Car Sales Website Startup

[autovantaofficial]

some one here pointed this site out:

CarEdge - Buy, Sell, Insure, Save

CarEdge is the single best place to buy, sell, insure, and protect a new or used car. Save time & money with real advice from auto experts.

my.caredge.com

That site might give you some good ideas.

What is your core business? I see a lot of different things but I don't know which one is the one unless you're throwing some things out to see what will stick.

Yup, I took a look at that.


The core of the business is the posting of cars on our website (car marketplace). That's what it's centered around. However, we obviously don't have a reach as wide as other car shopping businesses, so I built those benefits to attract Dealers. Think of it as a car marketplace that comes with a lot of benefits for the dealer.

All in all, these benefits will help sell cars....so the business is about the car marketplace online, and even though they attract dealers, it's also going to sell any car listed on my website a lot faster.

I was wondering what your opinions were for the plan above and the pricing.

Thanks a lot for your constant help Mr. C (and others!). I really appreciate it.

 

[Carsten]

sorry, I'm not a dealer. So, I don't really have an idea on what to charge.

I'm still intrigued by your warranty.
Are you based in the United States? Using a 3rd party warranty like an affiliate?
As I mentioned before, some dealers make good bank on these warranties so I have raised that question.

 

[autovantaofficial]

sorry, I'm not a dealer. So, I don't really have an idea on what to charge.

I'm still intrigued by your warranty.
Are you based in the United States? Using a 3rd party warranty like an affiliate?
As I mentioned before, some dealers make good bank on these warranties so I have raised that question.

No worries. Hopefully someone else in the thread can take a look at it.



Yup, here in the USA, and warranty is self-provided.
I use the term "warranty" when discussing it, but you need to be licensed to provide warranties. Ours will be more of a protection plan, that lowers the prices for some repairs, and only is 6-9 months maximum. (Almost like a Buyer's Guarantee).

For example, if your right headlight goes out, I'll fix that, or cover part of the cost. But if your transmission blows itself up (like it was happening on the 2020 C8 Corvettes)....I can't help.

The dealers will of course have the option to remove the warranty from the car.

Question for you - since you know that dealers make money from the warranties, would it be better to just remove it? I don't think dealers would want to pay someone to take their money...lol. If you do believe it should be removed, what are some things you'd like as a consumer on a car buying website? Also, based off the description above, would you consider it to be worth having the warranty?

For example, I was going to give consumers low priced repair at participating shops, but, let's be honest, dealers make a killing off service. I don't want to touch that, as dealers may not want to sign up since I'd take some of their income.

 

[autovantaofficial]

On a side note, I was doing some research and had a question: does anyone who worked at a dealership have a breakdown of their monthly marketing costs and what was included in calculating that cost? (Or just any marketing in general).

 

[Carsten]

For the warranty, I was thinking that a dealer offers services that either create the sale or a profit.
I suspect it can be profitable.

I had EasyCare warranty until recently. I had some electrical issues that the dealer covered. I wonder who came out on top.

But, I think you might be on to something here.

I bet there are a lot of people who don't want to roll a big warranty cost into their purchase.

 

[autovantaofficial]

For the warranty, I was thinking that a dealer offers services that either create the sale or a profit.
I suspect it can be profitable.

I had EasyCare warranty until recently. I had some electrical issues that the dealer covered. I wonder who came out on top.

But, I think you might be on to something here.

I bet there are a lot of people who don't want to roll a big warranty cost into their purchase.

Thanks for the help. Anything extra I should add/include in the service?

(PS. Might make a switch to just an automotive business support company...thoughts?)

 

[Ryan Everson]

@autovantaofficial I love the enthusiasm to get in the automotive marketing business at such a young age!

I have a similar story, I started working at my family's car dealership when I was 13 - handling the marketing, IT, typing deals, collecting payments, and riding along on the occasional repo!

Then in high school, I started an online SaaS company that served as a credit bureau consortium alternative for BHPH dealerships. Somewhat similar to what Point Predictive is doing today, but at a smaller scale and a lot less polished. It started off as a high school marketing class project that I took to DECA internationals (high school business plan competition) and ultimately turned into a real business.

So my suggestion would be to find a small mom and pop dealer in your hometown and volunteer to work there. Let them be your playground to test new ideas!

Selling car dealers a new marketplace subscription is going to be an uphill battle and not one I'd personally recommend going down if I'm being completely honest. Lots of potential in other areas though - running facebook ads that convert into leads and sales could be a lucrative niche.

Also, if you're still looking for colleges to attend, I'd highly recommend checking out Northwood University. They are well-known in the automotive space and car dealers from across the country send their kids to college there. I went there and loved it.

Automotive Marketing and Management - Northwood University

Did you know that Automotive Marketing and Management is one of the largest, growing programs at Northwood University?

www.northwood.edu

 

[autovantaofficial]

Thanks for the help!

I am actually thinking of switching to a firm...rather than a car sales website. Car sales is extremely saturated.

The services I aim to provide with this firm do include running ads. We help with marketing and will develop full fledged marketing approaches each month for every single business.

• Services Provided in that Firm:
  • Marketing Help: fresh, new marketing plans each month based on the previous month’s analytics and performance.
  • Legal Help: Problems come up, legal assistance from the firm when needed.
  • Free SAAS (Software as a Service): free custom SAAS development addressing the unique needs of individual businesses.
  • Data Analytics and Business Support: data analysis and planning for next business moves.
  • Customer Relationship Management: Firm employees assist partnered businesses in maintaining consumer relationships after sales are over, as well as advice/strategies/software to continue to keep in touch with past consumers.
  • Networking Opportunities: businesses can network with different businesses to benefit one another (with the help of a firm representative).
  • Accounting: Monthly Accounting help w/ Taxes, etc.
  • Custom: custom aids a business wants to add w/ their subscription.
• Pricing for the firm
  • Pricing is determined by building a custom plan for what you need, and levels of priority. That makes any business able to benefit.
  • Free Trial Included

About your college recommendation, thank you! I actually wanted to pursue in business, but I've always liked cars, so I was like, "why not combine the two?" I will 100% look at that, however. Again, I appreciate the support.

 

[Ryan Everson]

Thanks for the help!

I am actually thinking of switching to a firm...rather than a car sales website. Car sales is extremely saturated.

The services I aim to provide with this firm do include running ads. We help with marketing and will develop full fledged marketing approaches each month for every single business.

• Services Provided in that Firm:
  • Marketing Help: fresh, new marketing plans each month based on the previous month’s analytics and performance.
  • Legal Help: Problems come up, legal assistance from the firm when needed.
  • Free SAAS (Software as a Service): free custom SAAS development addressing the unique needs of individual businesses.
  • Data Analytics and Business Support: data analysis and planning for next business moves.
  • Customer Relationship Management: Firm employees assist partnered businesses in maintaining consumer relationships after sales are over, as well as advice/strategies/software to continue to keep in touch with past consumers.
  • Networking Opportunities: businesses can network with different businesses to benefit one another (with the help of a firm representative).
  • Accounting: Monthly Accounting help w/ Taxes, etc.
  • Custom: custom aids a business wants to add w/ their subscription.
• Pricing for the firm
  • Pricing is determined by building a custom plan for what you need, and levels of priority. That makes any business able to benefit.
  • Free Trial Included

About your college recommendation, thank you! I actually wanted to pursue in business, but I've always liked cars, so I was like, "why not combine the two?" I will 100% look at that, however. Again, I appreciate the support.

No problem!

I would just recommend narrowing it down to the 1 thing you’re most passionate about and start from there. No need to be everything to everyone right off the bat, find a niche and expand organically.

And you’d love Northwood, it’s a great all around business school on a beautiful campus. A little pricey but they have great scholarships available. Tell the head of the automotive program I said hi if you end up visiting!

 

[Tallcool1]

So this is interesting.

Your warranty is very confusing. If a light bulb burns out your warranty fixes it. If a transmission blows up, your warranty does not fix it. The warranty business is complex and regulated. What you are proposing will absolutely not pass the smell test with the Dept of Insurance.

The agency idea is good, but also saturated. There some good ones looking for employees. Arbor Advertising might be a good place to learn your way around.