Kelley Blue Book Launches the AutoTrader.com Powered 'Trade-In Marketplace' to Provide Consumers with Instant Offers for Their Trade-In Vehicles

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Kelley Blue Book's www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new car and used car information today announces a partnership with AutoTrader.com to provide the Trade-In Marketplace tool on kbb.com.  Consumers can visit the Trade-In Marketplace on the Kelley Blue Book website to generate instant offers for their current vehicles, which can be used towards the purchase of their next vehicle or redeemed for cash. Consumers can use the instant trade-in offer, which is backed by a check from AutoTrader.com, to easily trade in or sell a car to a participating dealer.  If the vehicle description provided is accurate, consumers never have to accept less for their trade-in.

Kelley Blue Book has provided consumers with reliable trade-in values on its top-rated website www.kbb.com since 1995 and is backed by 85 years of trust.  Consumers can still use the Kelley Blue Book® Trade-In Value, which is based on millions of actual trade-in transactions from across the U.S. and verified weekly by the company's statisticians, to negotiate with a dealer, or they can take the next step and use the Trade-In Marketplace to generate an instant trade-in offer. The Trade-In Marketplace offer can then be redeemed with a participating dealer, and consumers can either use the amount toward the purchase of a new car or redeem the offer for cash.

"Kelley Blue Book has partnered with AutoTrader.com's Trade-In Marketplace to provide consumers with an easy way to trade in or sell their current vehicles," said Justin Yaros, executive vice president of Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com.  "In addition to Kelley Blue Book's top-notch values, this new option provides consumers further peace of mind that they can get an actual offer online to trade in or sell their current cars quickly and easily.  And best of all, that offer is backed 100% by AutoTrader.com."

A Trade-In Marketplace offer is:

• A quick and easy way to trade in or sell a vehicle to a dealer
• An actual offer, redeemable right now, pending inspection
• 100% backed by AutoTrader.com
• A safe bet for consumers to have in their pockets, so they never have to accept less
• Based on specific elements of a car, like history, color, condition and market demand

Here's how it works:

• Anyone looking to trade-in or sell a car can now visit Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com to get a free, instant trade-in offer backed by AutoTrader.com.  For details, visit http://www.kbb.com/trade-in-a-car/.
• The seller will then provide information about the vehicle, including its year, make and model, major factory-installed options, additional upgrades, maintenance information and details about the car's condition, including any major repairs or accident damage.
• The Trade-In Marketplace from AutoTrader.com will calculate an instant trade-in offer using historical data from hundreds of thousands of vehicle transactions combined with up-to-the-minute supply and demand information.  
• The seller will then print the offer certificate and take it to one of the local dealerships listed on the certificate honoring the offer.  The dealer will verify that the information provided by the seller is correct.
• The seller can receive a check by redeeming the offer or can use the amount toward the purchase of another vehicle. And that's it! The process is fast, easy and free.

"Negotiating the value of their trade-in has long been a major pain point with consumers, and the Trade-In Marketplace helps alleviate that pain by giving them the certainty of an instant offer—backed by a check—from AutoTrader.com," said Brian Skutta, Trade-In Marketplace general manager at AutoTrader.com. "We're excited to partner with Kelley Blue Book to bring this revolutionary tool to the millions of shoppers on kbb.com."

Participating dealers in the Trade-In Marketplace network are required to honor all instant trade-in offers generated through the tool, provided that the vehicle is described accurately by the consumer.

For more information and news from Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com, visit www.kbb.com/media/, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kelleybluebook (or @kelleybluebook), or like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kbb. 

About AutoTrader.com

Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com, created in 1997, is the Internet's ultimate automotive marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location millions of new cars, used cars and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and private sellers and is a leading online resource for auto dealers, individuals and manufacturers to advertise and market their vehicles to in-market shoppers.  The company also provides a robust suite of software tools for dealers and manufacturers to help them manage and market their vehicle inventory and display advertising on the Internet.  AutoTrader.com continues to grow key business metrics, including revenue, profitability and site traffic.  Today, AutoTrader.com attracts more than 15 million unique monthly visitors who utilize the site to review descriptions, photos and videos of vehicles for sale; research and compare vehicles; review pricing and specials; and read auto-related content like buying and selling tips and editorial coverage of major auto shows and automotive trends.  AutoTrader.com operates two other auto marketing brands, AutoTraderClassics.com and AutoTraderLatino.com. AutoTrader.com also owns used vehicle management software company vAuto, Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com), HomeNet Automotive, a leading provider of online inventory management and merchandising solutions for the automotive retail industry and VinSolutions, a leading provider of end-to-end solution platforms for dealers.  AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. Providence Equity Partners is a 25 percent owner of the company and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor.  For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the only vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the industry.  Each week the company provides the most market-reflective values in the industry on its top-rated website www.kbb.com, including its famous Blue Book® Trade-In and Retail Values and Fair Purchase Price, which reports what others are paying for new cars this week.  The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies as well as governmental agencies.  Kbb.com provides consumer pricing and information on minivans, pickup-trucks, cars, hybrids and SUVs.  Kelley Blue Book Co. Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AutoTrader.com.

SOURCE Kelley Blue Book