Site to Offer Auto Inspection Services

Internet auctioneer EBay Inc. and General Motors Corp.’s Saturn division have teamed in an industry first to provide certified auto inspection services for car sellers offering their vehicles through the new EBayMotors.com site.

The program, to be announced today, is designed to help ease potential bidders’ concerns about purchasing used vehicles unseen. Participating Saturn dealers would provide detailed mechanical inspections that would be posted alongside a vehicle’s description on the auction site. The seller would pay the dealers directly for the inspection.

The program will begin this summer with market tests in Nashville, Indianapolis and Houston and is expected to be rolled out nationwide by the end of the year, said Marty Raymond, Saturn’s director of e-commerce and retail strategies. EBayMotors.com is a new site created through a joint venture of EBay Inc. in San Jose and Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com.