When Ben Lima went looking for used cars for his single point used car lot in Southern New York, he did what any good Millennial would do – He went online.

As a 26-year-old, Lima has purchased wholesale cars hundreds of times but not in the traditional way. As the youngest of a three generational used car lot, he has been bucking the old school system of going to brick and mortar auctions to get his cars. Instead he almost never leaves his dealership because he buys his cars mostly online.

"Time Magazine calls my generation the 'Me Me Me Generation' but I have to tell you I have worked hard for everything I have, my parents brought me up well.”

He said smirking at his dad who sat proudly in the corner of there cluttered office.

“I think our generation looks for speedier ways to do things. So buying cars online is an obviously choose for the 'Speed Speed Speed Generation.'"

A local bid sale lot is not enough

When dealing with Millennials, a physical pen and paper bid sale will turn them off. You need to add an online bidding component. Companies like AuctionSimplified.com have taken the paper bid sale and moved it onto the web so everyone including Millennial buyers feel comfortable bidding.

Having an online run list is not enough

Most modern buyers want not only to see run list, they want a full vehicle detail page similar to the retail buyers. Dealers who take photos of their cars and post them online for the wholesalers to see truly benefit from the online auction because buyers will feel more comfortable buying when they can actually see the car. Progressive dealers go as far as to have a simple 1 min youtube.com video of the car, this can really help clinch a deal when the buyer never intends to visit your bid sale in person.

Condition reports are your friend

Millennial buyers like to buy from start to finish online, so having a well thought out condition report (CR) is a must. If the millennial buyer is never coming to your bid sale, you need to make them feel as comfortable as possible and a condition report is the ticket to comfortable bidding.

An Auction App is a Must.

Bid sales that allow the bidder to bid from his smart phone or iPhone truly have the advantage over stand alone pen and paper auctions, especially with anyone under 40. We use apps for everything today, so it is natural that we expect to be able to bid from our app too.

Millennials like Guarantee’s

While we don’t recommend arbitration for any bid sale, giving the bidder some assurances really makes sense, especially to Millennials. Letting them know that if you miss describe the vehicle in your condition report you are not going to force them to take the car. This goes a long way to keep the dealer/wholesaler relationship strong. Here is an example of Bid Assurance that the team at Auctionsimplified.com recommends to their dealers. Bid Assurance

In conclusion, millennial’s like technology, they were brought up on it, and come to expected in their lives. Moving your bid sale into the modern age makes all the difference in the world of the younger, under 40 buyer.