Finding 01p. 3
A standalone buying center beats an embedded tool.
Iframed trade tools hide which marketing drove a lead, block A/B tests and lack chat. A buying center's own URL also works on radio and billboards.
AXLE Delivers a Turnkey Car Buying Center Experience Which Dealers Love
Product review · RetailingIncreasing Consumer Direct Used Car Purchases
In collaboration with
E-Drive Auto
E-Drive AutoWant the short version?
Read our one-minute summary, or ask your AI what this review means for your dealership.
Ask your AI
The best used cars are in your customers' driveways. A dedicated buying center brings them in.
This report shows how the AXLE platform changes used car acquisition by giving dealers a dedicated, customizable website for buying vehicles directly from consumers. The dealers interviewed reported higher conversion rates and better profitability.
57%conversion rate at C. Harper Auto Group over its past 30 days
47%conversion rate at LaFontaine in a 45-day snapshot
<60sfor an on-page TradeVue appraisal
9 of 10cars C. Harper retails make money, per its marketing director
Key findings
What dealers found with a dedicated buying center.
Finding 02p. 4
One dealer group saw a 57% conversion rate in 30 days.
C. Harper Auto Group: 57% conversion and about 95 leads in its past 30 days. LaFontaine: 100+ more leads at 47% conversion in a 45-day snapshot.
Finding 03p. 3
TradeVue delivers on-page appraisals in under 60 seconds.
It uses market data and a proprietary valuation engine. C. Harper says the values have been very accurate and it makes money on 9 of 10 cars it retails.
Finding 04p. 4
Run the buying center as its own operation.
C. Harper's one purchasing agent takes sellers from lead to cash offer to check in under 60 minutes. LaFontaine's buying team runs apart from its 34 retail operations.
In the full review
Inside the review
Five sections, from why a separate site wins to two case studies.
- 01
A Turnkey Car Buying Center Experience
p. 2Why CXO dealer groups wanted profitable direct buying, and why trade pages fall short.
- 02
Make Your Buying Center Its Own Experience
p. 3Five ways a trade tool on the dealer site falls short, and how AXLE sites are built.
- 03
C. Harper Auto Group Experience
p. 4Interview: 57% conversion in 30 days and a one-person buying process.
- 04
LaFontaine Experience
p. 5Interview: a separate site and team, 100+ more leads and 47% conversion in 45 days.
- 05
Modern Retailing at DMSC 2023
p. 6A conference session on consumer-direct buying and how to reach the AXLE team.
6 pages · Free PDF
About the research
Who's behind it, and how it was done.
The team, the method, and where the data came from.
E-Drive Auto makes AXLE, a dedicated vehicle-buying center that helps dealers acquire used cars directly from consumers.
edriveauto.com/axle- Format
- Six-page article on E-Drive Auto's AXLE buying center platform
- Data
- Interviews with C. Harper Auto Group (past 30 days) and LaFontaine Automotive Group (45-day snapshot)
- Context
- Automotive CXO Network members, dealer groups with 10+ rooftops, that built AXLE buying centers
Read the full abstract
The AXLE platform offers a complete, standalone car buying center experience that helps dealers efficiently source used vehicles from private sellers. Unlike traditional acquisition strategies that rely on embedded trade-in tools within dealership websites, AXLE creates a fully independent buying center website optimized for conversions. This independent website, built with TradeVue technology, allows for a streamlined and engaging experience for consumers looking to sell their cars.
The platform’s ability to deliver hyper-accurate appraisals within seconds, combined with advanced customer engagement tools, leads to increased conversion rates and more profitable deals. Dealers using AXLE, such as C. Harper Auto Group and LaFontaine Automotive Group, have reported significant success in boosting their used car inventory while keeping acquisition costs low. These dealerships have implemented AXLE as an independent part of their operations, creating a customer-friendly experience for sellers.
For your role
What's in it for you?
Pick your seat to see what this review means for your job.
Questions
Before you download.
Quick answers about the review and who it's for.
What is AXLE for car dealers?
AXLE, from E-Drive Auto, is a dedicated, customizable website that dealers use to buy used cars directly from consumers. It runs as a standalone car buying center with its own URL, built with TradeVue technology, rather than a trade tool embedded in the dealer site.
Why use a standalone car buying center instead of a trade tool on the dealer website?
Because iframed trade tools on the dealer site hide which marketing drove a lead, block A/B tests and lack chat. A buying center with its own URL avoids those limits and also works in radio and billboard advertising. That is the case Pasch Group's AXLE review makes for a separate site.
What conversion rates did dealers get with an AXLE buying center?
C. Harper Auto Group reported a 57% conversion rate and about 95 leads over its past 30 days. LaFontaine Automotive Group reported 100+ more leads at 47% conversion in a 45-day snapshot. Both groups shared these results in interviews for the AXLE review.
How fast is an AXLE TradeVue appraisal?
Under 60 seconds. TradeVue gives shoppers an on-page appraisal using market data and a proprietary valuation engine. C. Harper Auto Group says the values have been very accurate and that it makes money on 9 of 10 cars it retails.
How do dealer groups run an AXLE buying center?
As its own operation. At C. Harper Auto Group, one purchasing agent takes sellers from lead to cash offer to check in under 60 minutes. LaFontaine runs its buying center with a separate site and team, apart from its 34 retail operations.
Was the AXLE review produced in collaboration with E-Drive Auto?
Yes. AXLE Delivers a Turnkey Car Buying Center Experience Which Dealers Love is Brian Pasch's review of E-Drive Auto's AXLE platform, produced in collaboration with E-Drive Auto. It draws on interviews with two Automotive CXO Network dealer groups with 10+ rooftops: C. Harper Auto Group and LaFontaine Automotive Group.
Is the AXLE car buying center review free?
Yes. It's a free six-page PDF from Pasch Group, about a 7-minute read, written for dealer principals, GMs and sales teams. Download it on this page. It was published in April 2023.
Free download
Get the review.
AXLE Delivers a Turnkey Car Buying Center Experience Which Dealers Love. Free, and yours in under a minute.
- 01Instant download, no waiting
- 02A copy in your inbox for later
- 036 pages
- 04Share it with your team, no extra sign-ups
Get your free copy
AXLE Delivers a Turnkey Car Buying Center Experience Which Dealers Love · 6 pages
Ready
It's yours.
We've also emailed a copy to .
Download the PDFRead next2027 Automotive CRM Research Report
Keep reading
All researchMore from Pasch Group Research.
Coming Soon
2027 Automotive CRM Research Report
The 2027 Automotive CRM Research Report examines how AI, CDPs, cloud data warehouses and evolving CRM platforms are reshaping who controls dealership data and customer communications, and the new standards dealers should demand as CRMs expand into service, F&I, lifecycle marketing, compliance and AI-agent governance.
Waitlist Open · Writing & review
New
AI and Dealership Staff: Finding the Right Balance
Based on interviews with dealership leaders using AI in sales and service, this report shows how the strongest stores split work between AI and people, manage the handoff, bring staff along and measure what AI actually adds.
In collaboration with ImpelReleased Oct 2026
The Streaming Accountability Gap
Dealers still struggle to verify where their ads ran, how their budgets were spent, and whether reported results reflect real business impact. This research gives dealers a framework for evaluating CTV economics, placement quality, format integrity, pacing, attribution and transparency.
In collaboration with Dealer StreamReleased Sep 2026