Startups Try To Take The Pain Out Of Buying A New Car
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A recent poll found that most of us are deeply unsatisfied with the car-purchasing process.
The poll was commissioned by Beepi, one of a number of startups that's trying to use the Internet to change the way we purchase our vehicles in much the same way Amazon revolutionized the book market. According to Beepi, three in five Americans feel like they're being taken advantage of when it comes to buying a car, and the dissatisfaction is greater the younger you are. Tellingly, 34 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds would rather wait in line at the DMV than go to a dealership; 24 percent say they'd even rather have a root canal.
Beepi got going in 2013, inspired by founder Ale Resnik's experience of buying a lemon of a car that caught fire shortly after leaving the lot.
All the cars for sale on the site have been subjected to a 240-point inspection conducted in one of 16 hubs around the country where Beepi sources stock from private sellers. Once the car passes the company's inspection, it agrees on a sale price along with a promise to buy the car for that amount should it not sell on the site within 30 days.
Beepi isn't the only game in town; Carvana is another. Like Beepi, Carvana's stock gets inspected and photographed before going online, although unlike its nationwide rival, Carvana is focused on a number of key markets around the country (currently 14 and expanding to the Washington, DC, area in the near future—although it will deliver cars nationwide). Buyers get their car delivered along with a seven-day no-questions asked return policy, and all the stock is subject to a 100-point inspection before being listed. However, Carvana buys all its stock outright (based on algorithms that calculate what cars might be in demand) rather than acting as a peer-to-peer service.
Neither company was prepared to share sales volume, but both were happy to tell Ars they were growing—Beepi by 95 percent over the first half of the year, Carvana now being the second-largest retailer of used cars in the Atlanta market (where it launched). Perhaps both companies' biggest challenge right now is gaining mindshare. Will they spell the end for the traditional used car dealer? All of those root canal-preferring young people may hope the answer is yes.
The poll was commissioned by Beepi, one of a number of startups that's trying to use the Internet to change the way we purchase our vehicles in much the same way Amazon revolutionized the book market. According to Beepi, three in five Americans feel like they're being taken advantage of when it comes to buying a car, and the dissatisfaction is greater the younger you are. Tellingly, 34 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds would rather wait in line at the DMV than go to a dealership; 24 percent say they'd even rather have a root canal.
Beepi got going in 2013, inspired by founder Ale Resnik's experience of buying a lemon of a car that caught fire shortly after leaving the lot.
All the cars for sale on the site have been subjected to a 240-point inspection conducted in one of 16 hubs around the country where Beepi sources stock from private sellers. Once the car passes the company's inspection, it agrees on a sale price along with a promise to buy the car for that amount should it not sell on the site within 30 days.
Beepi isn't the only game in town; Carvana is another. Like Beepi, Carvana's stock gets inspected and photographed before going online, although unlike its nationwide rival, Carvana is focused on a number of key markets around the country (currently 14 and expanding to the Washington, DC, area in the near future—although it will deliver cars nationwide). Buyers get their car delivered along with a seven-day no-questions asked return policy, and all the stock is subject to a 100-point inspection before being listed. However, Carvana buys all its stock outright (based on algorithms that calculate what cars might be in demand) rather than acting as a peer-to-peer service.
Neither company was prepared to share sales volume, but both were happy to tell Ars they were growing—Beepi by 95 percent over the first half of the year, Carvana now being the second-largest retailer of used cars in the Atlanta market (where it launched). Perhaps both companies' biggest challenge right now is gaining mindshare. Will they spell the end for the traditional used car dealer? All of those root canal-preferring young people may hope the answer is yes.
