Vehicle Acquisition FAQs
for Dealers

Vehicle acquisition is how a dealership sources used inventory: trade-ins, auctions, instant-offer leads, service-drive buys and cars bought directly from private sellers. It covers finding the cars, appraising them, and closing the purchase. VAN's vehicle acquisition software focuses on the private-party approach: buying directly from private sellers and working the instant-offer leads that come in alongside them.

Vehicle Acquisition Network (VAN) is an acquisition CRM and the original buy center software, built for franchise and independent dealers who want to buy used cars from private sellers instead of at auction. It pulls private-seller (FSBO) listings and third-party seller leads into one place and gives your buyers the tools to connect with sellers, track and manage every conversation, and buy the cars. VAN connects with the tools you already run, from VINCUE to your dealership CRM. See everything on our integrations page.

Yes, VAN uses trained AI models to filter private-seller listings, removing likely dealer, scam, duplicate and salvage listings, and to decode license plates into VINs. VAN does not use AI to talk to sellers. A person answers every seller: your buyers, or your dedicated buyer on VAN Managed Buyer™. First texts, emails and follow-ups go out automatically on VAN Accelerate™ and VAN Managed Buyer™. To judge any AI acquisition tool, read AI tools for dealership inventory acquisition.

VAN pricing starts at $1,695 per month for VAN Professional™. VAN Accelerate™ is $2,495 per month, and the done-for-you VAN Managed Buyer™ service is $5,995 per month. Pricing varies by territory, and Canadian dealers are billed in CAD. See our pricing page for full plan details.

Staffing needs are highly dependent on your goals. We work with dealers that have a fully staffed dedicated buying team, dealers that have sales people buying cars on the side, and every staffing level in-between. Understanding your goals is the first step in understanding your staffing needs.

To choose vehicle acquisition software, decide which source you want to open first (private sellers, instant-offer leads, other dealers, or your service drive), then compare tools on listing coverage, outreach, response speed, stack fit and funnel reporting. The full checklist is in how to choose vehicle acquisition software.

KBB Instant Cash Offer (ICO) is Kelley Blue Book's instant-offer program, and VAN is vehicle acquisition software. They are different acquisition channels, and a dealer can run both. With KBB Instant Cash Offer, a seller gets a redeemable offer at kbb.com and picks a participating dealer, and that store gets the lead. Any participating dealer will honor the offer for seven days, pending an in-person inspection, so a fast response matters. VAN finds private sellers who listed a car for sale themselves on online marketplaces, and your buyer contacts them from VAN. On VAN Accelerate™, the KBB ICO leads your store already gets land in VAN and the seller gets an automated text within minutes, so your team works both from one screen. VINCUE's Vehicle Buying Center and VETTX XLink can take in ICO leads too. VAN is not affiliated with Kelley Blue Book.

VAN and VETTX are both private-party acquisition platforms. Both aggregate consumer listings, surface seller contact information, and give dealers the tools to reach out and buy directly from the public. VETTX is a capable, well-regarded option, and for many dealers the decision comes down to fit. The clearest difference is staffing: VETTX's Buyer Recruiting finds a buyer your store employs, and VAN can supply the buyer.

Where VAN tends to stand out:

• VAN pulls listings from 25+ private-seller sources, so your team sees more of the cars for sale in its market.
• VAN Managed Buyer™ is optional: a full-time buyer VAN hires, trains and manages calls and texts sellers, negotiates, and sets appointments for your store.
• Every dealer gets a dedicated Acquisition Coach™ and a structured onboarding path.
• VAN publishes its monthly pricing.

Both work for an in-house buying team. If you want 25+ private-seller sources and the option to have a VAN buyer work your market, start with VAN. See the full VAN vs VETTX comparison.

Yes. VAN and VINCUE are integration partners. VAN's private-party inventory feed is integrated directly into VINCUE's Buy Center Pro through VAN Mode, so dealers who use VINCUE can pull VAN's marketplace listings inside the platform they already work in every day. The sync runs both directions: VAN acquisition targets appear inside VINCUE, and VINCUE appraisal insights flow back into VAN. VINCUE also applies your full buy plan, including recon, pack, expenses, and projected profit, to every VAN vehicle the moment it surfaces. Dealers who run VINCUE work VAN's private-party listings without leaving Buy Center Pro.

Yes. VAN (Vehicle Acquisition Network) integrates with vAuto. From any private-party listing in VAN, you can instantly send the vehicle to vAuto for appraisal and market pricing, and the vAuto integration is included in every VAN package.

VAN integrates with VINCUE, vAuto, CARFAX, Experian AutoCheck, and most dealer CRMs, and on the VAN Accelerate™ plan it automatically responds to KBB ICO and AccuTrade leads. VAN makes your existing process trackable, efficient, and scalable allowing your team to buy more cars. See everything VAN connects with on our integrations page.

Every VAN plan includes a dedicated Acquisition Coach™ who provides ongoing technical support, coaching, and performance management for your team. Your coach's entire role is to make sure you are successful with VAN. VAN Managed Buyer™ partners also get weekly strategy calls with their coach.

VAN PACE™ is VAN’s acquisition reporting platform. PACE stands for Pipeline, Activity, Conversion, Execution: it tracks your acquisition goal, whether you’re on pace to hit it, your funnel from first contact to purchase, and your team’s daily activity. It is live on every VAN account. Read the full VAN PACE announcement.

Yes, in beta. The VAN MCP server is a read-only connector that lets Claude answer questions about your own VAN account’s buy center reporting in plain English. Current VAN customers on any plan can ask their Acquisition Coach™ to add the store, at no extra cost. Your Claude plan and admin settings need to allow custom connectors. Read more about the VAN MCP server beta.

In VAN's 2026 Private Acquisition Offer Strength Study, acquisition rate rose with the offer from about 70 percent of asking price up, and listings offered at 90 to 100 percent of asking were bought about eight times as often as listings offered at 60 to 70 percent. The network median offer is 77 percent of asking price. The offer is one of eight factors in whether the car gets bought, and the only one the study measured. Read how much to offer a private seller for the full study.

Yes, we do offer accounts for motorcycles and RVs. At this time we do not offer power sports, boats, or any items outside of autos, motorcycles, and RVs.