Vohnt Provides Immediate and Affordable Car Care with One-click Booking and Convenient Pickup and Dropoff Services
Truth or Dare? How do you really feel about taking care of your car? Skipping regular car care is like living a dare, but truth be told, for many people, taking care of their car is a pain.
That’s how it was for Vohnt founders Ethan Dewhurst, Andrew Hulse, and Kyle Barger, and that’s why they founded Vohnt.
“We never thought about being in the car industry,” Dewhurst said. “We just hated taking care of our cars. We started Vohnt because the current industry is broken, and we knew there had to be a better way to care for your car.”
Cloud-based Car Care Solves Car Owner’s Car Maintenance Problems in Entirely New Way
“Why is there an estimated $24.9 billion dollars in delayed auto repair and maintenance each year?” said Dewhurst. “We believe it comes down to two main barriers, time and money.”
To really change the industry, Vohnt needed to create a model that solved those two barriers. “We knew from the get-go that our success will come down to our speed and quality,” said Dewhurst.
A year before officially launching, Vohnt founders hired professional pit crew members to come in for three months to help construct the most efficient processes for Vohnt’s detailing and maintenance plus repair services. The resulting groundbreaking procedures give Vohnt another cutting edge in the industry. “Vohnt can offer never seen before convenience in the industry without charging any convenience fees or upcharges,” Dewhurst said.
With Vohnt’s technology-enabled solution, customers have immediate, convenient, and affordable access to car care. Vohnt picks up and services vehicles during times when they are typically idle—parked while their owners are at work, or parked while their owners are asleep.
“We built a model to be a cloud-based valet service,” said Dewhurst, “that solves the issues of affordability and access. We offer interior and exterior detail with pickup and drop off for $150.”
The Columbus region is the company’s first market. Inaugural car care services include touchless wash, interior detail, and exterior detail. Car services include oil change, tire rotations, gasoline top-off and more. Customers can book car care with one click on Vohnt’s website and then drop their keys in a Vohnt box at a participating facility or meet a Vohnt Valet at locations that do not currently have the Vohnt boxes set up. A licensed, certified, and insured driver will pick up and return the car.
“Detailers and auto repair businesses are mostly in the suburbs, not in downtown locations,” Dewhurst said. “If you live in the suburbs, that’s when you want to use your car—evenings and weekends. You have kids soccer games; you are out and about with friends. Our model is about fishing in stocked ponds. There are thousands of cars in one place, in businesses garages, from eight to five during the weekdays.”
Downtown employees book their service, and when they leave for the day their car is serviced and ready. Vohnt’s overnight service runs seven nights a week and is designed to serve residents and guest at downtown apartments and hotels with auto-detailing and car care services
“This is a people-intensive business,” said Dewhurst. “We have great managers and focus on a positive uplifting culture. We have a great diverse staff who take pride in what we do and have become the core of our early success.”
14,000 Square Feet and Business Agreements with Regional and National Firms
Vohnt’s rollout strategy is focused on business-to-business partnerships. The startup already has service agreements with regional and national parking management companies, including LAZ Parking and SP+ Corporation. In Columbus that potential represents more than 75,000 parking spaces and millions more nationally.
Columbus has been receiving Vohnt’s model very positively so far. “Vohnt has been adding about one new location every week since August, and this trend looks to continue till the end of the year before stabilizing when Vohnt reaches significant market share in downtown,” said Dewhurst.
Vohnt is not small town car care.
“We are here to change the whole industry starting in Ohio,” Dewhurst said, “then regionally, then taking this national. The industry needs to be changed and we’re excited to build a system where people can trust the industry again. Vohnt is the solution we wanted for our own vehicles. and we could not be more excited to make it a reality for all car owners. When you’re driving a car, you shouldn’t have to worry about its repair or maintenance. At Vohnt, all we want our users to worry about is where they’re going and who they’re with, because that’s what cars are all about.”
