DAYTON, Ohio, — The Reynolds and Reynolds Company announced it has launched two new equity and appraisal tools: Equity Calculator in contact management and Vehicle BookOut in the Reynolds desking application.

Dealerships can use both tools to appraise trade-in values and determine used vehicle values quickly. In desking, the information can be used in the sales and the F&I offices to obtain used car values when working on a deal. In contact management, Equity Calculator can be used in the sales department or business development center to target customers from a dealer's existing database who may be in a position to purchase another car.

The tools pull data directly from the N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Guide or Black Book, which both contain and publish pre-owned vehicle value information. Both Equity Calculator and Vehicle BookOut are optional, add-on tools.

The electronic access to vehicle book data significantly speeds the appraisal process. A recent Reynolds research study revealed that 44 percent of dealerships indicated they still use a manual process.

"This feature provides dealers with the used vehicle information they need and want at their fingertips. No more flipping through books to look up a trade-in value. It's a faster, more accurate way to work and conduct business," said Dana Jones, vice president, sales and F&I solutions, at Reynolds. "Also, the tools can help dealers shorten the buying cycle and achieve higher grosses by targeting customers based on their estimated equity position in their current vehicle."

The Vehicle BookOut tool integrates seamlessly with the Reynolds desking application. Dealers can use the Vehicle BookOut tool during the sales process to determine quickly the current market value of the proposed trade-in vehicle. Dealers also can use the tool to estimate the market value for their entire pre-owned vehicle inventory, including vehicles purchased from private parties, other businesses, and auctions. In addition, Vehicle BookOut offers reports to help analyze a dealership's inventory.

In contact management, dealers can use the new Equity Calculator to estimate the value of "sold" vehicles in their database in order to target customers with a specific vehicle model for marketing campaigns. They can use the calculator to determine the equity status of a customer's current vehicle and decide if he or she is a candidate for a new car. This method of targeted marketing enables a dealer to structure deals that are financially beneficial and help customers get into new vehicles sooner.