Method and System for Marketing Vehicles for Sale or Lease to Replace Totaled Vehicles

Abstract

Methods and systems are disclosed for marketing vehicles for sale or lease to drivers whose ordinary vehicles have been totaled. In an exemplary embodiment, data about a totaled vehicle may be entered by an insurance adjuster into a computer system, and this data can be leveraged to trigger the marketing of vehicles for sale or lease to a driver to replace the totaled vehicle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for marketing vehicles, the method comprising:
 an insurance company computer receiving data indicative of a customer who has a totaled vehicle;   in response to the data receiving step, the insurance company computer initiating a search of inventory data representative of a plurality of vehicles available for sale or lease to identify a plurality of vehicles available for sale or lease to the customer to replace the totaled vehicle; and   in response to the searching step, the insurance company computer displaying a list of the identified vehicles.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the insurance company computer determining a value associated with the totaled vehicle, and wherein the searching step comprises the insurance company computer initiating the search of the inventory data such that the search is based at least in part on the determined value. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the value determining step comprises the insurance company computer determining an actual cash value (ACV) for the totaled vehicle. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the value determining step further comprises:
 the insurance company computer sending data describing the totaled vehicle to an external vehicle valuation tool; and 
 the insurance company computer determining the ACV based at least in part on data generated by the external vehicle valuation tool. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the searching step comprises the insurance company computer initiating the search such that the vehicles on the displayed list can be purchased by the customer without personal expense. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising the insurance company computer maintaining data about the customer indicative of a geographic area associated with the customer, and wherein the searching step further comprises the insurance company computer initiating the search of the inventory data wherein the search is based at least in part on the determined value and the geographic area data. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the data about the customer indicative of the geographic area comprises a zip code for the customer. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the searching step further comprises the insurance company computer initiating the search of the inventory data such that the search is based at least in part on the determined value, the geographic area data and a vehicle category. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the searching step further comprises the insurance company computer initiating the search of the inventory data such that the search is based at least in part on the determined value, the geographic area data, and a vehicle make and model. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the displaying step comprises the insurance company computer displaying the list such that the list identifies a mileage for each listed vehicle. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the displaying step comprises the insurance company computer displaying the list such that the list identifies the mileage and a price for each listed vehicle. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the searching step comprises the insurance company computer initiating the search in a database of vehicles available for sale or lease maintained by a rental vehicle service provider. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising the insurance company computer selecting a listed vehicle in response to user input and communicating the selection to a location where the selected vehicle is located. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the location comprises a rental vehicle location where the selected vehicle is located. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the communicating step comprises the insurance company computer communicating the selection to the rental vehicle location through a rental vehicle reservation management computer system. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the receiving step comprises the insurance company computer receiving the data indicative of the customer having the totaled vehicle from a user. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the user comprises an insurance adjuster. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the insurance company computer connecting over the Internet with a rental vehicle reservation management computer system to create and manage a replacement rental vehicle reservation for the customer in response to user input. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the searching step comprises the insurance company computer system initiating the rental vehicle reservation management system to perform the search. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  further comprising the insurance company computer receiving the list from the rental vehicle reservation management computer system for display on the insurance company computer. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the rental vehicle reservation management system is configured to provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) menus to the insurance company computer over the Internet for display thereon, wherein the receiving step comprises the insurance company computer receiving the data indicative of the customer having the totaled vehicle through one of the provided GUI menus. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the provided GUI menu through which the insurance company computer receives the data indicative of the customer having the totaled vehicle is the same GUI menu through which the user inputs data for creating a replacement rental vehicle reservation. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the displaying step comprises the insurance company computer displaying the list through another of the provided GUI menus. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21  further comprising the insurance company computer receiving the data indicative of the customer having the totaled vehicle when it also receives user input to create the replacement rental vehicle reservation. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the displaying step comprises the insurance company computer displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) menu that lists the identified vehicles found by the search, and wherein the GUI menu is configured to accept user input to initiate a new search of the inventory data using at least one changed search parameter. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising sharing the list with the customer. 
     
     
         27 . An apparatus for marketing vehicles, the apparatus comprising:
 an insurance company computer configured to manage an insurance claim for a policyholder relating to a disabled vehicle of the policyholder by using a single application to (1) interact with a rental vehicle reservation management computer system to create and manage a replacement rental vehicle reservation on behalf of the policyholder, (2) receive data indicative of the disabled vehicle being totaled, and (3) in response to the received data indicative of the disabled vehicle being totaled, (i) initiate a search of inventory data representative of a plurality of vehicles available for sale or lease to identify a plurality of vehicles available for sale or lease to the policyholder to replace the totaled vehicle, and (ii) display a list of the identified vehicles for marketing to the policyholder.   
     
     
         28 . A system for marketing vehicles, the system comprising:
 an insurance company computer configured to (1) receive data indicative of a customer who has a totaled vehicle, (2) in response to the receipt of the data, initiate a search of inventory data representative of a plurality of vehicles available for sale or lease to identify a plurality of vehicles available for sale or lease to the customer to replace the totaled vehicle, and (3) in response to the search, display a list of the identified vehicles.   
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 28  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to determine a value associated with the totaled vehicle, and wherein the search is based at least in part on the determined value. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 29  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to perform the value determination by determining an actual cash value (ACV) for the totaled vehicle. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 30  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to perform the value determination by (1) sending data describing the totaled vehicle to an external vehicle valuation tool, and (2) determining the ACV based at least in part on data generated by the external vehicle valuation tool. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 30  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to initiate the search such that the vehicles on the displayed list can be purchased by the customer without personal expense. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 29  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to maintain data about the customer indicative of a geographic area associated with the customer, and wherein the search is based at least in part on the determined value and the geographic area data. 
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 33  wherein the data about the customer indicative of the geographic area comprises a zip code for the customer. 
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 33  wherein the search is based at least in part on the determined value, the geographic area data and a vehicle category. 
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 33  wherein the search is based at least in part on the determined value, the geographic area data, and a vehicle make and model. 
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 28  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to performing the displaying operation such that the list identifies a mileage for each listed vehicle. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 37  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to perform the displaying operation such that the list identifies the mileage and a price for each listed vehicle. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 28  wherein the insurance company computer is in communication with a database maintained by a rental vehicle service provider, the database comprising stored data about a plurality of vehicles available for sale or rent, and wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to initiate the search in the database. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 39  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to select a listed vehicle in response to user input and communicate the selection to a location where the selected vehicle is located. 
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 40  wherein the location comprises a rental vehicle location where the selected vehicle is located. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 41  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to communicate the selection to the rental vehicle location through a rental vehicle reservation management computer system. 
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 28  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to connect over the Internet with a rental vehicle reservation management computer system to create and manage a replacement rental vehicle reservation for the customer in response to user input. 
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 43  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to initiate the search by initiating the rental vehicle reservation management system to perform the search. 
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 44  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to receive the list from the rental vehicle reservation management computer system for display on the insurance company computer. 
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 45  wherein the rental vehicle reservation management system is configured to provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) menus to the insurance company computer over the Internet for display thereon, wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to receive the data indicative of the customer having the totaled vehicle through one of the provided GUI menus. 
     
     
         47 . The system of  claim 46  wherein the provided GUI menu through which the insurance company computer receives the data indicative of the customer having the totaled vehicle is the same GUI menu through which the user inputs data for creating a replacement rental vehicle reservation. 
     
     
         48 . The system of  claim 46  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to display the list through another of the provided GUI menus. 
     
     
         49 . The system of  claim 46  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to receive the data indicative of the customer having the totaled vehicle when it also receives user input to create the replacement rental vehicle reservation. 
     
     
         50 . The system of  claim 28  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to perform the displaying operation by displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) menu that lists the identified vehicles found by the search, and wherein the GUI menu is configured to accept user input to initiate a new search of the inventory data using at least one changed search parameter. 
     
     
         51 . The system of  claim 28  wherein the insurance company computer is further configured to share the list with the customer. 
     
     
         52 . A method comprising:
 accessing data in a database about an inventory comprising a plurality of vehicles available for sale or lease;   capturing data about a replacement rental vehicle driver; and   searching the accessed data based on the captured data to generate at least one lead for marketing at least one replacement vehicle from the inventory for sale or lease to the driver; and   wherein the method steps are performed by a computer system.   
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the capturing step comprises the computer system capturing data about a plurality of replacement rental vehicle drivers, and wherein the searching step comprises the computer system searching the accessed data based on the captured data to generate a plurality of leads for marketing a plurality of replacement vehicles form the inventory for sale or lease to the drivers. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 53  wherein the drivers are replacement rental vehicle drivers who have a totaled vehicle. 
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 54  wherein the computer system comprises a reservation management computer system, the method further comprising:
 the reservation management computer system creating and managing a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservation transactions on behalf of the drivers in response to user input, wherein the managing comprises the reservation management computer system making a plurality of transactional changes to a plurality of rental contracts corresponding to a plurality of the replacement rental vehicle reservation transactions, the transactional changes including a plurality of extensions during an open rental phase for a plurality of the rental contracts. 
 
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 55  further comprising the reservation management computer system (1) providing a plurality of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to a plurality of user computers for display thereon, and performing the creating and managing steps in response to user input received through the GUIs. 
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 56  further comprising the computer system maintaining the database. 
     
     
         58 . A method comprising:
 providing data over the Internet to a remote computer for populating a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens on the remote computer;   accepting input over the Internet through the provided GUI screens;   creating a reservation transaction for a rental vehicle in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle comprises a replacement vehicle for a disabled vehicle;   performing any of a plurality of management functions on the reservation transaction in response to the accepted input, wherein the management functions include making a transactional change to a rental contract corresponding to the reservation transaction;   accessing a database comprising data corresponding to an inventory of vehicles; and   in response to accepted input that is indicative of the disabled vehicle being totaled, searching the database for vehicles within the inventory for marketing as a sale or lease thereof to an owner of the disabled vehicle; and   wherein the method steps are performed by a computer system.   
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 58  further comprising:
 maintaining data about a geographical area associated with the owner; and 
 searching the database based on the geographical area data to identify the vehicles within the inventory that are near the geographical area; and 
 wherein the steps of maintaining geographical area data and searching the database based on the geographical area data are performed by the computer system. 
 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 59  further comprising:
 identifying an actual cash value (ACV) for the disabled vehicle; and 
 searching the database based on the ACV to identify the vehicles within the inventory for marketing as a sale or lease thereof to the owner; and 
 wherein the identifying step and the step of searching the database based on the ACV are performed by the computer system. 
 
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 60  further comprising:
 generating a list of vehicles within the inventory for marketing as a sale or lease thereof to the based on the database search, and wherein at least one of the GUI screens is configured to display the list such that the listed vehicles are associated with pricing information and are selectable by a user, wherein the generating step is performed by the computer system. 
 
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 61  wherein the disabled vehicle is a subject of an insurance claim, wherein the user comprises an insurance adjuster, and wherein the method further comprises authorizing a transfer of a selected vehicle from the list to the owner as a settlement of the insurance claim, wherein the authorizing step is performed by the computer system. 
     
     
         63 . The method of  claim 58  further comprising maintaining the database. 
     
     
         64 . An Internet-enabled automatic rental vehicle transaction system, said system comprising:
 a computer system configured to (1) provide management functionality to a reservation transaction for a rental vehicle on behalf of an owner whose vehicle is disabled, (2) access a database comprising data corresponding to an inventory of vehicles available for sale or lease, (3) identify the disabled vehicle as being eligible for replacement, and (4) search the database for vehicles within the inventory to identify at least one vehicle available for sale or lease to the owner as a replacement for the eligible disabled vehicle.   
     
     
         65 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 64  wherein the computer system is further configured to (1) maintain data about a geographical area associated with the owner and (2) search the database based on the geographical area data to identify vehicles within the inventory that are near the geographical area. 
     
     
         66 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 65  wherein the computer system is further configured to (1) identify an actual cash value (ACV) for the disabled vehicle and (2) search the database based on the ACV to identify vehicles within the inventory for marketing as a sale or lease thereof to the owner. 
     
     
         67 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 65  wherein the inventory data comprises data corresponding to vehicles that are currently available for sale or lease and data corresponding to vehicles that will be available for sale or lease in the future subject to a holding requirement, and wherein the computer system is further configured to search the database based on the geographical area data and at least one holding requirement to identify vehicles within the inventory for marketing as a sale or lease to the owner. 
     
     
         68 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 64  wherein the computer system is further configured to (1) identify an actual cash value (ACV) for the disabled vehicle and (2) search the database based on the ACV to identify the vehicles within the inventory for marketing as a sale or lease thereof to the owner. 
     
     
         69 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 68  wherein the computer system is further configured to (1) send data about the disabled vehicle to a third party valuation tool, (2) receive the ACV from the third party valuation tool and (3) use the received ACV as the identified ACV. 
     
     
         70 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 64  wherein the computer system is further configured to (1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) menus to a remote computer over the Internet for display thereon, and (2) generate a list of vehicles within the inventory for marketing as a sale or lease thereof to the owner based on the database search, and wherein at least one of the GUI screens is configured to display the list such that the listed vehicles are associated with pricing information and are selectable by a user. 
     
     
         71 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 70  the computer system is further configured to respond to a selection of a vehicle from the list by routing data about the selected vehicle to a computer where the selected vehicle is located. 
     
     
         72 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 71  wherein the computer system is further configured to include contact information for the owner with the routed data. 
     
     
         73 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 64  wherein the computer system is further configured to search the database based on a user-specified vehicle category, make and model to identify vehicles within the inventory that may be of interest to the owner. 
     
     
         74 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 64  wherein the computer system is further configured to provide a plurality of graphical user interface screens (GUI) menus for display on a remote computer over the Internet, wherein at least one of the GUI menus is configured to permit a user to create a reservation transaction on behalf of the owner with any of a plurality of competitive rental vehicle service providers. 
     
     
         75 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 64  wherein the computer system comprises:
 an Internet web portal configured to provide a plurality of graphical user interface screens (GUI) menus to a remote computer for display over the Internet; and 
 a mainframe in communication with the Internet web portal, wherein the mainframe is configured to (1) perform the management functionality in response to input through the provided GUI menus, (2) maintain the database, (3) identify the disabled vehicle as being eligible for replacement, and (4) search the database. 
 
     
     
         76 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 75  wherein the management functionality comprises an extension during an open rental phase for a rental contract corresponding to the reservation transaction. 
     
     
         77 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 75  wherein the computer system further comprises the remote computer on which the GUI menus are displayed, the remote computer being in communication with the Internet web portal via the Internet. 
     
     
         78 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 77  wherein the mainframe comprises a plurality of linked mainframes. 
     
     
         79 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 70  wherein the disabled vehicle is a subject of an insurance claim, wherein the user comprises an insurance adjuster, and wherein the computer system is further configured to authorize a transfer of a selected vehicle from the list to the owner as a settlement of the insurance claim. 
     
     
         80 . The rental vehicle transaction system of  claim 64  further comprising the database.