FAQs

How does Dealer Locator work?
Edmunds.com Dealer Locator connects participating dealers with highly qualified consumers within the dealer's market. Once the consumer has completed their research and is ready to buy, they input the make and model they are interested in buying along with their zip code. Edmunds.com presents the consumer with a list of the closest participating dealers and invites the consumer to submit a lead to the dealer of their choice.

Consumer completes and submits lead form on Edmunds.com. (see example below)

Edmunds.com's Dealer Directory helps motivate consumers to pursue relationships with participating dealers. Enhanced listings in the directory include telephone numbers, driving directions and links to dealer Web sites.

How many consumers participate in this process?
Currently, Edmunds.com sends approximately 400,000 new vehicle leads to dealers each month. Dealers report that Edmunds.com leads close at the highest rate in the industry. Approximately 84% of consumers who submit leads buy a vehicle within 90 days - that amounts to 336,000 sales transactions over 30 days.

How are leads processed to the dealer?
Edmunds.com partners with AutoUSA to provide the most state-of-the-art Lead Delivery System in the industry. Edmunds transmits the lead to AutoUSA who in turn processes the lead in real time to ensure the lead is valid and not a duplicate. Once the lead is deemed valid, AutoUSA sends the lead to the dealer chosen by the consumer in a format agreed to by dealer. This all happens within seconds!

Do I have to be signed up with AutoUSA to get Edmunds.com Dealer Locator Leads?
No. In the event you are not signed up with AutoUSA for their lead referral program, you may receive Edmunds.com leads through other lead providers who we also partner with. These providers include Autobytel, New York Times, AutoWeb, CarSmart, Dealix/Invoice Dealers and CarsDirect. However, these providers do not identify where the leads come from, therefore, you will not be able to distinguish an Edmunds consumer from a consumer coming from the providers site. You will need to contact these providers directly to inquire if they are including you in the Edmunds.com program.

How do I get my dealer information to appear on Edmunds.com Dealer Locator as a participating dealer?
If you are signed up with AutoUSA, they will include your dealer information in a daily feed they send to Edmunds. Edmunds presents all dealers included in that days feed. If you are not signed up with AutoUSA, but are signed up with our other partners, ( Autobytel, New York Times, AutoWeb, CarSmart, Dealix/Invoice Dealers, or Cars Direct), it is possible you may be included in these partner dealer feeds which would also cause your brand to appear. If you are interested in learning more about the AutoUSA Lead Referral Program, and how you can begin receiving the highest quality leads in the industry, click here now.

Who do I pay for Edmunds.com Dealer Locator leads?
AutoUSA (or your other lead providers) will provide you with monthly lead reporting and invoicing. Any questions you may have pertaining to leads should be addressed through your lead provider.

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What is the Edmunds.com Premier Dealer Program?
Edmunds.com created the Premier Dealer Program (PDP) as an opportunity for dealers to EXCLUSIVELY own the "top spot" position in Edmunds' Dealer Locator with special logo treatment throughout their predefined territory. The new program features 100 Dealer Ad Units on Edmunds.com local Vehicle Detail Pages with a bolded 800 phone number, 2 customizable links to the dealer Web site and link to the custom Premier Dealer Page. The Premier Dealer will always appear first in Dealer Locator, with all other dealers listed below the Premier Dealer in order of distance from the consumer's zip code. The dealer brand is greatly enhanced by the Edmunds.com endorsement as the Premier Dealer.

What does "exclusivity" mean?
Only one Premier Dealer is allowed per make per territory. Example: If you are a Honda/Acura dealer in Los Angeles and you sign up for Honda PDP, your Honda dealer brand will always appear in the top spot for Los Angeles consumers researching Hondas. All other dealers will sort below your brand. (Your Acura dealer brand will not appear as the Acura PDP dealer unless you also sign up for Acura PDP.)

How is the Premier Dealer Program different than Dealer Locator?
As a Premier Dealer, your dealership not only appears in Dealer Locator, but it is guaranteed both the top placement as well as 100 local ad units on our vehicle detail pages. When a consumer is researching on these pages a consumer can scroll to the ad and transact directly with the Premier Dealer. In addition, Edmunds creates and hosts a unique web page for your dealership (the "Dealer Specials Page"). This web page includes a statement from Edmunds.com on why you are a Premier Dealer, a customizable message from the dealer, a map, directions to your dealership, detailed contact information (including a trackable phone number) and a link to your dealership Web site. Edmunds promotes your Premier Dealer web page with several links on the Dealer Ad Unit and Dealer Locator page.

What is the value of the Edmunds' "Premier Dealer" distinction?
Consumers regard Edmunds as the most trusted source of quality and unbiased automotive information. Edmunds' presentation of a dealer as the PREMIER dealer in its market increases the likelihood of consumers buying from that dealer.

Why doesn't Edmunds just simply link consumers to the dealership Web site?
We do. We have two separate links to the dealership Web site from the each Dealer Ad Unit (New and Used) and two links from the Dealer Specials Page. We have incorporated a lead process — in addition to the links — because Edmunds converts shoppers to buyers at a higher rate than most dealership Web sites.

How much does it cost to be a Premier Dealer?
As a PDP dealer, you pay a set monthly placement fee in addition to the cost of the leads generated through Dealer Locator. In general, pricing is based on the amount of traffic Edmunds is estimated to generate for each make and in each territory. For example, consumers search for Toyota vehicles in Los Angeles more frequently than consumers search for Kia vehicles in Memphis. Accordingly, the monthly placement fee for the Toyota dealership will be more than the fee for the Kia dealership.

AutoUSA is the exclusive re-seller of the Premier Dealer Program. AutoUSA can provide you with specific pricing for your dealership. Click here to request AutoUSA to contact you regarding the PDP Program.

How do I sign up for PDP if another dealer is appearing in my territory?
PDP is a first-come, first-served program. Once a dealer signs up for a make in a specific territory, that dealer has the first right of refusal for that make/territory until such time that dealer terminates its participation.

How big are the territories?
Each territory is unique. Edmunds has worked closely with AutoUSA to define the territories to best serve the needs of dealers in each area. The territories are typically large, which gives the participating dealer the opportunity to increase its market share.

How do I become an Edmunds Premier Dealer?
If you are interested in finding out how to become the Premier Dealer in your territory, simply click here to contact us.

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Why did Edmunds.com decide to partner with AutoTrader?
Two online automotive powerhouses, AutoTrader.com and Edmunds.com, are partnering to provide used car shoppers with the most convenient and useful research and purchase options available. These two web powerhouses will now reach more than 12 million online car shoppers.

How can I, as a dealer, get my used inventory listed on Edmunds.com?
Since AutoTrader is the exclusive partner for used car listings, you must contact them to discuss the various listing options available. Please call 888-795-7525 or click here to learn more from the AutoTrader web site.

Is there a way my dealership can participate with Edmunds.com without having to sign up with AutoTrader?
Unfortunately, no. AutoTrader is the exclusive partner to Edmunds.com and is responsible for all used listings.

Previously, my used inventory appeared on the Edmunds.com web site via the Edmunds.com Used Vehicle Locator tool. What happened to that tool?
With the partnership with AutoTrader, we no longer need the Used Vehicle Locator tool. Your participation with that old program came via an existing partnership with another 3^rd party (i.e. AutoUSA). You should have received notification from the 3^rd party announcing the discontinuation of the Used Vehicle Locator tool.

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What can I do if my dealership received a negative review?
As a registered member of Edmunds.com you can comment on dealer reviews. We request that any person associated with the dealership either personally or professionally disclose this in his or her comments. Comments can be positive or negative, ask questions and/or provide supporting information to the review. Edmunds promotes an environment in which civility prevails and strongly encourages our members to "agree to disagree" when conflicts occur.

We do not remove reviews based on allegations that they contain defamatory language or inaccuracies.

For tips on how best to engage and benefit from our Dealer Ratings & Reviews, please download our Dealer Ratings & Reviews Information Sheet.

Can I submit a dealer review or comment for a dealership to which I am connected?
If you have a connection with the dealership through either a personal or professional relationship, you can provide a review as long as you are open about it and explicitly disclose in your review the nature of your relationship. In order to keep the reviews on Edmunds.com trustworthy, it is important that the readers always know whenever a reviewer's perspective may be influenced by his or her relationship with the dealer.

How long does it take for a dealer review to be published?
It usually takes a few business days from the time a review is submitted before it is published.

I disagree with a dealer review. What can I do?
As a registered member of Edmunds.com you can comment on the dealer review. Comments can be positive or negative, ask questions and/or provide supporting information. Edmunds promotes an environment in which civility prevails and strongly encourages our members to "agree to disagree" when conflicts occur.

If you are associated with the dealership either personally or professionally, please disclose this in your comment. In order to keep the reviews on Edmunds.com trustworthy, we want to make sure that the readers always know whenever a member's perspective may be influenced by his or her personal connections.

Can I email or otherwise contact the person who reviewed my dealership?
Edmunds respects its members' privacy and will not make any of their personal information available on our Web sites unless you choose to make it publicly available in your Forums profile. Dealer reviews will only display the reviewer's self-selected username (i.e., screen name.) Each Username links to the member's corresponding member page in CarSpace.com. As a registered member of Edmunds.com you can send a private message from your own CarSpace Mailbox account to a CarSpace member who posts a dealer review. The CarSpace Mailbox system does not disclose your private email address or the member to which you are sending the message. As a registered member of Edmunds.com, you can also post a comment in response to a particular dealer review.

How do I report a dealer review I believe to be offensive or abusive?
Please use the "Report Abuse" link located on each dealer review. Provide a valid email address and the reason(s) why you believe the review should not have been published. We will investigate and an email response will be sent to you.

Does Edmunds ever remove dealer reviews?
In some cases, yes. Edmunds may exercise its right to remove a review if we determine that the review violates our submission guidelines or rules, or our Membership Agreement. However, we are not obligated to remove any review, and will do so only at our discretion.

If you believe a review should be considered for removal, please click the "Report Abuse" link on the review in question. Provide a valid email address and the reason(s) why you believe the review should not have been published. We will investigate and an email response will be sent to you.

How long do dealer reviews remain on the site?
Once published, a review is available indefinitely. We may, however, exercise our right to remove a review at any time.

How do excerpts from dealer reviews that are posted on Edmunds.com end up being visible in search engine results?
The pages of Edmunds.com web sites are "spidered" on a regular basis by Internet search engines, such as Google and Yahoo! These search engines then display references to our various pages in response to their users' search requests, in instances in which they determine that our pages are relevant to the users' search queries. Customarily, the search engines also display small excerpts, or portions, of our page as a part of those listings. Those excerpts are selected by the search engines at their sole discretion, and Edmunds has no control over which excerpts are displayed or for how long.

A customer just gave my dealership a great review, but I don't see it yet in search engine results. In fact, I still see a review from several months ago. Why is that?
The pages of Edmunds.com web sites are "spidered" on a regular basis by Internet search engines such as Google and Yahoo!. These search engines then display references to our various pages in response to their users' search requests, in instances in which they determine that our pages are relevant to the users' search queries. Customarily, the search engines also display small excerpts, or portions, of our page as a part of those listings. Those excerpts are selected by the search engines at their sole discretion, and Edmunds has no control over which excerpts are displayed or for how long.

My dealership has excellent reviews posted on Edmunds.com; how can I promote this to gain new business?
Congratulations! Positive reviews are a reflection of your commitment to quality and service within the industry. Be sure to promote the fact on your web site and include a link on your dealership Web site directly to your "Sales and Service Review" page at Edmunds.com.

For tips on how best to engage and benefit from our Dealer Ratings & Reviews, please download our Dealer Ratings & Reviews Information Sheet.

Why isn't my dealership listed in the dealer reviews section?
You may submit dealer additions or information by clicking here.

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