No News

We’ve just published the June Market Report and we’re very happy to report that prices, at least, haven’t moved substantially in the last 6 weeks.

So, while most of our battered industry continues to struggle, our little segment – luxury and exotic wholesale – has been thankfully quiet. This lack of bad news is, at least in our opinion, very, very good news indeed.

Many of you have been using the iLUXCARS System successfully since we’ve started. While we’ve been saying that iLUXCARS is the best way to manage wholesale luxury, the fact that we’re still doing it, nearly 4 years since we started, is testament to how right we are.

iLUXCARS works for three very simple, very important reasons:

Reason #1 – The Network always knows the current value of a trade. You may know your local market, but you can’t possibly know the market in the entire country. The Network is never wrong.

Reason #2 – When you sell your car through iLUXCARS you get paid every time. WE write the checks. Every. Single. Time.

Reason #3 – iLUXCARS removes the risk associated with buying. Times are tough, especially in our business. The one thing you don’t need is more risk.

For almost 4 years – Faster. Safer. Better.

April Delay

Yes, we managed to publish the April report almost three weeks late this month. The result of this is that several of the new values (marked Mar-09) actually reflect about 8 weeks worth of depreciation versus 5 weeks. We will make a solid attempt to be on time for next month.

Also, we have eliminated the iLUXCARS Appraisal from the submission process. This means that every car you submit will immediately be broadcast to interested dealers nationwide. This was a highly requested feature and after much thought and discussion we’ve decided to try it out for a while.

Just as a reminder, this market report was created to be used by dealers as a quick reference to what cars are doing on a national scale. Our appraisal function did the same thing on an individual car basis, but for many of you, it was a hassle.

Most of you were treating the appraisal number as a buy bid anyway – at least those of you who have been part of the network for a while, and the rest of you were either confused or annoyed by the extra step.

Starting today you won’t need to go through this extra step. When you enter a vehicle it will automatically be a Live Trade. When you get a bid it will be real money.

Faster. Safer. Better.

Our Mission

In the nearly 3 years since iLUXCARS was founded our mission has stayed remarkably simple: Help you make more deals.

Everything we do, everything we've built is focused on this single purpose. We help you by providing you a rich set of services and information:

• Direct access to a full-time, professional, expert account manager. 
• A complete infrastructure for managing every transaction you do with us. 
• A 100% risk-free environment for your trades. We cover everything from the time the car is described until it arrives at your dealership. Payment, Shipping, Condition. All risk-free.
• The iLUXCARS Market Report - the only pricing guide available with real values on luxury and exotic vehicles.
• An unlimited number of iLUXCARS Appraisals. The only safe way to start your deal with a real number to give your customer.
• Access to a nationwide network of luxury and exotic Live Trades. 

We do all of this to get a chance to make a deal on your trades. Of course, in order to make money we have to do a transaction. We have to get you to buy or sell a car.

So if we make money on transactions then why are we charging a monthly fee? One really simple reason - we want your commitment. We want your trades. Because we know that if you give us a chance at your trades we WILL make a deal.

Here's the good part - we're so confident that we're going to be successful together once you commit to using iLUXCARS we'll ONLY charge if you don't do a deal. Do a deal and it's free.

Yes, we're charging. But only if you don't use it. One deal a month. One trade across the finish line. One purchase. That's it. One deal and its totally free.

Faster. Safer. Better. And, if you use it - completely free.

Internet Time

We're not sending a paper version of the January Market Report this month. Don't panic, we're still writing the report and you'll still be able to read it. 

Given the volatility of the today's market we felt that we couldn't send you numbers that were even a little bit out of date. When we print and mail the report, by necessity, the numbers are at least a week old. In the case of some vehicles, a 7 day old number is enough to cost you money.

We updated this month's numbers at literally the last minute - the afternoon of the last day of the month - December 31st, 2008. We'll send the report to you via email as soon as the final proofreading is complete - probably by the end of the day on Friday, January 2nd.

If you have problems reading or downloading the email attachment the report will be available for download on your homepage.

In the mean time - Happy New Year from iLUXCARS. 

Real Value

We've been at this long enough to understand the real value of iLUXCARS.  We've spent a significant amount of time, effort, and money on all aspects of iLUXCARS. The result. we think, is real value beyond just the individual parts.

While it's absolutely critical to the business (we are an internet company, after all) - the system is only part of our real value. And, even though it's absolutely critical to your business, the real value in iLUXCARS isn't just the Market Report.

The core of what we do is actually really simple - we manage your risk. Think of iLUXCARS as a complete risk management solution. Complete. 

Payment - our money, our guarantee, our risk. Shipping - all iLUXCARS. Condition - same thing. Title - all us. Collection - still our problem.

Face it, given today's financial climate, managing your risk is your number one priority. And if it isn't then it should be.

iLUXCARS - the complete risk management solution. Real value.   

Recent Updates

For those of you who don't get or (worse) don't read our email you should know that last week we updated values in the online version of the Market Report. It is available to download from your home page. To read it you'll need to log in and click on the large, friendly text that reads: "December Market Report."

Note that this update is available exclusively to iLUXCARS members. 

If you aren't a member or aren't reading the report then you should really think about changing that. Among other things, you are increasingly in the minority of professional dealers in the country.

Even if you aren't dying every month to read the informative and entertaining content in the report, you are certainly in need of the data. For example, In the 3 weeks between the time we printed and mailed the December issue to the last online update overall average depreciation - averaged across all models - has accelerated to over 5% (in 3 weeks). That's critical information.

We arrive at the numbers by analyzing the hundreds of millions of dollar's worth of luxury and exotic vehicles that are submitted to the iLUXCARS System every month. It isn't, in other words, our opinion. 

Look, even if you know everything there is to know about your market you still need to be safe. Especially today. Really knowing may just save you money. Hey, it may save you a bunch of money.

Faster. Safer. Better.

Turkey Time

Except for the Big Meal nationally planned for Thursday, the entire iLUXCARS team - Sales, Marketing, Development, Logistics, Accounting, (even Art!) will be working all Thanksgiving weekend. We, like most of you, are prepared for a big, successful Black Friday. (And Saturday, and Sunday.)

The iLUXCARS.COM site, of course, is always available (we're an Internet Company) and if you enter a Live Trade or an Appraisal even in the middle of pumpkin pie, the System will be working on it.

Some of your cars may have expired when you get back to the office on Friday. You'll need to look in the 'My Expired Vehicles' list and click Re-Open to turn them back into Live Trades. Simple. Fast.

Remember, if you start any deal without iLUXCARS then you are taking a serious, unnecessary risk. Start your deal right. We're here to help you make money.

Even while we're eating turkey.

Interested?

One of the most frequently asked questions we get typically starts with "What ever happened to that..." 

To address this, we've added a new feature that allows you to view and express interest in recently expired Live Trades on the site.  To view the list, click on "Recently Expired" under "My Account."

If you see a car you are interested in, click on the "I'm Interested" link at the right of the list:

When you do this, a notification is immediately sent to your account manager. Your account manager will call the seller to see what state their deal is in and, if possible, re-open the car if it's still available.

A bunch of you are already using this feature - many successfully. Let us know what you think, and, as always, we welcome your feedback, comments, questions, and suggestions.

Fear and Greed

At iILUXCARS, we pride ourselves in having our finger on the heartbeat of our industry. And right now, the heartbeat of the luxury car world is beating a little fast. 

Sure, there is uncertainty about things - about prices, customers, even the future of big chunks of the industry. People are distracted.

We know this because good cars at very good prices aren't getting good bids. We think it's fear. 

Warren Buffet recently wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times. He had an interesting quote: He said, "A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." 

Smart guy, that Warren Buffet.

Look at it this way - Prices are down. People are fearful. Sounds like a good time to buy.

Be like Warren. Be greedy.

About Appraisals

Over the last few months the number of deals that start in the appraisal stage has grown dramatically. We've put a lot of emphasis on this because the appraisal allows us to do two very important things.

One, an iLUXCARS Appraisal provides you a real time look at the current vehicle value within minutes. The appraised value shows you today’s money, based on the most recent transactions from the system. 

Two, the appraisal value can be used to both educate yourself and, more importantly, get a commitment from your customer to sell the car. 

An appraisal is not a buy bid from iLUXCARS. You cannot accept this offer. The number is to be used to get a commitment from your customer that will make the deal. After you get the commitment, convert the appraisal to a fresh trade and we'll open the vehicle up for the entire network to see. 

Most of the appraisals that are converted into live trades get bids - offers you can accept - that are very close to the appraised value. In fact, on average, deals that are converted from an appraisal and accepted bring an average of $694 MORE than the appraised value.

iLUXCARS is able to get this close because we have access to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of transactions - all through the iLUXCARS system. And all of this is at your fingertips 24 hours a day. All part of the system.

Appraisals. Faster. Safer. Better.