More than two-thirds of all U. S. auto dealerships now use Manheim Online (MOL) to plan auction visits, locate vehicles and check the status of their accounts, Manheim announced June 27. More than 65,000 individual users, representing more than 50,000 dealerships nationwide, are taking advantage of MOL’s services, says the company.

The company says on an average day, about 15,000 unique users visit the site (www.manheim.com) and use one or more of its services. That number more than doubles to nearly 30,000 unique users in an average week.

“In recent months, the number of dealers benefiting from MOL has increased by 63 percent, which just demonstrates the value of MOL and its many services,” said Joe Luppino, vice president and chief operating officer of Manheim Interactive. “When we launched MOL seven years ago, our goal was to make it easier for dealers to do business with Manheim by helping them plan auction visits, locate vehicles and check the status of their accounts – all with innovative tools not available anywhere else, and we have succeeded.”

The company says with complementary access to MOL, dealers can take advantage of all its resources, including:

• Manheim Market Report (MMR). As the industry’s only daily source for wholesale vehicle values, MMR computes prices from millions of actual sales at Manheim auctions. Easy to access and user friendly, MMR helps dealers eliminate the guesswork in buying and selling vehicles at the auction. MMR also can be downloaded from personal computers to Palm-type hand-helds.

• Pre-sale Lists. Dealers have the ability to view online the Pre-sale List of any Manheim auction so they can plan sale-day activity at any time of the day, any day of the week, from their offices.

• Post-sale Lists. This service features a print-friendly version, where dealers can sort information via make, model, price, options and other criteria and zero in on the vehicle data that is most relevant to their business. The Post-sale data also is being pulled directly from Manheim’s AS400 system, which provides more real-time results.

• Lanes Online. Lanes Online streamlines the vehicle registration process, giving dealers the ability to register vehicles for sales by reserving run numbers online.

• PowerSearch. This feature enables dealers to search all MOL inventories to find vehicles fast.

• MyAccount. Dealers can access their business account information at any Manheim auction online in real-time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week simply by using their unique passwords.

• CyberLots/CyberAuctions. This service gives dealers the ability to buy and sell vehicles online. Since their launch, CyberLots and CyberAuctions have sold more than 500,000 vehicles valued at approximately $7.2 billion.

• Simulcast. An online system that enables used car dealers from remote locations to electronically bid on and buy vehicles as they are moving through auction lanes. Simulcast helps expands the buying dealer base

“The majority of dealers seem to be using MMR, CyberLots and CyberAuctions, and Pre-sale lists to plan auction visits and purchases, but a growing number of them also are checking out our newest tool, Simulcast,” said Luppino. “Like all of MOL’s other tools, Simulcast adds value for dealers.”

From Jan. 1, through May 31, 2003, more than 17,500 dealers have taken advantage of Manheim Simulcast, purchasing more than 6,300 vehicles valued at $89.5 million.

“The growing popularity of Simulcast and the dramatic increase in traffic to MOL demonstrate that dealers are taking advantage of the technology available to them to enhance their businesses,” said Luppino. “At Manheim, we’ve always said that we’re dedicated to dealers, so we’re pleased that we can provide these value-added tools.”

About Manheim Auctions

Manheim Auctions offers services that impact every stage of a used vehicle’s life cycle. These include transaction,

reconditioning and certification services, managed remarketing, end-of-lease-term

management services, vehicle transportation, dealer floor planning, retail inspection and

government auction services. The company also assists auto manufacturers, fleet and

lease companies, banks and other financial institutions in selling their used vehicle inventories. Manheim offers technology tools that it says helps dealers and national consignors handle their remarketing transactions more efficiently.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., Manheim Auctions has more than 32,000 employees at its 124 auctions and related businesses. Manheim is a global remarketing organization with 85 auctions in North America and additional operations in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Australia and New Zealand.