CLEVELAND — Automotive social network and ratings site CarFolks.com has announced that it will waive all fees for automotive sales and service people to post their featured pages on the fast-growing consumer site.

CarFolks.com invites dealerships and their sales and service staff to promote themselves, their experience and their community activities to prospective auto shoppers. Customers can then rate their buying or service experience with that dealer.

"Our plan was to roll out our monthly fees this month, but with the hit the auto retail business has taken, and with the challenges we all face in 2009, CarFolks wanted a way to show that we support auto retailers and the hard working sales professionals that will be impacted this year," said Scott Hall, regional manager for CarFolks.com. "We felt that by waiving our fees for individual pages for all of 2009, that we could help make a difference in the market for those people and dealerships looking to build, maintain and protect their good reputations."

Hall, the former owner of a Cleveland-area Ford dealership, knows firsthand the challenges that his peers are facing. He said that a site like CarFolks could have helped his dealership substantially as many consumers are skeptical about the auto sales process.

"Online shoppers know that any dealer can meet or beat any legitimate price," Hall said, "so once the shopper knows what they should be paying for a vehicle, they are looking for a dealership or a salesperson who will take care of them before, during and after the sale. That’s where CarFolks.com can be incredibly valuable for both consumers and the auto retail industry."