AutoTrader And Experian Automotive Increase Consumer Access To Vehicle History Information - TACH Editor: "Be Very Cautious - Experian DOES NOT CATCH ALL THE PROBLEMS!!!! Just Ask Us.

Editors Note: Before the story a personal experience I had with the folks at Experian.

A few months back I was shopping to replace my beloved 1988 RX7 Convertible with another one because my baby just happened to catch on fire while I was in a restaurant, old and tired I guess.

I was having fun bidding for another on E-bay and bought a package of 10 vehicle history searches from Experian to give me peace of mind as to the real history of the cars I was considering(although being associated with The Auto Channel negates any real chance to find pax).

One of the cars I was bidding on was a 1988 RX7 with an apparantly honest description of the car that included the fact that it had a Salvage Title.

I thought it would be a good idea to check if there was anything else amiss in the cars long history, so I used one of my Experian searches to check it out

The Report came back and said the car had a Clear Title, they missed the fact that the car had a Salvage Title. Experian did not catch the real history and warn me that the car had a Salvage Title...so what the hell was I paying for? And if they screwed this up what else was incorrect?

To continue my investigation of the siuation, I called upon the Kentucky MVB folks, who were cooperative and nice, to look up the title history of the car in question. Guess what, in about 5 seconds their computer showed that the car I was looking at did in fact have a Salvage Title just like the seller said it did.

Whew, how come in one minute I could confirm the truth, but big time, pay me money for incorrect info Experian couldn't get the facts? It seemed like a good question that deserved an answer. So I called upon my unpaid intern(nah, I really did it myself, but if the boys at the NYT could use interns to gather facts then it sounded good for us) to e-mail and then call Experian and ask them to explain why if I could find the salvage title why didn't they?

I was hoping to get an honest answer but after communicating with three Experian employees I realized that they were just tap dancing around the fact that apparantly their service doesn't really work and is a sham and a waste of money.

Talk about a con job...millions of people pay to get the truth and when they don't they are told to read the Experian disclaimer...so read it first and don't waste your bucks or your trust, and definetly don't rely on the results you get from Experian to help you make an intellegent decision about the buyability of a car.

I have kept the email trail of this saga if anyone is interested just e-me bgordon@theautochannel.com. Now onto their story.

Embedded AutoCheck Reports Offer Merchandising Tool to Sellers And Confidence to Buyers

ATLANTA and SCHAUMBURG, Ill., July 23 -- AutoTrader.com, the world's largest automotive marketplace, and Experian, a global business solutions company, today announced the launch of a new merchandising tool for used-car dealers. Sellers will now have the option to embed links to the industry's most robust vehicle history reports directly inside their classified advertising or auction-style listings. This "FreeLink" feature, made available through Experian's AutoCheck solution, gives AutoTrader.com dealers an affordable way to differentiate their listings by providing important vehicle history information free-of-charge to consumers.

All AutoTrader.com dealers now have access to the AutoCheck FreeLink feature. They simply sign up for Experian's AutoCheck solution online and select whether to embed history reports for all vehicle listings or only those qualifying as "AutoCheck Certified." After the sign-up, participating dealers' current and future listings on AutoTrader.com are automatically linked to history reports and made available without charge to potential car buyers. Enrolled dealers can also access vehicle reports at www.autocheck.com for in-store merchandising and trade-in valuations.

"When listing a vehicle, it is important to provide as much information about the history of each vehicle as possible," said Kevin Laten, partner/owner, The Automotive Group. "It is a valuable sales tool as it gives customers and dealers the confidence they are looking for when buying and selling a car."

An independent consumer study conducted by Morpace International found that 76 percent of used car purchasers considered a vehicle history report very or extremely important. Shoppers are more confident with this trusted 3rd-party information, making Experian Automotive's AutoCheck FreeLink a powerful sales tool.

"Vehicle history reports have quickly become a staple in the online automotive market because used car shoppers want reassurance of vehicle quality," said Chip Perry, president and chief executive officer of AutoTrader.com. "Integrating Experian Automotive's industrial strength AutoCheck reports via FreeLink into the classified or auction-style listing gives consumers increased confidence in our dealers' inventory and empowers them to make a purchase decision."

AutoTrader.com's database of 2.2 million vehicles attracts more than 7 million unique visitors per month. A recent J.D. Power and Associates Used Autoshopper.com Study finds that AutoTrader.com controls the single largest share (28 percent) of used vehicles found online and subsequently purchased.

"Our goal is to drive car sales by making vehicle history information accessible to every used car shopper," said Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive. "By integrating AutoCheck FreeLink with AutoTrader.com's extensive dealer network and consumer base, we are taking a major step toward this goal. AutoCheck is powered by Experian's National Vehicle Database which houses information on more than 450 million vehicles."

About AutoTrader.com

AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet's leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location more than 2.2 million vehicle listings from 40,000 dealers and 250,000 private owners, which provide the largest selection of vehicles attracting more than 7 million unique visitors every month. Through innovative merchandising products such as multiple photos and auction-style listings and comprehensive search functionality, AutoTrader.com unites buyer and seller online -- dramatically improving the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles.

AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Manheim Auctions, Inc., the world's largest operator of wholesale auto auctions since 1945. Manheim Auctions, a wholly owned subsidiary of media conglomerate Cox Enterprises, Inc., is AutoTrader.com's principal stockholder and a key investor along with Landmark Communications, ADP, Inc., and the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. For more information, visit http://www.autotrader.com/ or call 1-800-353-9350.

About Experian Automotive

Experian Automotive delivers information solutions to manufacturers, dealers, finance and insurance companies, and consumers. Experian helps automotive clients increase customer loyalty, target and win new business, and make better lending and vehicle purchase decisions. Its National Vehicle Database, housing more than 450 million vehicles, along with Experian's credit, consumer and business information assets, meets the industry's growing demand for an integrated information source. Experian's advanced decision support services help clients turn this information into improved business results.

For more information on Experian Automotive and its suite of solutions, visit the web site at www.experianautomotive.com.

About Experian

Experian provides strategic support to organizations around the world. It helps its clients target, acquire, manage and develop profitable customer relationships. It does this by combining its advanced decision support and outsourcing services with information on consumers, businesses, motor vehicles and property. Experian works with more than 40,000 clients across diverse industries, including financial services, telecommunications, health care, insurance, retail and catalog, automotive, manufacturing, leisure, utilities, property, e-commerce and government. Millions of consumers rely on Experian's consumer credit services to meet their financial management needs. Experian is a subsidiary of GUS plc and has headquarters in Nottingham, UK, and Costa Mesa, Calif. It has a 175-year history and unbroken sales growth over the past 23 years. Its 13,000 people support clients in more than 60 countries. Annual sales exceed $1.9 billion.

For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.experian.com.