Wednesday morning, a new website that describes itself as "the KAYAK for used cars" officially launched and is now open to the public. Based in Woburn, iSeeCars.com aggregates information from used car websites all over the Internet. Using a custom analytics engine, the site sorts through all the data about the cars, dealers, previous owners and prices to present users with the best deal possible.
iSeeCars came about when co-founder and CEO Phong Ly was looking for a used car and it struck him that streamlining such a tedious process would be extremely beneficial not only to himself, but to the general public.
"I realized that I was actually doing a lot of math and reading to find the best deal," Ly told BostInno. "I said to myself, 'There has to be a better way.'"
In 2009, Ly and co-founder Vineet Manohar made the decision to bootstrap their own company and create "a better way." For five years, they developed a website portal and an algorithm that does all the math and reading for the prospective used car purchaser.
"Up to now, we've been testing the site and collecting data and feedback," Ly explained. "Over the last few months, we used the data from the testing to revamp the site, redesign the user experience, add new features and improve the underlying algorithms to help users find the best deals on cars."
Today, with an eight-person team at his back, Ly launches a website that is already turning a profit.
iSeeCars' analytics are extremely thorough. They have about 30 million automobiles listed on the site and provide critical information on each and every one. For example, everyone knows mileage and the number of previous owners are important metrics when looking at a used car. iSeeCars kicks it up a notch, however, and provides data that often goes unconsidered, such as whether the previous owners had pets or how the car compares to similar models with comparable mileage.
Along with the statistics for individual vehicles, the site provides users with a rating on the dealership at which the car in question is available. Important information that goes into the ratings include how many days the car is on the market, how many times the price has changed and how a particular car's value compares to all the other cars on the lot. Then all this information is compared to other dealerships that are selling the exact same vehicle.
Interestingly, iSeeCars' data has shown that about 22 percent of used cars on the market are over-priced, whereas 25 percent are under-priced.
"We are helping the user understand how much bargaining power they have," Ly said. "We want you to arm yourself with information so you can negotiate the best price."
