumer service centre next week, to help users
with any additional questions or concerns that they might have both before and
after their purchases on Autofinder.ie.



Along with the survey, Autofinder announced a partnership with Esat's Ireland
On-Line and Oceanfree.net to provide the two Irish Internet portals with research
tools and information for users interested in searching for or buying a car
on-line. 



Autofinder was launched in October 2000 and is privately funded by its
management. Hibernian Direct and Bank of Scotland (Ireland) provide the site with
its insurance and financing services.