LEADING automotive, truck and machinery wholesale auction company, Manheim Australia, has moved to enhance a customer’s buying power at auction by making it easier for successful bidders to access a range of asset finance options.

The referral program in partnership with finance provider OnlineLoans.com.au offers prospective asset buyers the opportunity for fast pre-approval and rates from a panel of more than 40 lenders.

Options include Car, Motorcycle and Marine Finance for individuals; Dealership Finance for retail businesses; and Industrial Equipment Finance including Commercial Hire Purchase, Chattel Mortgage & Finance Lease.

Manheim’s parent company Cox Automotive Australia is also offering partnered finance solutions to customers of Sell My Car, the business’s public-facing, rapid car buying service that has bought and sold more than 50,000 vehicles over 10 years in operation.

Cox Automotive Australia head of financier and insurance, Justin Richards, said: “We understand that purchasing a vehicle is a significant decision and we are committed to supporting our customers by helping them to make their financing process as smooth and straightforward as possible,”

“As such we have partnered with OnlineLoans so our customers can seamlessly enquire and organise their own finance by working with a financier who specialises in the financing of used vehicles and used assets.”

The company said the finance solutions are offered exclusively online and tailored to a wide range of customer financing needs, with competitive rates from an array of lenders, flexible terms, a seamless application process via the OnlineLoans.com.au website, and approval times of 1-3 days.

Options include:

• Personal Loans
• Asset Finance
• Line of Credit
• Equipment Finance

The launch of this partnered finance referral program comes at a time when Manheim Australia has seen a significant uptick in wholesale activity this year, with sales volumes up 37 per cent year-on-year and volume growth across every State and Territory where it operates.

Justin Richards -Cox Automotive Australia head of financier and insurance

Manheim Australia has also generated a significant uplift in the number of individual buyers attending its in-person and online auctions (about  30 per cent YoY). Many of these weekly events are open to the general public, as well as dealers looking to rejuvenate their stock profile.

Manheim said it had also undertaken other recent initiatives including:

• Themed auctions: Recognising the uptick in private buyers, Manheim is rolling out themed auctions including the company’s first dedicated online electric vehicle (EV) event, which was held in mid-September. The company’s EV auctions will be geared to the private market, giving consumers access to late-model products that promise to slash their running costs.
• Customer engagement: Manheim has further invested in marketing activities, pushing beyond its traditional approach of digital media, radio, and B2B. The company’s initiatives with short-form videos and livestreams have paid dividends in terms of building brand awareness and engagement, with more than 1.5 million views YTD.
• How to buy videos: Among the actions Manheim is taking to improve the public’s familiarity and understanding around buying at auction are tutorial videos. These animated videos are designed to clearly and simply explain the process of buying at auction, both in-lane and online.
• Online Invoicing: Manheim’s new Online Invoice Portal, tailored to make accessing invoices more secure, easier and more user-friendly, is also now live. The portal makes it easier to review, track and pay customer invoices, and helps prevent one of the fastest growing cyber security threats – invoice interception – which is possible when invoices are emailed as a PDF.

Manheim, part of Cox Automotive, operates wholesale auctions across all of Australia, selling passenger and commercial vehicles, heavy industrial equipment, and salvage cars on behalf of insurers.

By John Mellor