We want people to look forward to buying a used car, says Carsome CEO

Buying or selling a used car in the past can be a scary process. You will never know whether you are getting a fair price or the vehicle’s actual condition.

But Carsome, the online used car trading platform, is here to change the way you buy and sell your used car. Through the use of technology, Carsome aims to offer a seamless and hassle-free experience for everyone who is looking to buy or sell a used car.

The digitisation process spans from scheduling an appointment to inspect your used car to browsing for a used car on Carsome.

Digitalisation has helped users to buy and sell used cars with greater convenience and confidence.

We had the opportunity to speak with the Co-founder and Group CEO of Carsome, Eric Cheng on the challenges the company faced in digitising a rather traditional business.

WapCar: Used car sales have been a very traditional business, what are some of the resistances if any, Carsome have faced in implementing digitisation?

Eric: It hasn’t been much of a resistance when it comes to that (digitisation), the partners within the industry have realised that it is time to think forward. They actually embrace it that this is the way we (the industry) should move forward as we continue to run our business.

Things have been quite traditional and dated if we look at the buying experience. I think that is where we are trying to reinvent the wheel and try to digitalise it in a more seamless manner. Creating something that people look forward to when buying a car instead of describing it as a nightmare experience.

I think we see dealers are now stepping up their game and I am trying to do something similar, upgrade the way treat their customers as well.

WapCar: Among the markets that Carsome has a presence in, how different are they compared to Malaysia in terms of acceptance of digitisation?

Eric: I think it’s around the similar adoption rate in the sense that they really like the way we presented the client experience. Digital is 1 thing, but secondly, we are also very customer-centric.

In some ways, we realise that the problem is not limited to Malaysia. Indonesia and Thailand also face the same issue in terms of dealing with the bad experience with dealers. This also gives them a significantly upgraded experience which helps in tackling the market.

The adoption rate has been great so far. We just went live in Thailand and Indonesia 2 weeks ago and we are seeing very great results. In some ways, it is slightly faster than Malaysia. Quite encouraging and with our recent activities in brand building really makes people know of our services.

For those looking to sell or buy a used car and you're worried about getting short-changed, Carsome is able to offer you a peace of mind when it comes to used cars.