Hundreds of car owners who want to sell their vehicles turned to new service Wheel Deal to get better prices.

Officially launched on Nov 7 in conjunction with the two-day Cars@Expo, the new service by SPH Marketing simplifies the car selling process for private car owners by mining the market for the best prices on their behalf.

Ms Florence Tan, senior advertisement sales director at Singapore Press Holdings Print Classified Call Centre, said: “Wheel Deal allows private sellers to tap into our wide network of car dealers to get the best deal. Not every car owner is familiar with the used car market. Most car owners trade in their cars when they buy a new one. They are not aware that other car dealers may buy their used cars at a higher price.”

Wheel Deal booth at Cars@Expo saw a steady stream of car owners keen to try out the service. About 800 car owners signed up and received quotes within the same day.

Finance controller Leon Tai, 43, used Wheel Deal to sell his almost eight-year-old Audi A6 for $47,000 to Hua Yang Credit with the help of Wheel Deal. He said: “I am extremely pleased with this service as it is very responsive and personalised. I was able to get the best value for my car to date. Wheel Deal got me an offer 20 per cent higher than all the quotations I have received from other car dealers when I was calling them up on my own.”

The number of used cars changing hands has more than doubled in the last 10 years. In 2005, close to 24,000 cars were transferred. Between January and September this year, over 68,000 cars transferred ownership.

Those who want to sell their cars but are too busy to look for the right buyer on their own can rely on Wheel Deal to gather and shortlist the most attractive offers from well-established used car dealers.

Head of SPH Classified Call Centre Angie Choong said: “Wheel Deal gets our readers the best value when they sell their car. At the same time, we help our advertisers who have good track records in the car trade to grow their business. Print Classified is a marketplace and we are adding a whole new dimension to our print platform by actively connecting readers and advertisers.”

Car owners who use the service will receive the highest quote for their car within one working day. They can choose to have the car dealer contact them directly, or if they prefer, Wheel Deal can make an appointment for them to meet the car dealer. Wheel Deal users are under no obligation to sell their car.

The service is also open to commercial vehicle owners, companies or even government agencies because the team can assist the sellers to obtain three or more dealers to bid for their cars and fulfil their corporate governance needs.

They can sign up for the Wheel Deal service via a hotline number by calling or sending an SMS, or go to its online website and provide their personal particulars and basic information such as the licence plate number.

Car dealers on the Wheel Deal network who are long-time advertisers with SPH see the potential of this new service in growing the used car market.

Mr Raymond Tang, managing director of Yong Lee Seng and the first vice-president of the Singapore Vehicles Traders Association, said: “Wheel Deal can give car owners selling their cars more confidence as they are dealing with well-established car dealers on the Wheel Deal network. Car dealers on the Wheel Deal network benefit as those car owners who sell their cars are also potential car buyers. Wheel Deal also makes the selling process more efficient and transparent.”

Users who complete successful transactions with any one of the Wheel Deal recommended dealers will each receive $50 worth of petrol vouchers.

For more information on advertising or partnership opportunities for Wheel Deal, call Florence Tan at 6319-6089 or e-mail tanyl@sph.com.sg; Angeline Chong at 6319-6087 or e-mail chongch@sph.com.sg

Click here for event sponsorship opportunities in SPH Newspapers.