5 Easy Steps to Buying Wholesale Vehicles on OPENLANE
4 mins
There has never been a better time to use a digital marketplace to source vehicles for your lot. With thousands of fresh dealer trades, exclusive off-lease and rental [cars] available each day, OPENLANE is the best place for dealers like you to acquire your next vehicle. OPENLANE has streamlined the process to make buying on its US digital marketplace quick, easy and painless.
Follow these simple steps and you’ll be sourcing inventory on OPENLANE in no time!
1. Create an Account
The first thing you need to do before buying a vehicle on OPENLANE is to create an account. To get started, just head to openlane.com and start the simple sign-up process. That’s where you will enter your name, contact details, dealership information and more.
You will need to provide your personal information and dealership information (dealership type, address and phone number) to create an account. You can also provide your dealership license & driver’s license information to be able to browse and view inventory as soon as your account is created. Once your information has been verified, you’ll be ready to start bidding and buying.
If you ever have any questions, an OPENLANE representative will be happy to help.
2. View Inventory
Now it’s time to start looking at the incredible selection of inventory available on OPENLANE. From fresh dealer trades, to exclusive off-lease vehicles, rentals and more, OPENLANE has vehicles to fit any lot.
The marketplace features thousands of new options posted daily. From late-model luxury vehicles, to high-mileage and low cost options, there’s seemingly no end to the types of vehicles you’ll find on OPENLANE.
From traditional timed vehicle auctions held twice a week to the 24/7 convenience of the marketplace and buy now options, OPENLANE offers a sale format to fit your needs. Looking to bid a car that’s sure to sell to the highest bidder today? Just toggle on Absolute Sale and bid confidently knowing a seller has committed to selling that vehicle to the highest bidder at 3pm CT.
3. Set Your Filters and Saved Searches
With so much inventory in one place, it might seem overwhelming at first to find the vehicles that are right for your lot. That’s where OPENLANE’s robust filtering and search options come in handy.
If you know exactly what vehicle you’re looking for, just type that into OPENLANE’s easy search function. OPENLANE also features dozens of filtering options, helping you narrow down the list of vehicles. Filter by distance, mileage, make and model, title status, inspection details and so much more.
Once you’ve found search and filter settings that work well for you, all you need to do is save the search to easily come back to it the next time you’re looking to buy. You will also be notified when new vehicles matching your saved searches become available. Save as many searches as you want, and easily find the inventory right for you.
4. Place a Bid
Now that you’ve found the vehicles that will be perfect for your lot, it’s time to start the bidding process. How you bid on a vehicle depends on the sale type being used by the seller.
Auction
- In a traditional scheduled and timed auction, you’ll see the vehicles up for sale, along with a countdown clock showing how much time is left for bidding
- When you’re ready to bid, enter your bid amount and send it through
- You can also set up automatic bidding by entering the maximum price you are willing to pay and we’ll handle entering bids for you up to that amount
Marketplace
- Marketplace offers 24/7 convenience to browse, view and consider a vehicle, with most sales completing in about a day
- You typically have a longer window make an offer, and can see when a vehicle is set to expire right in the vehicle listing
- You will also see the Black Book suggested price range for the car
- Ready to place a bid? Just tap on “Make Offer” and enter the amount you want. You can also submit a “max offer” to the seller so they can see where you are willing to go
Absolute Sale
- Once you toggle on the Absolute Sale filter, all the vehicles you see are set to sell to the highest bidder at 3pm CT each day
- You can bid confidently knowing that the seller is committed to selling that vehicle at the end of the day
- Place your offer amount, set your max offer and watch the magic happen
5. Purchase the Car
Congratulations, you’ve purchased your first vehicle on OPENLANE. Now what? We’ll send you an email as soon as your offer has been accepted and you’ve won the vehicle. Now it’s time to finalize your payment options, decide if you would like to floorplan the vehicle, start the title work and organize transportation.
It might sound like a lot, but don’t worry, OPENLANE is with you every step of the way! If you ever have any questions, your dedicated OPENLANE representative is there to help.
Start Buying Wholesale Vehicles on OPENLANE
Now that you know the process to sign-up, bid and buy vehicles on OPENLANE, we hope you feel comfortable getting started.
Once you are ready to kickstart your buying journey, just head to openlane.com/buyers and start filling your lot.