[erik_landerholm]

That's exactly what we do (http://carwoo.com) and it's free to shop one car.

Acting as a buyer's agent is tough as you are considered an autobroker and there is a ton of state level laws around this kind of business. Some of them are extremely archaic, but are kept in places by an extremely powerful lobby organization.

If you are interested look up the battle TrueCar became embroiled in recently because of some decisions they made in their business model. The end result was they lost over half their paying dealer network and half their revenue in a matter of a couple of weeks. They were disallowed from operating in a dozen or more states over night.

They have recently had to completely change their product to come into compliance. Their aint no lobby like an auto industry lobby! :)

It's a very complicated industry to move into successfully. We have done a good job (IMO) of navigating the mine field while offering a compelling service to Consumers and Dealers.

[thejteam]

So I went to carwoo.com.

Gripe#1: Why do you need my cell phone number? I know you say you won't give it to dealerships. I don't know why you need it either.

Gripe#2: Why do I have to choose a color? That is not an especially important factor for me.

Gripe#3: Your distance to dealership computations are as the crow flies. I happen to live near a large body of water with only a single bridge across that is 70 miles away from my house. A dealership on the other side will not be 50 miles from my house.

[erik_landerholm]

Also, we used to charge consumers for their first 'deal' (as we call it). This allowed us to create the nation's largest New Car Dealer Network, but most consumers are unwilling to pay for this kind of service. It did allow us to build a huge network quickly (by auto industry standards) which allows us to avoid most of the 'no coverage' issues that all other automotive sites have.

[stjarnljuset]

So if you're no longer charging consumers for their first deal, are you charging dealerships?

[erik_landerholm]

yes. It's a freemium model for dealerships ATM, but we reserve the right to change it whenever we feel like it! :)

The pay service allows dealerships to see data and have access to tools that help them be more competitive and make better decisions.

NO one ever gets to pay for placement or for access to our customers.

[ScottWhigham]

I recently tried CarWoo for a Subura I'm trying to buy. Everything was great except that the three offers I received where, on average, 206 miles away. I live in Dallas, Texas - a major metropolitan area - and it's not worth it to even talk to someone 206 miles away unless I'm saving $1000+ over local sales. The offers were "fair" but just didn't get me over that hump.