Do dealer ads auto-renew on AutoTrader?

[TREMAiNE]

I've been eyeing a car up for a while and had planned to make a call this week to book a viewing.
Unfortunately, this morning over the last hour, the ad has vanished from AutoTrader.

The car is still listed for sale on their own website, as well as here on PH.

So my question is, is it realistic for them to remove from AT first? Why would they do that over other platforms?
Or could it be the ad has expired, and needs to be "manually" renewed?

I'm not inclined to call the dealer just yet, as ultimately if it hasn't sold and they were going to re-list at a lower price I don't want to get caught out by enquiring now. If they have sold it, then calling now or in 2 days won't make a difference.

I just want to manage my expectations. I regret sitting on it for so long now!

EDIT
It's also worth noting that the dealers website shows around 30 cars for sale, as does PH. AutoTrader shows 20 cars for sale.
So possibly a bunch of ads expiring at once? Fingers crossed.

Edited by TREMAiNE on Monday 11th December 12:11

[SuperNads]

I don't quite understand why you wouldn't call a seller if they were selling a car you wanted to buy.

[JonnyWhitters]

SuperNads said:

I don't quite understand why you wouldn't call a seller if they were selling a car you wanted to buy.

OP wrote...

I'm not inclined to call the dealer just yet, as ultimately if it hasn't sold and they were going to re-list at a lower price I don't want to get caught out by enquiring now

[123DWA]

Dealer ads dont expire, they're on there until we remove them. Its likely that they use AutoTrader to feed their own website and other platorms (I do the same). Which means when you remove an ad it comes off AT straight away but can take up to 24hrs to come off the other platforms.

[TREMAiNE]

123DWA said:

Dealer ads dont expire, they're on there until we remove them. Its likely that they use AutoTrader to feed their own website and other platorms (I do the same). Which means when you remove an ad it comes off AT straight away but can take up to 24hrs to come off the other platforms.

Thanks for your input.
As a seller, would there be any benefit to remove a listing and then re-upload it?
Do dealers care that you can see a car's listed date in the URL on AT and thus re-list it if a car has sat long enough to minimize the chance of a savvy buyer knowing this and using it to drive the price down?

The fact they have 10x less cars on AT than other sites seems a bit strange...

Maybe I just need to face reality that I sat on it for too long.

[123DWA]

TREMAiNE said:

Thanks for your input.
As a seller, would there be any benefit to remove a listing and then re-upload it?
Do dealers care that you can see a car's listed date in the URL on AT and thus re-list it if a car has sat long enough to minimize the chance of a savvy buyer knowing this and using it to drive the price down?

The fact they have 10x less cars on AT than other sites seems a bit strange...

Maybe I just need to face reality that I sat on it for too long.

Honestly, most people have no idea you can see that. Most of my fellow traders I know had no idea until I showed them. With regard to removing & relisting I probably wouldn't, the only time I have cars in stock for a very long time is with niche performance cars & classics and most buyers of those types of car understand they don't sell quickly anyway.

[TREMAiNE]

123DWA said:

TREMAiNE said:

Thanks for your input.
As a seller, would there be any benefit to remove a listing and then re-upload it?
Do dealers care that you can see a car's listed date in the URL on AT and thus re-list it if a car has sat long enough to minimize the chance of a savvy buyer knowing this and using it to drive the price down?

The fact they have 10x less cars on AT than other sites seems a bit strange...

Maybe I just need to face reality that I sat on it for too long.

Honestly, most people have no idea you can see that. Most of my fellow traders I know had no idea until I showed them. With regard to removing & relisting I probably wouldn't, the only time I have cars in stock for a very long time is with niche performance cars & classics and most buyers of those types of car understand they don't sell quickly anyway.

Many thanks for your input.

I am happy to pay a premium price for an exceptional car, and I know that it's going to vary from model to model, but would there typically much % movement in the more niche cars that have (expectedly) been sitting for a few months?

[123DWA]

TREMAiNE said:

Many thanks for your input.

I am happy to pay a premium price for an exceptional car, and I know that it's going to vary from model to model, but would there typically much % movement in the more niche cars that have (expectedly) been sitting for a few months?

Its hard to say as every car & dealer is different. If the car is on SOR you may find there is no flexibility at all. For me it comes down to the buyer as well, I sell quite a few older Maseratis (3200/4200/Early QP) and i'd rather give a £1000 discount to somebody who understands the foibles of such a car and has owned them before than give £200 off to somebody who has never owned one & thinks they can still daily drive a 20yr old Maserati with no hassle.

[Auto810graphy]

It is possible the dealer has a limited advertising package of 20 cars that is populated by the own website (the other way to the poster above) and they choose which cars to display. Sometimes if you click the sellers other cars there may be more cars in their retailer store.

[ABMA]

From personal experience: if an advert has disappeared from AT, the car is likely sold. Other platforms (including dealer own website) might take few days to update.
So AT is more accurate in this aspect.
Best call and find out.