Vehicle Acquisition Network (VAN) vs. Edmunds

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What is Vehicle Acquisition Network (VAN)?

Vehicle Acquisition Network (VAN) is buy center software for franchise and independent auto dealerships, built for buying used cars directly from private sellers. Dealers use it to buy from consumers in their market before those cars reach the auction lane. How it works: - VAN scans 25+ online marketplaces for for-sale-by-owner vehicles and puts them in one dashboard, matched to your buy box (year, make, model, mileage) inside your territory. - It filters out listings from other dealers, scam listings, and Do-Not-Call numbers, decodes each VIN, and adds live market valuation. - Your buyer calls, texts, and emails sellers from inside VAN, and every conversation stays attached to the vehicle. - One click pushes a car into vAuto, where your manager appraises it. CARFAX and AutoCheck reports run inside VAN. - VAN runs inside VINCUE Buy Center Pro as VAN Mode, where VINCUE applies your buy plan to each private-seller car. Plans: - Professional ($1,695/month): the core platform plus an Acquisition Coach™, an experienced private-party buyer who meets with your team. Every plan includes one. - VAN Accelerate™ ($2,495/month): adds automated text and email outreach, automated follow-up for unresponsive sellers, automatic replies to KBB ICO leads within minutes, and automatic responses to AccuTrade leads. - VAN Managed Buyer™ ($5,995/month, 90-day initial term): VAN hires, trains, and manages a full-time buyer who works only for your store on sourcing, outreach, and negotiation. Your desk inspects, makes the final buy decision, and signs the check. Listed prices are starting rates; final price depends on territory size and number of users. Software plans go live in about four days, and Canadian dealers are billed in CAD. VAN was founded in 2013 by Tom Gregg and serves dealers in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. To see VAN on your market, call 855-952-4949.

What is Edmunds?

Edmunds Dealer Solutions provides a wide range of digital marketing, inventory management, and sales-boosting tools designed to help automotive dealerships connect with car buyers, generate higher-quality leads, and increase sales by leveraging Edmunds' extensive automotive audience and exclusive data. Dealerships can list their new and used vehicle inventories on the Edmunds marketplace, enabling potential customers to access information about pricing, incentives, and available cars, which in turn boosts the views on vehicle detail pages and directs shoppers to dealer websites or contact forms. The platform also includes messaging and engagement features like CarCode, which consolidates customer communications through web chat, SMS, and Facebook Messenger into a single user-friendly interface, helping sales teams to effectively engage with consumers who are ready to buy. Furthermore, Edmunds supports dealers’ merchandising and advertising strategies by showcasing inventory on widely-used platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and various social media sites, utilizing targeted marketing campaigns to enhance visibility. This comprehensive strategy not only attracts more traffic but also fosters improved relationships between dealers and potential customers, ultimately creating a more dynamic automotive marketplace. Overall, by integrating these tools, dealerships can significantly elevate their sales performance and customer engagement.

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VAN acquisition dashboard showing appointments, showings, and acquisitions.

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Integrations Supported

CARFAX

DealerSocket

DriveCentric

Experian AutoCheck

VINCUE

VinSolutions Connect CRM

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Integrations Supported

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Messenger

Google Business Messages

Instagram

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API Availability

Pricing Information

$1695 per month

VAN offers three plans. Professional ($1,695/month): self-service private-party sourcing with listings from 25+ sources, AI filtering, unlimited custom searches, CARFAX, AutoCheck, and vAuto, and a dedicated Acquisition Coach™. VAN Accelerate™ ($2,495/month): adds automated text and email outreach, automated follow-up for unresponsive sellers, and automated response to KBB ICO and AccuTrade leads. VAN Managed Buyer™ ($5,995/month, 90-day initial term): a full-time buyer who handles sourcing, outreach, and negotiation for your store while your team makes the final buy decision. Software plans are live in about four days. Price depends on territory size and number of users; Canadian dealers are billed in CAD.

Pricing Information

Pricing not provided

Supported Platforms

SaaS

Supported Platforms

SaaS

Chromebook

Customer Service / Support

Standard Support

Web-Based Support

Customer Service / Support

Web-Based Support

Training Options

Documentation Hub

Webinars

Online Training

Training Options

Documentation Hub

Company Facts

Organization Name

Vehicle Acquisition Network

Date Founded

2013

Company Location

United States

Company Website

www.buywithvan.com

Company Facts

Organization Name

Edmunds

Date Founded

1966

Company Location

United States

Company Website

dealers.edmunds.com/index

Categories and Features

Auto Dealer

The Vehicle Acquisition Network (VAN) is a specialized software designed for auto dealerships to facilitate the purchase of used vehicles directly from individual sellers. Unlike traditional Dealer Management Systems (DMS) or sales Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, VAN functions as an acquisition-focused CRM that complements existing systems like vAuto, CARFAX, AutoCheck, and VINCUE Buy Center Pro, as well as most dealer CRMs. VAN aggregates listings from over 25 online platforms where vehicles are being sold by their owners, aligning them with your specific buying criteria. It equips your purchasing team with the necessary tools for effective communication with sellers and streamlining the scheduling of inspections. For dealerships that prefer not to handle this process in-house, VAN offers the VAN Managed Buyer™ service, which provides a dedicated, full-time buyer who is managed by the VAN team. Subscription plans begin at $1,695 per month and each package comes with the support of an Acquisition Coach™.

Not specified

Automotive Data

The Vehicle Acquisition Network (VAN) transforms listings from private sellers into purchasable vehicles for dealerships. By aggregating for-sale-by-owner listings from over 25 online platforms, VAN filters out dealer advertisements, fraudulent posts, and Do-Not-Call numbers. It decodes every VIN and integrates real-time market valuations, enabling buyers to identify which vehicles are worth pursuing. CARFAX and AutoCheck reports are available within VAN, allowing for seamless evaluation as a vehicle can be sent to vAuto for managerial assessment with just a click. The VAN PACE™ reporting feature monitors appointments, showings, acquisitions, and buyer interactions, providing used car managers insight into any bottlenecks in the process. Buyers can access all necessary data from a unified screen. VAN caters to dealerships across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

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