Autoblog

Carfax slapped with $50M antitrust suit by 120 dealers

Jonathon Ramsey — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Government/Legal

In December 2012 Automotive News published a piece on dealers unhappy with Carfax, alleging that the most well known used vehicle history reporting company had maneuvered itself into a monopolistic position. Dealers were paying the price for it by being charged more for Carfax reports than they'd have to pay for those from similar agencies, and there was nothing they could do about it. Now it will be for a judge to figure out: Automotive News reports that 120 dealers have joined a class-action lawsuit against Carfax over anti-competitive practices and violations of anti-trust law, and more are signing up to join the suit.

As to that alleged monopolistic position, Carfax is the provider of record for the certified pre-owned programs of 37 out of 40 manufacturers, so if a dealer wants to be part of the program he has to buy Carfax reports. Carfax also has exclusive deals with Cars.com and AutoTrader.com, so when a dealer lists a car on either site he can only use reports from Carfax. That's how, even though there are ten companies accredited by the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System to provide used vehicle reports, some that are less expensive than Carfax, it isn't in a dealer's best financial interest to consider them.

Leo Bellavia out of Mineola, NY, who also handled cases for Saab dealers trying to compel the Swedish firm to enter bankruptcy and Chrysler dealers fighting their involuntary franchise terminations, is the attorney of record for the plaintiffs. The dealers want more than $50 million in damages. Carfax has said it can't comment on the suit.

Carfax slapped with $50M antitrust suit by 120 dealers originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volvo buyers have best credit scores among all auto shoppers

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:15:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Volvo, Earnings/Financials

Experian, the US credit reporting agency, recently concluded a study into the financing and credit scores of US car buyers. One of the prime findings was that Volvo buyers enjoy the strongest credit scores among new car shoppers from all brands (nota bene, these are Experian's own numbers and can differ from other agencies). Unlike the Forbes report on the same story, though, we don't find that surprising at all, nor do we think it necessarily helps Volvo's upscale brand aspirations. The Gothenburg-based carmaker has sold its wares on tank-like safety for decades, so it seems natural that its buyers would be just as safe with and attentive to their credit scores as they are with their choice of vehicle.

Audi was ranked fourth by consumer credit score, Porsche seventh and Mercedes-Benz ninth, yet the fact that Volvo outranks them in this metric is probably a plus to its bottom line but not necessarily its image. It's not unfair to say more people desire those other luxury brands - Volvo itself has admitted as much - and people in the throes of desire have been known to be a little more let-it-ride about things like credit scores. The differences aren't huge, though: compared to Volvo's 818, Audi shoppers scored at 813, Mercedes shoppers 802. Lexus and Acura intenders took the other two steps on the top-credit-scores podium.

Mitsubishi took the honors at the other end of the charts, Experian finding that its potential customers, with an average of 604, had the lowest scores. Mitsubishi was followed by Suzuki and Dodge. On the other side of the financing table, Toyota led the way in how many of its vehicles were bought with bank assistance, followed closely by Ford, Chevrolet taking third place. Also of note, and for whatever it's worth, not one automaker made both the 'top ten by financing' and 'top ten by credit score' lists, but four made both the financing and 'bottom ten by credit score' lists: Chevrolet, Nissan, Kia and Dodge.

Other interesting findings? The average amount that consumers financed in the third quarter of 2012 for a new vehicle purchase was $25,963 - up from $25,873 a quarter ago. On the used car side of the equation, the average amount financed was $17,577 - up from $17,359 a year ago.

You'll find a lot of other interesting car financing tidbits in the official press release by scrolling down.

Continue reading Volvo buyers have best credit scores among all auto shoppers

Volvo buyers have best credit scores among all auto shoppers originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How Carfax has cornered the market on car history reports

George Kennedy — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 07:59:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Marketing/Advertising, Technology

Ever wonder why Carfax seems to be the only company you ever hear about that offers vehicle history reports?

According to an Automotive News report, Carfax has created undeniable brand cachet, and it has also arranged some deals that make it difficult for the competition to gain footing. Marketing agreements, inked with sites like AutoTrader.com and Cars.com, mean that dealers who would like to advertise on these sites are forced to use Carfax instead of less expensive competitors. AutoCheck, from Experian Automotive Inc, provides a similar service, and Cars.com allows for the use of AutoCheck, causing a battle between it and Carfax. At the moment, Carfax has roughly 32,000 dealers, compared to AutoCheck's 12,000.

Those dealers using Carfax are paying much more than those using AutoCheck. Pressure from clever ad campaigns and slogans like "Show me the Carfax," lead customers to think that Carfax offers the only legitimate vehicle history report available. That said, other dealers contend that Carfax has far more comprehensive reports, and favorable in-dealership support.

According to Automotive News, there are ten vehicle history report providers, including Carfax and AutoCheck, but in a market where the only competition is a near-unknown, Carfax can afford to do business like it is the only show in town.

How Carfax has cornered the market on car history reports originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Dec 2012 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota recovers from recalls, Mother Nature to regain customer loyalty crown

Jeffrey N. Ross — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:33:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Toyota

After dealing with flailing global economies, numerous recalls and safety allegations and then the depleted inventory from the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Experian Automotive says that Toyota is finally back on top when it comes to consumer loyalty in the US. Toyota edged out General Motors and Ford Motor Company to grab this loyalty crown for the first time since the third quarter of 2009.

The metric for this title was determined by owners of a vehicle choosing from the same corporate automaker for their next vehicle purchase. For Toyota, this means that 47.3 percent of its current customers will purchase a Scion, Lexus or Toyota model as their next car compared to 46.2 percent for GM and 46 percent for Ford. Honda and Hyundai rounded out the top five in this list.

In terms of individual brand loyalty - when buyers come back to the same brand - Ford took the spot in this category with 44.7 percent of buyers returning to the Ford showroom for their next purchase, including six cars in the top 10 for overall loyalty. Ford Fusion customers are the most loyal with 59.9 percent buying another Ford, but Flex, Edge, Five Hundred, Escape and Fiesta are all in the top 10. Oddly enough, the top vehicle among brand loyalty was the Chevrolet Sonic (which has only been on the market for less than a year - we're not sure what to make of that...) with 60.3 percent of its buyers trading in for another Chevy product.

Other interesting facts to note from Experian Automotive's study include the median age of vehicles has increased from 9.8 years up to 10.8 years since 2008, indicating that people are keeping their cars for an extra year before trading them in. Besides Toyota, Chrysler was the only automaker listed as having increased its market share and vehicle purchases in the second quarter of this year.

Scroll down for Experian's press release or click here for the informative infographic in PDF form.

Continue reading Toyota recovers from recalls, Mother Nature to regain customer loyalty crown

Toyota recovers from recalls, Mother Nature to regain customer loyalty crown originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chrysler sales growth fueled by subprime loans?

Zach Bowman — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:15:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Chrysler, Earnings/Financials

Automotive News reports Chrysler owes some of its recent sales success to a resurgence of subprime loans. Chrysler has a history of working with customers burdened with questionable finance histories, and lenders have begun to loosen credit restrictions. As a result, 29 out of every 100 auto loans for new Chrysler models went to buyers with a credit score under 680 in the first quarter of this year. Experian Automotive classifies loans tied to that credit score as subprime. What's more, nearly 21 percent of Dodge sales through May went to buyers with annual interest rates of 10 percent or more on an average term of 71 months.

The report says that on the whole, just eight percent of all new car loans have interest rates of 10 percent or more. Even so, Chrysler's sales are up 33 percent through the first five months of 2012, besting the industry average by around 20 percent. On the whole, Automotive News reports subprime lending in the new car market has returned to its pre-recession levels.

Chrysler sales growth fueled by subprime loans? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stalk your old car like your old girlfriend with Check My Ride

Damon Lavrinc — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:58:00 EST

Filed under: Technology

I found it. After more than four years and 3,000 miles, my 1976 BMW 2002 is currently residing in Newberry, Florida, just ~~east~~ west of Gainesville. How did I track it down? A new website that allows you to plug in your long lost love's VIN (that's Vehicle Identification Number for those acronym averse) and spits out its last registered location.

Check My Ride from AutoCheck is a social network for cars, allowing you to build a profile, add vehicles, find your old hoopties and connect with their current owners. You can also import some of the data into Facebook and get a free history report on your current car.

Admittedly, AutoCheck is a big buggy at the moment (it took several tries to get the info on some of our past rides), but we're currently scouring our file cabinets for old maintenance folders and I'm trying to track down the VIN for my very first car, a (God help me) 1991 Plymouth Horizon. After that, I've gotta find the 1984 Supra, the 1970 510, the 1972 2002, the E36 318i...

[Source: Check My Ride via Wired]

Stalk your old car like your old girlfriend with Check My Ride originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Army wins fight to keep spending money on NASCAR sponsorship [w/poll]

Jeff Glucker — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 19:24:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal, Marketing/Advertising

Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum is a Democrat looking at areas where the budget can be cut. Her current target is military spending. More specifically, she is focused on banning the military from spending money advertising in NASCAR. She introduced a measure to this effect, and it was shot down by a vote of 241-148.

The US Army spent $7 million in 2010 to sponsor a car in NASCAR and has a signed contract with Stewart-Haas racing to put its logo on a car for 2011. In contrast, the Marines, Navy and Coast Guard all ended NASCAR sponsorships back in 2006.

McCollum feels that spending money in this arena is an inappropriate use of military funds. Ramsey Poston, NASCAR's Managing Director for Corporate Communications, sees things a little differently. According to 2009 data gathered by Experian, one in five NASCAR fans have served in the military, while one in three active service members are fans of the sport. Also, the Army states that it received 46,000 recruiting leads in 2010 thanks to the racing team.

And so, we ask you: Should the United States Army sponsor a NASCAR team?

View Poll

[Source: The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Inside Line | Image: John Harrelson/Getty]

Report: Army wins fight to keep spending money on NASCAR sponsorship [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fed launches national auto database to curb theft, fraud. Only took 17 years

Chris Shunk — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Government/Legal

You may or may not know this, but that used vehicle on sale at your local dealership with a "clean" title could have been wrecked, stolen or involved in a flood. So much for the pristine title that you looked at before purchasing the vehicle. Congress and the Justice Department have known about this problem for decades and in 1992 the nation's governing body ordered the creation of a national database to show which vehicles were involved in thefts or other incidents.

That's a step in the right direction for sure, one that took a full 17 years to come to fruition. The feds have finally released the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, a comprehensive list of 300 million vehicles. The national database will reportedly save Americans $4 billion to $11 billion per year in fraudulent claims. That's a lot of money because there are a lot of fraudulent transactions every year. Experian claims there were 185,000 damaged vehicles that were retitled in another state, providing a fraudulent clean bill of health. The Detroit News says over one million vehicles are stolen each year and retitled in another state.

Now that the federal database is online, customers and dealers will be able to find out whether the vehicle was salvaged, scrapped or reported stolen almost anywhere in the U.S. Unfortunately, only 77 percent of vehicles are covered under the new database because five states opted not to participate. The five states not participating are Oregon, Illinois, Mississippi, Kansas and the District of Columbia. All four states reportedly cited budget problems as the reason for not being included in the registry.

Customers and dealers can go to vehiclehistory.gov for more information. There are even links to a pair of government-approved sites where you can run a Vehicle Identification Number for $4.95. It may be a bit annoying to pay for a service that was provided largely by federal tax dollars, but it beats the heck out of purchasing a vehicle that was in a serious accident or was found in six feet of water.

[Source: vehiclehistory.gov via The Detroit News]

Fed launches national auto database to curb theft, fraud. Only took 17 years originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay Motors begins offering free vehicle history reports from Experian

Michael Harley — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:29:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Auctions

Consumers wary of purchasing vehicles off eBay may take a bit of comfort in the online auction site's announcement that all vehicles built since 1981 will now include free vehicle history reports effective today. The "AutoCheck" information, supplied by Experian Automotive, will detail whether vehicles have been involved in major accidents, have salvage titles, have been stolen or repossessed, have had their odometers tampered with, or have seen special duty as a taxi or police vehicle. Of course, the service is only able to detail information which has been reported, a common complaint about vehicle history reports. Nicolas Franchet, senior director of U.S. vehicles at eBay Motors, says the free reports will help build the level of trust between the buyers and sellers. "We're interested in being the best place to buy and sell your car online," Franchet said.

Those familiar with eBay Motors will recall that the site has offered vehicle history reports from CarFax, Inc., when supplied by dealers. Those reports are still be available via a link, but the new AutoCheck data supplied without charge is now automatically displayed in a shaded area below the vehicle image in the body of the listing. For more details, check out the official press release after the jump or eBay Motors.

[Source: Experian Automotive | Image: Sean Gallup/Getty]

Continue reading eBay Motors begins offering free vehicle history reports from Experian

eBay Motors begins offering free vehicle history reports from Experian originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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STUDY: Ford owns brand loyalty in 2009; Scorned Saturn, Pontiac buyers will look outside of GM

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:55:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Pontiac, Saturn, Toyota

Ford buyers appear to love their cars more than customers of any other automotive brand, returning back to the American automaker when it comes time to purchase their next vehicle. According to a study by Experian Automotive, six of the top 10 vehicles for customer brand loyalty wear badges from the Blue Oval. That includes the Ford Fusion (62.4 percent), Ford Edge (57.9 percent), Ford Five Hundred/Taurus (56 percent), Ford Freestyle (51.9 percent), Ford Escape (49.4 percent) and the Ford Focus (47.57 percent).

Other vehicles making up the top 10 include the Toyota Prius (52 percent), Chevy Impala (51.7 percent), Toyota Camry (47.8 percent) and Toyota Corolla (47.56 percent). This brings up an interesting question: With the closing of automotive brands like Saturn and Pontiac, where are those buyers to turn for their next automotive purchase?

Apparently, not back to General Motors. According to Experian, Pontiac owners are most likely to look to the Ford lineup for their next car or truck and Saturn shoppers will switch to Toyota or Honda - not particularly surprising given that Saturn was meant to compete with import brands. Experian predicts that GM's overall market share will fall from 20 percent to about 17.5 percent, with most of the slack being picked up by Ford, Honda and Toyota.

[Source: Experian Automotive, USA Today]

Continue reading STUDY: Ford owns brand loyalty in 2009; Scorned Saturn, Pontiac buyers will look outside of GM

STUDY: Ford owns brand loyalty in 2009; Scorned Saturn, Pontiac buyers will look outside of GM originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota tops GMAC as the biggest U.S. auto lender

Michael Harley — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:59:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, GM, GMC, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

Toyota Financial Services recently leaped over GMAC Financial services to take the lead as the biggest U.S. auto lender in terms of loan and lease contract volume. The study by AutoCount (a unit of the Experian Automotive company) estimates that Toyota captured 6.35% of the market from January through June, while GMAC had 6.2% for a close second place. Rounding out the top five were Chase Auto Finance, American Honda Finance, and Ford Credit (in that order).

As GMAC has made major cutbacks in leasing over the summer, many industry experts expect Toyota to hold its lead through the end of the year. A spokesperson from GMAC was quick to point out that the study did not include two wholly owned subsidiaries: Nuvel Credit and National Auto Finance. When those two companies are included, GMAC's share increases to 6.72 percent -- effectively placing them at the top again. While the automakers battle for the title position, the independent banks are the ones to watch. They've been steadily increasing their lending share as the Detroit 3 struggle with the rising costs of funds and declining credit ratings.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Toyota tops GMAC as the biggest U.S. auto lender originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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