iReconCars and Carfax Join Forces
Gone are days of car buyers devoting weekend after weekend to scouting used car lots in search of the perfect pre-owned car or truck.
Instead, today’s vehicle shopping starts online as buyers increasingly conduct internet research that leads up to discovering and test-driving that ideal car.
The latest industry breakthrough—one that benefits dealers and consumers both—is the new partnership between big-name automotive industry leader CARFAX (itself a Midwest startup in 1984) and Columbus-based iReconCars, a company founded about two years ago.
iReconCars Increases Transparency in the Reconditioning Process of Used Cars
Developed by auto dealer insiders, iReconCars is the only platform that connects vendors, dealers, and consumers to automate and optimize the process of reconditioning used cars. With its flagship product MyCarPedigree, iReconCars provides buyers the reconditioning history for a particular vehicle.
When buyers see in writing exactly what the dealership has done to make that pre-owned vehicle seem brand-new, they recognize the value add. Dealerships that use iReconCars can control the reconditioning process more efficiently and create greater trust, fuller transparency, enhanced customer satisfaction, more referrals, and repeat sales.
“Our business has been thriving,” said iReconCars CEO Mike Boyd. “We’ve been adding dealer partners all across the U.S. Carfax became our partner because we give them access to information that they never had before at a real-time speed that wasn’t possible from a title-based search. They hit the button on recondition history, and they get the information right away. It’s gamechanger for them and us.”
iReconCars customers link to myCarfax.com with a dedicated button on www.ireconcars.com. From there, they can quickly register and create a free myCarfax.com account. This is all free to the consumer and fee-based for dealers, who benefit from lead generation. Through iReconCars’ MyCarPedigree consumer tool, potential buyers can view essential Carfax information, for example, the number of owners, reported accidents, be the first to know about open recalls that may affect the safety of their vehicle, and to be able to track their cars service and reconditioning history.
iReconCars has built free myCarfax Service Shop tools into their reconditioning management platform for dealers, making vehicle reconditioning details available on Carfax Vehicle History Reports and myCarfax.com.
“Last month, dealers who have MyCarPedigree on their websites averaged 1,400 to 1,600 clicks,” Boyd said. In addition to Carfax and links through dealer websites, the MyCarPedigree link is on Autotrader® and Kelly Blue Book.
“Dealers participating in the myCarfax Service Shop program can use iReconCars software to use tools like Carfax Service History Check, which gives dealers access to a car’s reported maintenance history,” said Boyd.
With advanced tracking and reporting on the condition and history of the used car, iReconCars’ MyCarPedigree report provides the buyer with third-party validation of the dealer’s reconditioning standards and the vehicles previous and current condition.
iReconCars Prioritizes Features for Scaling
“Customers referrals are our biggest marketing asset,” Boyd said. “Dealers see us at the National Auto Dealers trade event and Digital Dealer Conference and Expo.” (Boyd was invited to speak in 2017.)
“It’s amazing,” he says, “how once you put our platform in end-users’ hands how much and how fast feedback and ideas for enhancements come. I have a list of improvements ordered from the best to the least critical. I am continually reviewing that list to be sure that we are doing the most important things first and building according to our need to scale and the needs and desires of consumers and dealerships.”
Every car has a backstory, and today’s more-savvy-than-ever buyers want to know the full details. iReconCars helps make buying and selling used vehicles safer and easier for consumers and dealers.
