Current market scenario portrays the process to sell old car and buy second hand car can be done within a few seconds and that too with high reliability and authenticity. But this was not the scenario even a few years back.
Initially, there were only two types of online offerings in the market, those were Online Classifieds Sites and Automobile Discovery Sites. But, both of these offerings have failed to address the real pain points for buyers and sellers. In fact, in many instances, these two offerings have arguably made things even worse.
Online Classifieds
Online Classifieds have done no innovation, whatsoever in the last 22 years, since the time Craigslist came into being in San Francisco. Online Classifieds, contribution to mankind is letting people do many things online that traditionally happened offline. When it comes to buying and selling used cars, Online Classifieds have failed in terms of not addressing the real issues.
The challenges faced for buyers of used cars and the queries that arose, were:
- Who is the seller?
- Can I trust him or her?
- Is the second hand car genuine or legitimate?
- Am I paying the right price?
- Is the seller going to negotiate or not?
- In what language will the seller talk when I call him or her?
- When can I meet him or her?
- How can I learn about the old cars for sale more than just two badly taken pictures and badly written two liners description?
Similarly, Online Classifieds have also failed to address sellers’ pain points as well.
The challenges faced for sellers of used cars and the queries they had, were:
- Who is the buyer?
- Can I trust him or her?
- Why so many people are calling me when I wanted only serious callers?
- Why my phone number has been circulated to all sort of people?
- How do I know the person is legitimate?
- Why do I have to negotiate about the price the used cars for sale so hard when I do want to just sell it at the listed price etc.?
Craig Newmark in San Francisco founded the world’s first Online Classifieds ‘Craigslist.com’. Since then, online classifieds had become a large category online capturing a major part of the internet. Online classifieds have done a good job of bringing more and more people to do those things online, which happened only in the offline world in the past. However, beyond that online classifieds have brought no other innovations whatsoever in the last 22 years. If they would have brought innovations, today you would not have seen companies like AirBnB, Uber, and a slew of services-based marketplaces, career focused, real estate or dating websites.
Automobile Discovery
The second offering online in the market was automobile discovery platforms. These companies have done a good job of building ecosystem and helping potential buyers during discovery phase to do more research, comparison and evaluation about their potential buying by offering content, videos, pictures, ratings & reviews, side-by-side comparison.
However, once they help you in discovery platform, they take your information and start selling to dealers and brokers of automobiles. This should not be the desired aftereffects of your information search. At least, this should not be applicable for used automobiles. These companies are good in building content, videos, ratings & reviews etc. But when it comes to addressing the problems such as the best offer in terms of selection, price etc., these companies have not really done much. These companies tend to operate more like online media companies that give you news and data on best selling, new launch, videos, images of amazing vehicles etc. So, globally there are companies like cars.com or Edmunds.com, which focus on car discovery business. In India, there are a bunch of companies in the automobile, especially in the car discovery business online.
Droom
To meet the gap existed in the automobile market, Droom appeared to bring disruption and completely change the style of buying second hand cars and selling old cars in India. So, finally in the 21st century, the true digital economy has experienced sell and buy second hand car online.
With the aim of removing the pain points for buyers and sellers of used cars and to erode the friction in the whole buying and selling process of used and new automobiles be it car, motorcycle, scooter or something else on the wheels or with motor, Droom comes up with a well-established platform.
They have set up a proper system, where a seller and buyer can meet under one platform and carry out their transactions at the best possible way. They can fully utilize the ecosystem of Droom to settle at the most satisfactory deal.
The issues that arise in second hand cars buying selling are:
Pricing– A seller can charge any random price from a buyer irrespective of the condition of the car and market value. So, Orange Book Value or OBV is introduced for the accurate used car valuation. It is an algorithmic pricing engine to find out fair market value of any used vehicle under 10 seconds that too for free.
Inspection of car– You may visit once to check the car, but you may not be able to analyze the car until it is inspected by a professional. Carrying a professional with you or talking to some strangers can be easily avoided with the support of ECO. ECO is completely independent, objective and unbiased and will give you a proper inspection report of the used car.
History of the car– As a buyer of used cars, you may not be aware of the history or the proper condition of the car. If you contact a seller individually, they may hide some information regarding accidents, scratches or failures. But, Droom History will give the entire history report through vehicle’s registration number.
Finding the right car– You never know which car will be perfect for you and your family or even for your budget. Droom Discovery tool will help to find a car with higher resale value, lower maintenance cost, and that fits your income.
Getting a loan for the used car– Once you have chosen a car, the second problem will arise in terms of financing it. Many lenders may not be willing to offer used car loan. There comes the role of Droom Credit. They help to finance the purchase of an old car with the least possible interest rate.
Thus, the entire process of buying and selling used cars have gained so much authenticity and have picked up a high pace.