Tegna’s Cars.com Buying DealerRater

Cars.com, a Tegna company, is buying DealerRater, the industry’s largest automotive consumer review website. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of August, the company said. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Cars.com said that reviews have become critical to the car buying process, “with 79% of car buyers and 68% of service customers reporting that review sites are one of the most helpful resources when selecting a car dealership.”

“We are pleased to bring DealerRater into the Cars.com family of industry-leading products and people as we create the largest dealer review platform in the automotive sector,” said Alex Vetter, CEO and president of Cars.com. “With this acquisition, Cars.com has solidified its position as the leader in online automotive reviews and the preeminent authority for car shoppers and owners on what to buy, where to buy and who to buy from.”

“We are happy to be joining Cars.com and are proud to share a similar foundation,” said Gary Tucker, DealerRater CEO. “DealerRater is uniquely positioned to lead the industry transition to finding not only the right dealer, but connecting consumers with the right person at the right dealer.”

Founded in 2002, DealerRater is the world’s leading car dealer review website. The site offers more than 2.5 million sales and service reviews across 41,000 U.S. and Canadian dealerships, including a network of more than 5,600 Certified Dealers. More than 14 million consumers read DealerRater content across the web each month. DealerRater is majority owned by Boston-based Great Hill Partners.