Mike Stanton Explains J.D. Power Purchase of NADA Used Car Guide

J.D. Power and Associates has decided to buy the NADA Used Car Guide. The two companies announced the deal on May 28th. For the time being, NADA’s used car guide business will stay based in McLean, Virginia NADA logo and branding will stick with the used car guide for now, however, a change over to take on the J.D. Power brand is expected down the road. For the time being, the two organizations are going to work together as one. The financial terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

In a press release, J.D. Power showed enthusiasm for this addition to their organization. Finbarr O’Neill, president of J.D. Power said, “We are thrilled to add the NADA Used Car Guide and its vehicle valuation capabilities to J.D. Power. The Guide’s high integrity and unbiased approach to used-vehicle values, analytics and insights fits perfectly with J.D. Power’s reputation as a trusted adviser to the automotive industry.”

In a telephone interview with DrivingSales News, Mike Stanton, vice president and COO of the NADA Used Car Guide. Stanton explained that the deal between the two organizations didn’t happen over night. In an interview, Stanton said, “We looked to the future, as in where the organizations were headed, and I’m not just talking from a used car guide perspective. We saw some synergy. We thought if we pooled our resources we could bring some new information, some new products to market and we thought that we could get better information to help our customers make better decisions if we worked together than to if we did so as separate entities.”

Asked what both parties are bring to this synergetic coalition, Stanton explained that the NADA Used Car Guide has been in business for 82 years and that it’s a well-known and trusted source of information for lenders, dealers, insurance agencies and government entities. He further noted that (J.D.), “Power does work on new car side especially with the manufacturers and product planning. And so it kind of brings new and used together, with different (types of) expertise.”

Outside of the experience that both companies bring to the table, the right “fit” was also critical. As Stanton explained, “We also looked at a fit from a branding and marketing outlook perspective both companies are unbiased objective, and we joked that our nerds are a lot like their nerds in the way that we approach the market.”

One of the big questions about this acquisition is that of branding. Will the used car guide instantly be called the J.D. Power used car guide or will the NADA name stick around. According to Mike Stanton, “It’s (NADA used car guide) an iconic brand in the industry. We see caring it for the foreseeable future, we’ll look to the market to give us feedback and find synergies along the way, but we have not made decisions on timing there. For the foreseeable future, for the next few years, the brand will stay as is and maybe longer, we’ll have to see.”