Enhanced VIN spec data: Taking the guess work out of selecting optional extras

Manually uploading vehicle specifications onto your adverts is not only time consuming but can lead to errors in vehicle descriptions.

That’s why we’re excited to announce that we’re adding the function to automatically populate your adverts with manufacturer supplied data that will include all optional specifications on the vehicle.

This specification data, called enhanced VIN Spec data, will be accessible in Portal, Retail Check and Retail Accelerator and is essentially a register of the optional specification items that were added to each vehicle as they were built in the factory. The data will be seamlessly integrated into your Portal accounts, as well as our pricing and forecourt management tools, Retail Check, Bulk Retail Check and Retail Accelerator. It will also be available through your existing stock management system via our real-time data sharing solution, Auto Trader Connect.

The data is recorded and maintained by each manufacturer and shared with us so we can make it available to you.

 

Which brands are currently covered?

VIN Spec data is now available for the following brands :

  • BMW

  • MINI

  • Fiat

  • Abarth

  • Alfa Romeo

  • Jeep

  • Chrysler

  • Renault

  • Dacia

  • Alpine

  • Volvo

  • Ford

VIN Spec data for additional manufacturers will be added throughout the rest of this year and beyond as we continue to bring them onboard.

 

How does this help you?

Our analysis shows that 46% of retailer listed vehicles on our marketplace are missing more than half (54%) of their detailed specifications, meaning that there is potentially a loss of margin on each of these vehicles.

In fact, based on a sample of 52,000 vehicles advertised on our platform, we found retailers were leaving an average of £361 of unrealised margins on the table, per vehicle, as a result of missing value-adding specification. However, this can be significantly higher: in the same analysis, one premium brand model was undervalued by a massive £5,587.

To date we’ve been able to inform you on:

1.     The exact standard specification a car has

2.     The list of optional specification items that could have potentially been added

But without VIN Spec data, reliance has been on knowledge of a car and taking the time to manually choose from the available optional specification items. It’s this timely process that can lead to errors in vehicle descriptions.

VIN spec data solves this problem by automatically selecting the optional specification items for a car on lookup.

VIN Spec data then allows you to:

  •  Source cars more intelligently by considering the exact optional specification of a car when deciding on suitability for your forecourt

  • Increase margins with more accurate pricing using precise valuations adjusted for the exact specification of each car

  • Save time with optional specification automatically selected on lookup. No more research and guess work

  • Improve consumer engagement online through better quality adverts with all optional specification details shown to buyers on your Auto Trader advert listing

  • Be confident that the price indicator shown to consumers fairly reflects all the optional specification your car has to offer

 But don’t just take our word for it…

Scott Greensmith, Digital Partnerships Manager at Motorpoint told us that “Auto Trader’s Vin Spec data has been a great addition to Motorpoint’s merchandising toolbox. The accuracy of the specification data is spot on, it’s easy to use and a welcome addition for our team when they are listing cars and valuing part-exchanges. Being able to access this level of information means we can provide ever higher levels of vehicle specification accuracy and it provides a big benefit for our customers when they are researching and choosing the right vehicle for their budget and lifestyle.”

How does it work?

VIN Spec data has been seamlessly integrated into many of the key journeys within Portal, Retail Check and Retail Accelerator that you will already be familiar with.

This familiarity and light touch integration should ensure a quick learning curve and result in you and your fellow retailers using VIN Spec data with ease.

 

VRM lookup (out of stock)

When you perform a VRM lookup in Portal on a car you don’t currently have in stock, if VIN Spec data is available, this will be used automatically to provide a precise spec adjusted valuation in the lookup results.

The availability of VIN Spec data to calculate the spec adjusted valuation is indicated by the green tick icon.

Retail Check (out of stock)

Upon performing a Retail Check on a car you don’t currently have in stock, if VIN Spec data is available, all optional extras will be automatically selected within the additional spec panel.

The automatically selected spec will be used to precisely spec adjust the valuation, and this is populated within the ‘Retail Price’ field of the retail-back calculator.

Quick advertise and vehicle edit

When adding a car to stock or using quick advertise to list a car for sale on Auto Trader, if VIN Spec data is available for the car, then the optional specification will be automatically selected.

Optional specification items that are contained within the VIN Spec data can be identified by the ‘VIN Spec’ icon. You are still free to add or change the optional specification of the car if needed.

Bulk Retail Check

When profiling a stock list using Bulk Retail Check within Retail Accelerator, if we hold VIN Spec data for any of the cars contained within the file, then the optional specification will be automatically added to these cars to precisely adjust the valuations.

 A message is displayed above the results to inform you that VIN Spec data has been used.

The VIN Spec data for each car can be viewed by clicking on the corresponding valuation.  This also shows details on how the adjusted valuation compares to the market average valuation for that car.

Auto Trader (Full Page Advert)

Optional specification details are accessible to potential buyers on Auto Trader adverts via the ‘Extra features’ link directly beneath the attention grabber.

With enhanced VIN spec data, you can be certain that the optional spec being shown to your buyers in 100% accurate.

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