Google Vehicle Ads: what UK dealers are actually getting back

When a buyer searches for a used car on Google today, the first thing they see often isn't a dealer's website. It's a row of actual cars, with photos, prices and mileage, sitting right at the top of the results. Those are Google Vehicle Ads. If your stock is in there, you're one of the first forecourts that buyer sees. If it isn't, you're further down the page, behind the dealers who are.

That's the real cost of sitting out Google Vehicle Ads. It doesn't show up as a line on a report. It shows up as the phone calls and email enquiries that quietly land with a competitor down the road instead of with you. For a busy independent, even a handful of missed enquiries a week adds up over a year to cars that could have been sold off your forecourt.

We've been running Google Vehicle Ads for independent dealers for a while now. So rather than talk theory, here's what the numbers actually look like across the dealers we manage.

What the Results Look Like Across the Dealers We Run

Over the past 12 months, the independent dealers we run Google Vehicle Ads for have averaged over 200 enquiries each from the channel. That's roughly 18 enquiries every single month: phone calls, email enquiries and live-chat messages, straight from buyers.

For most independents, that's a steady stream of people actively looking to buy a car, landing on top of whatever the website and the forecourt are already bringing in. Not vague "brand awareness" or clicks that go nowhere. Actual buyers picking up the phone or filling in a form.

And it's affordable. Those enquiries came in at an average of about £9 each. Alongside them, the ads sent thousands of clicks a year through to each dealer's website, at around 17p a click. In plain terms: for the price of a few tanks of fuel a month, these dealers are putting their stock in front of ready-to-buy searchers and turning that visibility into real enquiries.

A quick, honest word on that. Results vary. Where you're based, the kind of stock you hold and how much you put behind it all move the numbers. Some dealers do far better than the average, and a brand-new campaign can take a little while to find its feet. But the pattern is consistent: Google Vehicle Ads turn Google searches into enquiries, at a cost per enquiry most dealers are genuinely pleased to see.

One Dealer's Example: North Star Sussex

To show what that can look like for a single business (and this is one client's result, not a typical or guaranteed outcome), take North Star Sussex.

Over the same 12 months, their Google Vehicle Ads brought in over 750 enquiries: phone calls, email enquiries and live-chat messages from buyers, all from around £5,650 of ad spend. That works out at roughly £7.52 per enquiry, one of the lower costs across every dealer we run. Their listings also sent nearly 20,000 clicks through to their website, at about 29p a click.

For a single independent dealer, that's a serious volume of genuinely interested buyers reaching the website, exactly the kind of steady enquiry flow that keeps stock turning over.

Why It Works, Without the Jargon

Google Vehicle Ads put your actual cars (the photo, the price, the mileage, your location) in front of people at the precise moment they're searching to buy. The buyer can size up the car before they even click, so the people who do land on your website are already further down the road to making an enquiry. Fewer time-wasters, more real conversations.

It also does the heavy lifting for you. Once your stock feed is connected, new cars flow into your ads automatically and sold cars drop out, so you're not manually managing listings on top of everything else you're juggling on the forecourt.

If you want the full background on what Google Vehicle Ads are and how they're set up, we've already covered that, so there's no need to repeat it here. Have a read of Google Vehicle Ads are coming: what you need to know and our essential guide to Google Vehicle Ads, then come back to this.

Is It Worth It for Your Forecourt?

The honest answer is that it depends on your stock and your area, which is exactly why we don't sell it as a one-size-fits-all package. Some dealers are a perfect fit and see results quickly. For others, it's worth checking the numbers before committing a penny.

What the last 12 months make clear, though, is that this isn't a "maybe one day" channel anymore. Dealers who are running Google Vehicle Ads are the ones showing up first when buyers search, and picking up the enquiries that go with that position. Every month you're not in there is a month those enquiries have somewhere else to go.

If you're not running Google Vehicle Ads yet, the simplest next step is to find out what it could do for your specific stock, before a competitor down the road gets there first.

Ask us for a free Google Vehicle Ads opportunity check. We'll take a look at your stock and your local market and give you a straight answer on whether it's worth it for you. No pressure, no jargon, just an honest read on the numbers.