For several years, car dealers have listed and advertised vehicles online. But in recent years, online auctions have provided a new venue

to bring together individuals, car dealers and even wholesalers who may be hundreds of miles apart and haven't seen the vehicle in person, according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

Dealers even buy cars from other dealers on eBay, the Star Telegram noted. "If they have a car we can use, we'll buy it," said Danny Mayer, general manager of Grubbs

Infiniti.

Paul Taylor, economist at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) in McLean, Va., said that most dealers have set up Web sites to feature inventory and that more are arranging vehicle trades among themselves electronically. Online sales and auctions aren't as widely used, although "we know it's on the increase," Taylor said.

CNW Marketing Research in Oregon estimates that by the end of the year, online used-car sales, both auctions and online listings, could hit 1

million per month, more than double the sales rate at the start of the year. That's in a market that saw about 43 million used cars trade hands last year, the Star Telegram said.