Driveitaway.com, a new dealer-to-consumer used-vehicle auction Web site, has announced that it will launch a pilot program in the Philadelphia region focused on bringing off lease vehicles normally auctioned at wholesale auctions directly to consumers through the Internet. Strategic partners for the pilot include ARI, the Holman Enterprises automotive dealer group, and the Pacifico Dealer Group.
At the Driveitaway.com site, consumers can search the used-car auction database by make, year, mileage, location, or specific dealership. They then visit the dealership while the auction is running to inspect and test-drive the vehicle and bid online. Finally, the winning bidder returns to the dealership to pick up the vehicle at the price set online.
Vehicles to be auctioned in the pilot run will come from both the off-lease vehicle pool of national commercial lessor ARI (Mt. Laurel, NJ) and the dealers’ own inventory. Driveitaway.com expects to auction off about 300 cars in the Philadelphia area during the 60-day pilot program, scheduled to begin at the end of August 2000.