Pub. 62 2021-2022 Issue 1

21 FALL 2021 entire undercarriage and examine for possible damage. Viewing the entire undercarriage is something you can’t do at an auction. Virtual Lift lets you check out any corrosion damage, the catalytic converter and whether the spare tire is there. Spare tires are probably $300 to replace, and reconditioning costs on ACV inspected vehicles usually mean few surprises. A month ago, we made our third purchase and acquired MAX Digital. It offers a listing service to put cars on a digital platform, and it helps dealers dig into their inventory even deeper. This acquisition will make wholesaling units that are aged much more efficient and easier for dealers to build a process to follow. ACV’s digital auction lists vehicles green, yellow or red. Green vehicles are eligible for arbitration. For an extra $75, you can purchase GoGreen, which we believe is the first sell-side insurance offering. With GoGreen, ACV takes over the responsibility if the buyer has a problem after the sale. If you sell a car for $12,000, you get the entire $12,000, and if ACV has to reimburse the buyer because of an Arb claim, the money comes from ACV instead of you. Nobody else is doing that. ACV removes that burden from our sellers. The company talks about hiring people who share the same values, maintain strong relationships and are innovative. What are the shared values? There are several. For example: • Trust and transparency are imperative. • The customer comes first. • Do it right the first time. • Make it right. • ACV dealers are partners ACV looks for teammates who believe in these values. ACV spends a lot of time and effort training new hires about the ACV culture, which has remained constant even with tremendous growth. ACV strives for the best possible reputation in the industry. Every dealer gets the same treatment (A lane and premium placement in the auction platform), and respect from us, regardless of their buying or selling volume. For example, I helped a dealer in a Toyota store in Southern Ohio about three years ago. I often get a “thanks” from a dealer. When I saw this Toyota dealer last week, he came up and thanked me three years after the fact. I’m not even sure which side of the sale he was on, but ACV helped him with a car and a title issue. People will say, “I’ve got a problem, and I know you can help.” That means the world to the company and me. The only thing you own is your reputation. The website features impressive dealer experiences (https://www. acvauctions.com/testimonials). D o you have any dealer experiences you are especially proud of? The videos featuring John Lambert, Greg Palmer, Scott Spadafora and Kevin Story all explain why ACV should be part of a dealer’s used car strategy. What would be one thing you would encourage all dealers to do? I encourage all dealers to look seriously at their strategies and everything ACV offers because the problems we face right now from a supply standpoint are not going away. At ACV, everybody gets front-line treatment, including the small dealers who don’t traditionally get that kind of treatment. We recently changed our name to ACV because we are no longer just an auction. We now can help dealers with all sorts of issues, including remote inspections and transportation. We have the largest staff of inspectors in the U.S. There are over 800 inspectors in the field, and we are hiring every day. What else would you recommend? Stay tuned. ACV has a lot more being developed tested and will continue to introduce new features. Any last words? Dealers are competing with larger online car retailers every day because some people don’t think the dealer is the most efficient or convenient choice to sell their cars anymore. The perception often is they are getting more money from a large Used Vehicle Aggregator. Then they come in to buy a car without a trade. ACV will go inspect the vehicle for a dealer and provide them the same inspection as our wholesale inspection. That inspection levels the playing field so dealerships can compete. In most cases, consumers would prefer to deal with the local auto dealer, and ACV can enable that interaction, trade-in and sale. Although we sell B to B, we are currently working to help those people connect to the dealer by making the process just as convenient as the alternatives and giving them a fair market value from the dealer or more. It makes dealers more competitive. That is the direction the market is headed. When you look at what we have to offer, you will see that ACV has proven itself as an industry innovator and leader that provides a great customer experience. Whether buying, selling or retailing, we believe ACV’s efficiencies in our process are second to none. Thanks to all our TADA partners and Darren Whitehurst and Chuck Price at TADA. 