Cox Enterprises Will Be Testing Online Car Buying Tools

The process of shopping for a car is not a process most consumers enjoy. Negotiating for a vehicle can be difficult and finding a reliable vehicle is always a challenge. And, unfortunately, even when consumers do their due diligence and are careful about which cars they buy, things can still go wrong. That's why there are consumer protections in place and why people who buy brand new vehicles should reach out to a California lemon law attorney if the car they have bought experiences lots of problems.

While the process of purchasing a car remains unpleasant, there are some solutions that could at least make the purchase process somewhat more palatable to consumers.  The Las Vegas Review Journal indicates that the automotive division of Cox Enterprises has currently rolled out some new online services to try to ease the car buying process. These services will be used in Las Vegas initially and Cox Enterprises will be testing out different tools before potentially expanding the areas serviced.

Cox Enterprises Tests Online Car Buying Tools in Vegas

Cox Enterprise runs Autotrader, which is a large online marketplace for vehicles. Cox has rolled out its new car buying tools both for Autotrader and for used car dealerships at 24 different locations throughout the Las Vegas area.

The new tools will be available for approximately 43 percent of the vehicle inventory that is currently listed on Autotrader within the Las Vegas area. The tools are also expected to be added to Kelly Blue Book, which is the vehicle-valuation researcher Cox Enterprises owns, as well as to franchised websites.

The car buying tools, called Accelerate, aim to reduce the amount of time that car buyers actually end up spending at the auto-dealership.  The tools will do this by making available new information regarding vehicle trade in value and financing programs to secure funding. Car buyers will also be able to use online tools to see monthly payments based on vehicle offer price, the shopper's credit score, the financing terms offered for the vehicle, any available incentives and discounts, rebates that are available, and taxes and fees that car buyers will have to pay.

New online tools will also allow consumers to make deposits via credit cards and to schedule appointments at their chosen dealership to test drive the vehicle that they are interested in purchasing.

Under the current system of shopping for vehicles, customers often spend several hours at a car dealership before they are able to obtain all of this information that they need to make vehicle purchasing decisions.  Customers will now be able to get much of this information online before coming to a dealership so they will have a clearer idea of what they want and what their transaction terms will be before coming to the dealer.

While these online tools could streamline the process of shopping for a new vehicle, car shoppers will still face some of the same challenges regarding determining if a car is likely to be reliable or not. If new car buyers purchase a vehicle that turns out to have many serious problems, a California lemon law attorney can provide assistance to consumers in understanding the legal remedies available.