The Internet as a communications tool for car dealers is evolving and never before has the changing landscape been more challenging for dealer principals and General Managers.  As car dealers seek to develop online brand messaging their advertising budgets are being pulled in many directions.  Every month a new digital strategy is being presented as the next “big thing”.

Dealers are struggling to validate the benefits and implementation costs of social media, chat, streaming video, reputation management, SEO, SEM and a dozen other digital marketing pitches that come across their desk each month.  With little track records or case studies to help dealers with the education process, seasoned mangers are scratching their heads and looking for advice and support from the companies that they have leaned on in the past.

Unfortunately, these products are coming from more single source vendors and not their current automotive advertising agency.  Most traditional automotive advertising agencies that have delivered success with direct mail, radio, TV and print have stumbled to provide integrated digital marketing offerings.  Automotive advertising agencies clinging to traditional marketing expertise has created a disruption in the marketplace with no clear winners emerging from the chaos. 

Dealers who once had a single call to make for their advertising and marketing strategies now have to make multiple calls and are forced into becoming a General Contractor to build an integrated marketing strategy. Dealers have neither the training, desire nor the sustainable skills to act as a General Contractor.  

Next generation automotive advertising agencies must seamlessly merge the traditional and digital landscape to increase their value to car dealers.  The marketplace is screaming for integrated automotive advertising agencies that offload the burden currently on car dealers who seek to gain market share with the changing of advertising models.

 Data Protectionism

To complicate the integration of traditional marketing with digital marketing strategies, dealers are still tied to vendors that do not embrace open standards for data exchange and collaboration.  For example only two DMS providers serve all new car dealers in the United States.  For some dealers, the distribution of the dealer’s own data is restricted by antiquated data access policies. 

It’s hard to believe that in 2010 a car dealer cannot click on a menu to export a file of their own inventory into an ADF compliant XML file to send the third party advertising sources.   It is hard to believe that some vendors still use modems for data transmission.  Car dealers have allowed the confiscation of their own data and are held captive from creating truly innovating data reporting systems.

Since car dealers are using multiple single source software solutions, it is time to recognize that “lead lifecycle” reporting is one of the last barriers that car dealers need to measure true ROI.  When a dealer has a website provider that is different than their CRM vendor, significant data is lost due to the current way data is exchanged.  Commonly data is transmitted between two different software platforms using a file format call the ADF specification.

The automotive industry needs a revised ADF specification to allow an open source solution to end to end reporting across multiple software platforms.  The current specification is a 1.0 version that was last modified in 2000. A lack of leadership and protectionism is complicating a revised data exchange standard and costing dealers thousands of dollars a year.   

Automotive Advertising Leadership

The automotive advertising agency of the future needs to shepherd vendor integration because it is what their clients truly need.  I truly believe that dealer Principals and General Managers are spending way too much time in the General Contractor role and if asked, they would give up that title in a heartbeat.

Automotive advertising agencies that seek to gain market share must invest in properly trained technical staff that understands SEO, SEM, website design, data communications, data analysis and third party data integration.

Automotive Advertising Agencies that fail to provide integrated traditional and digital marketing strategies are going to be asked an uncomfortable question by the dealer:

“And remind me what I am actually paying you to do..”

When that question is asked, you can start the clock on when your account will be replaced by an agency that took the burden of the dealer and didn’t wait to let the market disruption be the last straw.

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing
http://twitter.com/automotiveseo

The Internet as a communications tool for car dealers is evolving and never before has the changing landscape been more challenging for dealer principals and General Managers.  As car dealers seek to develop online brand messaging their advertising budgets are being pulled in many directions.  Every month a new digital strategy is being presented as the next “big thing”.

Dealers are struggling to validate the benefits and implementation costs of social media, chat, streaming video, reputation management, SEO, SEM and a dozen other digital marketing pitches that come across their desk each month.  With little track records or case studies to help dealers with the education process, seasoned mangers are scratching their heads and looking for advice and support from the companies that they have leaned on in the past.

Unfortunately, these products are coming from more single source vendors and not their current automotive advertising agency.  Most traditional automotive advertising agencies that have delivered success with direct mail, radio, TV and print have stumbled to provide integrated digital marketing offerings.  Automotive advertising agencies clinging to traditional marketing expertise has created a disruption in the marketplace with no clear winners emerging from the chaos. 

Dealers who once had a single call to make for their advertising and marketing strategies now have to make multiple calls and are forced into becoming a General Contractor to build an integrated marketing strategy. Dealers have neither the training, desire nor the sustainable skills to act as a General Contractor.  

Next generation automotive advertising agencies must seamlessly merge the traditional and digital landscape to increase their value to car dealers.  The marketplace is screaming for integrated automotive advertising agencies that offload the burden currently on car dealers who seek to gain market share with the changing of advertising models.

 Data Protectionism

To complicate the integration of traditional marketing with digital marketing strategies, dealers are still tied to vendors that do not embrace open standards for data exchange and collaboration.  For example only two DMS providers serve all new car dealers in the United States.  For some dealers, the distribution of the dealer’s own data is restricted by antiquated data access policies. 

It’s hard to believe that in 2010 a car dealer cannot click on a menu to export a file of their own inventory into an ADF compliant XML file to send the third party advertising sources.   It is hard to believe that some vendors still use modems for data transmission.  Car dealers have allowed the confiscation of their own data and are held captive from creating truly innovating data reporting systems.

Since car dealers are using multiple single source software solutions, it is time to recognize that “lead lifecycle” reporting is one of the last barriers that car dealers need to measure true ROI.  When a dealer has a website provider that is different than their CRM vendor, significant data is lost due to the current way data is exchanged.  Commonly data is transmitted between two different software platforms using a file format call the ADF specification.

The automotive industry needs a revised ADF specification to allow an open source solution to end to end reporting across multiple software platforms.  The current specification is a 1.0 version that was last modified in 2000. A lack of leadership and protectionism is complicating a revised data exchange standard and costing dealers thousands of dollars a year.   

Automotive Advertising Leadership

The automotive advertising agency of the future needs to shepherd vendor integration because it is what their clients truly need.  I truly believe that dealer Principals and General Managers are spending way too much time in the General Contractor role and if asked, they would give up that title in a heartbeat.

Automotive advertising agencies that seek to gain market share must invest in properly trained technical staff that understands SEO, SEM, website design, data communications, data analysis and third party data integration.

Automotive Advertising Agencies that fail to provide integrated traditional and digital marketing strategies are going to be asked an uncomfortable question by the dealer:

“And remind me what I am actually paying you to do..”

When that question is asked, you can start the clock on when your account will be replaced by an agency that took the burden of the dealer and didn’t wait to let the market disruption be the last straw.

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing
http://twitter.com/automotiveseo

This past week there was a buzz about a patent that was awarded to Google that is being referred to as the Reasonable Surfer Patent. The specifics of the patent reveal that it was filed 6 years ago and awarded in May 2010.

The first thing I questioned was the relevance of the patent since so much has changed in the past 6 years in search. The patent data include this text:

• Ranking documents based on user behavior and/or feature data
• Invented by Jeffrey A. Dean, Corin Anderson and Alexis Battle
• Assigned to Google Inc.
• United States Patent 7,716,225
• Granted May 11, 2010
• Filed: June 17, 2004

SEO pundits have differing opinions on the specific value of this patent but to save you the internal banter, I will try to distill what I think is most important. This patent is focused on how Google will “weight” links on a web page.

The weighting may include predicting what a consumer would most likely click on a web page. So a text link in the first paragraph of a blog article, with interesting anchor text, could have more “weight” than a link in the bottom page footer.

Links are critical in the overall visibility of any website and this patent is part of that discussion. The discussion that has surfaced pertains to where is the best place for links on a page and how do different types of links “rate” with Google.

For example, a link from the home page of Automotive News to any dealer’s website is a great link to have since that site is a recognized authority in the automotive industry. This link would have more “weight” than a link from a brand new microsite or a friends landscaping website.

Building Inbound Links

Car dealers who have launched effective off-site SEO campaigns that produce high quality inbound links from well ranked websites normally have an edge over their competition with all other things considered equal. However, it is difficult for dealers to independently create hundreds or thousands of high quality links to their websites.

Dealers can obtain high quality links from press releases, social communities, car forums, article syndication, document publishing portals and business directories. Increasing links is like an annuity of good will and create a digital marketing foundation.

If you have been considering increasing the links to your website, you should understand some of the basics of link building. Some of the questions you may have are:

• How many links do I have directed to my website?
• What is a good link?
• Where can I find places to create links back to my site?
• Where should that link be located?
• Are image links better than text links?

To find the number of inbound links pointing to your website, and to make it easy for anyone to get a correct count, I recommend that you go to www.websitegrader.com . Type in your domain name and then click on the “Generate Report” button.

The free report and analysis includes the number of “inbound links”. While you have the report, take a look at the data and one thing to spot is when your domain is going to expire. If it's less than two years, renew it today. Also, if your score is under 70/100, it would be a good time to give an SEO advisor a call.

Dealers who want to be competitive in online search should seek to have a diverse set of high quality sites linking to their website. I bring this up because often I see hundreds of links coming from only one website and so the number of links masks the problem of low diversity.

The total recommended links will vary but I would like to see over 1,000 links to the dealer’s home page and hundreds of links to key inside web pages like service, parts, and used cars. A good link is one that comes from a reputable website that has real content, real visitor activity and relevance to your business. The site can also be unrelated to your business but one that has a high Google PageRank. There are many link building scams on the market, so be careful that you don’t waste your money.

The Reasonable Surfer Patent emphasizes what I have been recommending for years. Content based SEO strategies that include blogs, press releases, article publishing, posting articles on technical forums and social communities can deliver high quality links. The key is to place that link in such a way that enhances the page and that links to the right page on your dealer website.

An example would be posting an article, outside of your website, about the different types of Nissan extended warranty plans available to a consumer. In the article you would place links to the extended warranty page on your dealer website or even Nissan brochures on your website. Car dealers who have been blogging for years or participating in automotive forums already know this.

How Many Links Do You Have?

Do you know how many links are pointing to your website? How about your competitor’s website? You can see inbound links on any website by going to Yahoo and typing in your competitor’s domain name or your domain name with the “link” parameter.

For example, if you wanted to see where ABC Ford (www.abcford.com) was building links from you would go to Yahoo and type in the search box:

link:www.abcford.com

No spaces. This will bring up the Yahoo Site Explorer and it will show you the first 1,000 inbound links to any website. There is a debate whether a text link will not be as strong as an image that is linked because a “surfer” may be more likely to click on a photo or banner that is above the fold.

There is no uniform agreement on this matter. Should you bold the text anchor? Should you use larger fonts for the anchor text? That is where the art of link building and testing comes into play. What is most uniformly agreed is that a list of links in a sidebar or footer will not be as strong as links inside an article.

Of course I am talking about a well written article with links on anchor text that point to relevant pages on a dealer’s website.

If you want to target high value keywords that you want your website to appear on Google Page One, then a combination of good on-site content and a few hundred links from external sites may be just what you need. The strategy for off-site links will be to use the keyword in content and hyperlink that keyword to an appropriate page on your website. It’s a two part strategy that must be in place to win.

If your keyword goal is very competitive you will most likely need thousands of links. The point is that over time, you can compete and win against your local competitors if you have a strong content writing and off-site link building strategy..

This past week there was a buzz about a patent that was awarded to Google that is being referred to as the Reasonable Surfer Patent. The specifics of the patent reveal that it was filed 6 years ago and awarded in May 2010.

The first thing I questioned was the relevance of the patent since so much has changed in the past 6 years in search. The patent data include this text:

• Ranking documents based on user behavior and/or feature data
• Invented by Jeffrey A. Dean, Corin Anderson and Alexis Battle
• Assigned to Google Inc.
• United States Patent 7,716,225
• Granted May 11, 2010
• Filed: June 17, 2004

SEO pundits have differing opinions on the specific value of this patent but to save you the internal banter, I will try to distill what I think is most important. This patent is focused on how Google will “weight” links on a web page.

The weighting may include predicting what a consumer would most likely click on a web page. So a text link in the first paragraph of a blog article, with interesting anchor text, could have more “weight” than a link in the bottom page footer.

Links are critical in the overall visibility of any website and this patent is part of that discussion. The discussion that has surfaced pertains to where is the best place for links on a page and how do different types of links “rate” with Google.

For example, a link from the home page of Automotive News to any dealer’s website is a great link to have since that site is a recognized authority in the automotive industry. This link would have more “weight” than a link from a brand new microsite or a friends landscaping website.

Building Inbound Links

Car dealers who have launched effective off-site SEO campaigns that produce high quality inbound links from well ranked websites normally have an edge over their competition with all other things considered equal. However, it is difficult for dealers to independently create hundreds or thousands of high quality links to their websites.

Dealers can obtain high quality links from press releases, social communities, car forums, article syndication, document publishing portals and business directories. Increasing links is like an annuity of good will and create a digital marketing foundation.

If you have been considering increasing the links to your website, you should understand some of the basics of link building. Some of the questions you may have are:

• How many links do I have directed to my website?
• What is a good link?
• Where can I find places to create links back to my site?
• Where should that link be located?
• Are image links better than text links?

To find the number of inbound links pointing to your website, and to make it easy for anyone to get a correct count, I recommend that you go to www.websitegrader.com . Type in your domain name and then click on the “Generate Report” button.

The free report and analysis includes the number of “inbound links”. While you have the report, take a look at the data and one thing to spot is when your domain is going to expire. If it's less than two years, renew it today. Also, if your score is under 70/100, it would be a good time to give an SEO advisor a call.

Dealers who want to be competitive in online search should seek to have a diverse set of high quality sites linking to their website. I bring this up because often I see hundreds of links coming from only one website and so the number of links masks the problem of low diversity.

The total recommended links will vary but I would like to see over 1,000 links to the dealer’s home page and hundreds of links to key inside web pages like service, parts, and used cars. A good link is one that comes from a reputable website that has real content, real visitor activity and relevance to your business. The site can also be unrelated to your business but one that has a high Google PageRank. There are many link building scams on the market, so be careful that you don’t waste your money.

The Reasonable Surfer Patent emphasizes what I have been recommending for years. Content based SEO strategies that include blogs, press releases, article publishing, posting articles on technical forums and social communities can deliver high quality links. The key is to place that link in such a way that enhances the page and that links to the right page on your dealer website.

An example would be posting an article, outside of your website, about the different types of Nissan extended warranty plans available to a consumer. In the article you would place links to the extended warranty page on your dealer website or even Nissan brochures on your website. Car dealers who have been blogging for years or participating in automotive forums already know this.

How Many Links Do You Have?

Do you know how many links are pointing to your website? How about your competitor’s website? You can see inbound links on any website by going to Yahoo and typing in your competitor’s domain name or your domain name with the “link” parameter.

For example, if you wanted to see where ABC Ford (www.abcford.com) was building links from you would go to Yahoo and type in the search box:

link:www.abcford.com

No spaces. This will bring up the Yahoo Site Explorer and it will show you the first 1,000 inbound links to any website. There is a debate whether a text link will not be as strong as an image that is linked because a “surfer” may be more likely to click on a photo or banner that is above the fold.

There is no uniform agreement on this matter. Should you bold the text anchor? Should you use larger fonts for the anchor text? That is where the art of link building and testing comes into play. What is most uniformly agreed is that a list of links in a sidebar or footer will not be as strong as links inside an article.

Of course I am talking about a well written article with links on anchor text that point to relevant pages on a dealer’s website.

If you want to target high value keywords that you want your website to appear on Google Page One, then a combination of good on-site content and a few hundred links from external sites may be just what you need. The strategy for off-site links will be to use the keyword in content and hyperlink that keyword to an appropriate page on your website. It’s a two part strategy that must be in place to win.

If your keyword goal is very competitive you will most likely need thousands of links. The point is that over time, you can compete and win against your local competitors if you have a strong content writing and off-site link building strategy..

Google Places, formerly called Google Maps, has a new feature that allows to you add customized, time sensitive text on your business detail page. For the average car dealer, consumers will view your detail page on Google Maps over 500 times a month.

If that is the case, then why not add a personalized "post" that you change each month to match your current sales promotions and incentives. You can only type in 160 characters but the placement of the text is locate perfectly for a consumer to see.

Login to Google Places

To see where you make these posts, login to Google Places and click on your store listing. The page will look something like this:

In the upper right hand corner, you will see a new area to add a post to your comments that will appear on your Google Maps page for up to 30 days. Here is a close-up:

Once you create the call to action message and click on the Post button, it will go live on your Google Maps listing. You can get creative here but keep in mind that your competition probably is unaware of this feature so use it to your advantage.

You can add a message about being the highest rated dealer in the area or that you have the best incentives to purchase at your dealership. You don't have alot of room so use it wisely.

Do you have some examples of what you plan to add with a post on your maps page?

Share them here and add a comment below.

Google Places, formerly called Google Maps, has a new feature that allows to you add customized, time sensitive text on your business detail page. For the average car dealer, consumers will view your detail page on Google Maps over 500 times a month.

If that is the case, then why not add a personalized "post" that you change each month to match your current sales promotions and incentives. You can only type in 160 characters but the placement of the text is locate perfectly for a consumer to see.

Login to Google Places

To see where you make these posts, login to Google Places and click on your store listing. The page will look something like this:

In the upper right hand corner, you will see a new area to add a post to your comments that will appear on your Google Maps page for up to 30 days. Here is a close-up:

Once you create the call to action message and click on the Post button, it will go live on your Google Maps listing. You can get creative here but keep in mind that your competition probably is unaware of this feature so use it to your advantage.

You can add a message about being the highest rated dealer in the area or that you have the best incentives to purchase at your dealership. You don't have alot of room so use it wisely.

Do you have some examples of what you plan to add with a post on your maps page?

Share them here and add a comment below.

I am still amazed how many dealers have less than 20 reviews on their Google Maps listings. Even worse are dealers who have Google Maps listings with incorrect information and/or missing their website link. Dealers with low review counts often will find that they are mostly negative posts which creates an unfair picture of any dealership.

I was thinking why some dealers have ignored Google Maps and the reviews that show on their listing. I have come to the conclusion that they don't realize how many times each month their Maps listing is shown to consumers.

For a dealer in an active metro area, their Google Maps listing is shown over 15,000 times. Normally at these number of impressions, dealers will get over 300-500 visitors clicking to their website and dozens of phone calls.  As a reminder, put a tracking number on your Google Maps listing.

Poor Reviews Decrease Leads

When a consumer clicks on the Reviews link on a dealer's maps listing and sees very negative ratings, it is no surprise why consumers may end their consideration of that dealer. I'm writing today to encourage  Internet Sales Managers and General Sales Managers to implement a 4x4 IRM strategy for the next few months. 

By starting with realistic goals, dealers can take small steps to increase their consumer direct leads.  With all the competition on Google Page One for your brand name, your Google Maps reviews are one of your most powerful defensive tools.  As your reviews increase, so will the leads and calls.

Starting A Internet Reputation Management Process

Every month, dealers sell cars to family, friends or long-time customers. I am encouraging all dealers to identify these loyal brand advocates and contact them to achieve 4 reviews on Google Maps each week for one month. This 4x4 strategy will produce 16 positive reviews spread out over the month.

This investment will be one of the best uses of your time in the next 30 days.

If you feel that posting 16 reviews on Google Maps in one month is too many, split it with one other review site that shows on Google Page One or Page Two when you do a search on your exact business name.

The reason why I am encouraging this initial measure to be done with loyal customers is because many dealers have only bad reviews "front and center" on Google Maps. I don't want a new customer to see just the "ugly" posts.   Keep in mind that Google is rolling up reviews from Edmunds, DealerRater, Yelp, CitySearch, so posting directly on Google is key for visibility.

Car dealers need to achieve balance by getting loyal customers to post from their home computers that will not lose faith when they see some negative reviews posted. Once balance is established,  any customer should be encouraged to post a valid, truthful review. If you don't ask yourhappy customers, then your positive counts will never go up.

If dealers implement a 4x4 strategy on Google for one month, then they can expand that strategy to Edmunds, DealerRater, Yelp or InsiderPages. The goal is to achieve a natural set of posts that are not all posted on the same day or to put up 20 reviews in one week.

4x4 Reputation Management Rules

Always play by the rules; don't cheat. Have the reviews posted from actual customers from their own PC at home. Never post reviews from inside your dealership.

Ask your customers to be specific about the car they purchased, who they dealt with and where they live. By including where they live, you demonstrate that people are willing to drive a distance to shop at your dealership.

Get started...Google Maps is your #1 free advertising source on the Internet. Don't waste the opportunity.

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

Automotive Reputation Management Specialists

I am still amazed how many dealers have less than 20 reviews on their Google Maps listings. Even worse are dealers who have Google Maps listings with incorrect information and/or missing their website link. Dealers with low review counts often will find that they are mostly negative posts which creates an unfair picture of any dealership.

I was thinking why some dealers have ignored Google Maps and the reviews that show on their listing. I have come to the conclusion that they don't realize how many times each month their Maps listing is shown to consumers.

For a dealer in an active metro area, their Google Maps listing is shown over 15,000 times. Normally at these number of impressions, dealers will get over 300-500 visitors clicking to their website and dozens of phone calls.  As a reminder, put a tracking number on your Google Maps listing.

Poor Reviews Decrease Leads

When a consumer clicks on the Reviews link on a dealer's maps listing and sees very negative ratings, it is no surprise why consumers may end their consideration of that dealer. I'm writing today to encourage  Internet Sales Managers and General Sales Managers to implement a 4x4 IRM strategy for the next few months. 

By starting with realistic goals, dealers can take small steps to increase their consumer direct leads.  With all the competition on Google Page One for your brand name, your Google Maps reviews are one of your most powerful defensive tools.  As your reviews increase, so will the leads and calls.

Starting A Internet Reputation Management Process

Every month, dealers sell cars to family, friends or long-time customers. I am encouraging all dealers to identify these loyal brand advocates and contact them to achieve 4 reviews on Google Maps each week for one month. This 4x4 strategy will produce 16 positive reviews spread out over the month.

This investment will be one of the best uses of your time in the next 30 days.

If you feel that posting 16 reviews on Google Maps in one month is too many, split it with one other review site that shows on Google Page One or Page Two when you do a search on your exact business name.

The reason why I am encouraging this initial measure to be done with loyal customers is because many dealers have only bad reviews "front and center" on Google Maps. I don't want a new customer to see just the "ugly" posts.   Keep in mind that Google is rolling up reviews from Edmunds, DealerRater, Yelp, CitySearch, so posting directly on Google is key for visibility.

Car dealers need to achieve balance by getting loyal customers to post from their home computers that will not lose faith when they see some negative reviews posted. Once balance is established,  any customer should be encouraged to post a valid, truthful review. If you don't ask yourhappy customers, then your positive counts will never go up.

If dealers implement a 4x4 strategy on Google for one month, then they can expand that strategy to Edmunds, DealerRater, Yelp or InsiderPages. The goal is to achieve a natural set of posts that are not all posted on the same day or to put up 20 reviews in one week.

4x4 Reputation Management Rules

Always play by the rules; don't cheat. Have the reviews posted from actual customers from their own PC at home. Never post reviews from inside your dealership.

Ask your customers to be specific about the car they purchased, who they dealt with and where they live. By including where they live, you demonstrate that people are willing to drive a distance to shop at your dealership.

Get started...Google Maps is your #1 free advertising source on the Internet. Don't waste the opportunity.

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

Automotive Reputation Management Specialists

Imagine negotiating with a consumer and when you get to talking about the price of the car, your customer tells you that you need to take $370 off your price because CarFax said so. The consumer tells you that ON YOUR OWN website, they clicked the CarFax report and it told them that the car was worth $370 less.

The question that begs to be answered is: Less than What???

This is not a fantasy. Check out this CarFax link to a car that is offered at Checkered Flag in Virginia. The Checkered Flag Group was unaware of this great "NEW" feature offered and implemented by CarFax. Every car has an icon to print a free CarFax report.

Ouch.

When you look at the CarFax report, there is NO explanation to where this deduction in value comes from. There are no accidents or damage according to this screen.

The backlash has started.  Dealers have emailed me to say that their CarFax representative did not have any solid answers to their questions.

Were you aware that CarFax was adding this number? Do you want CarFax into your pricing equation?  Share your thoughs.

Imagine negotiating with a consumer and when you get to talking about the price of the car, your customer tells you that you need to take $370 off your price because CarFax said so. The consumer tells you that ON YOUR OWN website, they clicked the CarFax report and it told them that the car was worth $370 less.

The question that begs to be answered is: Less than What???

This is not a fantasy. Check out this CarFax link to a car that is offered at Checkered Flag in Virginia. The Checkered Flag Group was unaware of this great "NEW" feature offered and implemented by CarFax. Every car has an icon to print a free CarFax report.

Ouch.

When you look at the CarFax report, there is NO explanation to where this deduction in value comes from. There are no accidents or damage according to this screen.

The backlash has started.  Dealers have emailed me to say that their CarFax representative did not have any solid answers to their questions.

Were you aware that CarFax was adding this number? Do you want CarFax into your pricing equation?  Share your thoughs.