EBay, GM expected to start trial program to sell new cars online

San Francisco: General Motors and eBay Inc. are expected to announce on Monday that hundreds of the auto maker's California dealers will let consumers haggle over the prices of new cars and trucks through the online marketplace, as part of a previously disclosed trial.

About 225 of California's 250 GM dealers are set to take part in the program, which will begin on Tuesday.

They will be selling Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac vehicles on cobranded Web sites through eBay's online auto marketplace, eBay Motors, until September 8.

The cars will also be searchable through eBay Motors and eBay's main site.

The trial is part of Detroit-based GM's turnaround plan, making more official a practice some of its dealers had already participated in on their own.

It expands an existing partnership covering GM certified used vehicles sold through eBay.