Names the exact vehicle in the first line
Year, model and trim, the way the shopper saw it on the listing. Riley knows your lot in real time, so it can confirm the car is there before it offers two times to drive it.
An Autotrader lead is about one specific vehicle, and your Autotrader listing also shows on KBB.com. The shopper may have seen the Kelley Blue Book price range, built a payment, or started a deal online. Riley replies in under 30 seconds, names the exact car, and books a test drive at a real day and time.
Autotrader leads show up in several shapes: a listing email, a chat or text conversation, a credit application, or a deal started in Accelerate My Deal. Most are about one specific unit. DealFlo's Autotrader playbook is simple: reference that exact vehicle, pivot to the closest real match if it's gone, and drive to a test drive. No 'are you still in the market', and no price talk by text.
Year, model and trim, the way the shopper saw it on the listing. Riley knows your lot in real time, so it can confirm the car is there before it offers two times to drive it.
If the unit sold, Riley says so plainly and offers the closest real matches from your live inventory, with photos and links. No bait and switch, and no going silent.
Autotrader listings can carry the Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor range, and used cars can show Good Price or Great Price. Riley doesn't debate the range or quote a number. Price questions go to a person on your team.
A shopper who started paperwork, valued a trade or explored payments in Accelerate My Deal has done part of the work. Riley doesn't restart with 'what are you looking for'. It confirms the car and books the time to finish in person, and it never repeats a question.
Autotrader can show your inventory to shoppers outside your local market. For someone an hour away, your rep shoots a walkaround of the actual car in the DealFlo app, Riley delivers it on a store-branded watch page, and the rep is pinged the moment they watch.
If the shopper goes quiet, Riley works a 13-touch cadence out to 3 years with a new reason each time, and it can text them the day a matching car lands on your lot. Never a 'just checking in'.
Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book are both Cox Automotive brands, and Autotrader's listings lean on that connection. From Autotrader's own dealer pages (as of September 2026):
So the shopper has often seen a price range, maybe built a payment, and has one car in mind. The first reply should name that car and move toward a drive, not reopen the numbers.
Written to the same rules Riley follows: one to three sentences, one question, no prices, and a specific time. Swap in your details. For more by situation, see our car sales text message templates.
Hi {first name}, the {vehicle} you asked about on Autotrader is here at {store} and ready to drive. Does tomorrow at 5 or Saturday at 10 work for a test drive?
Confirm the car is on the ground before you send it.
Hi {first name}, picking up from your chat about the {vehicle}. It's here at {store} and I can have it pulled up front for you, would today after 4 or tomorrow at noon work?
Hi {first name}, the deal you started on the {vehicle} came through to {store}, and we can finish the rest together in person. Would Thursday at 6 or Saturday at 9 work to drive it and wrap up?
Don't restate their payment or trade number. Your desk confirms those in person.
Happy to make the drive worth it, {first name}. I'll send you a walkaround video of the {vehicle} today, and if it checks out, would Saturday at 11 work to come drive it?
Hi {first name}, the {vehicle} sold before we connected, and I'd rather tell you now than after you drive over. We have a close match at {store}, would Saturday at 10 work to drive it?
Confirm it's gone, and offer only matches you really have.
Silence often means the car, the timing or the numbers didn't line up yet. Don't send the same question twice. Give each follow-up a different reason to reply:
Riley works the same way on DealFlo's default cadence of 13 touches, day 1 through 3 years, with a fresh angle every time, and stops the moment the shopper buys or says stop. Leads that went cold long ago belong in dead lead reactivation.
More than listing emails. Autotrader says chat and text come with its listings and can be delivered to your CRM, shoppers can apply for credit online, and Accelerate My Deal lets buyers start paperwork, value a trade and explore payments. Your listings also appear on KBB.com. Most of these leads are about one specific car.
Name the exact car, confirm it's there, and offer two specific times to drive it. If it sold, say so right away and offer the closest real match. Keep price and payment talk for the store, where your team can see the whole deal.
No. Riley never quotes prices, payments or trade values by text, and price questions go to a person on your team. The shopper may already have seen the Kelley Blue Book price range on the listing. Riley's job is getting them in to drive the car.
Then part of the deal is done, and the follow-up should respect that. Don't restart with 'what are you looking for'. Confirm the car and book a time to finish in person, without asking the shopper to repeat what they already told you.
Keep it. A chat reply on the listing is one moment in the deal. Riley covers what comes after, by text and email: booking the test drive, confirmations and reminders, and years of follow-up if the shopper goes quiet. DealFlo runs alongside the tools you already use.
Add DealFlo's lead address to your Autotrader lead notifications, or let your CRM forward leads by ADF. Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book and VinSolutions are all Cox Automotive brands, and DealFlo is a certified Cox Automotive partner with a two-way VinSolutions integration. DealerSocket, eLead, CDK, Reynolds and Tekion stores use ADF lead intake.
30 minutes. We'll show you the exact conversations Riley sends, and what your first 30 days of automated follow-up look like.
Kelley Blue Book trade and Instant Cash Offer leads, worked toward the appraisal.
Read more →Two-way VinSolutions integration from a certified Cox Automotive partner.
Read more →Answer the Check Availability question first and book the visit.
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