REDWOOD CITY – OPENLANE, Inc., a leading online auction company in North America for automotive dealers to buy and sell wholesale vehicles, today announced it has partnered with the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association (NIADA) to offer dealers a new “NIADA-Certified” listing category on OPENLANE’s open auction, www.openlane.com. This “lane” of NIADA-Certified cars will provide online buyers and sellers with the comfort that these vehicles have passed the rigorous certification requirements to earn this eligibility and can be retailed with a comprehensive warranty.

As a leading online auction company in North America, OPENLANE provides more than 25,000 registered dealers around the country with the most effective and inventory rich platform for buying and selling high-quality, wholesale used vehicles. OPENLANE provides a number of comprehensive services including transportation, financing, vehicle condition reports and more to ensure that dealers have everything they need for a complete transaction.

With the addition of the NIADA-Certified listing to its broad offerings, OPENLANE buyers can be confident that the vehicles they are purchasing have met the standards set by NIADA since they have passed the stringent requirements outlined by the  Association. The NIADA-Certified Program is available to all dealers nationwide and offers a new standard of protection for wholesale buyers and retail customers. The program provides 12 months and 12,000 miles of comprehensive limited warranty coverage on most vehicles made between 2001 and 2011 and up to 100,000 miles.

“This acknowledgement builds value for NIADA’s Certified Pre-Owned Program, but just as importantly, assures online buyers that they are buying a vehicle of quality,” according to Michael Linn, CEO of NIADA. “Our relationship with OPENLANE reinforces that certified vehicles are worth more money in both the wholesale and retail marketplaces.”

“Certification programs are very important in any vehicle transaction process, especially with the online channel. Not only do they increase buying confidence, but they also enable dealers to command more money for the vehicles when selling via retail channels,” said Ed Berkowitz, Vice President, Open Auction, OPENLANE. “We are excited to partner with NIADA to offer this important enhancement that we expect will increase sale prices and faster time to sale.”

The NIADA-Certification program is administered by National Auto Care (NAC) and insured by an "A" rated company. The program is further supported by detailed implementation and sales training, best practice reviews and includes many point-of-sale tools, including; access to print an online Buyers Guide, marketing collateral, online media kits and a free AutoCheck vehicle history report.