Buying a used car is a pain in the ass. Either you have to comb Craigslist, go to shady used cars lots, or hope that a friend of a friend is selling their vehicle. It’s also really hard to verify the information the seller is giving you, although more services have popped up in the last decade to deal with that particular issues.
Selling a car is also a pain in the ass. The traditional way of advertising that your car is for sale is by putting one of those black, white, and orange signs in the window. You know the ones: they say “FOR SALE” in huge print, followed by a phone number.
The thing is, calling those numbers is the third pain in the ass. Maybe they don’t answer or maybe they don’t speak English very well or maybe they work nights and sleep all day. After the phone call you have to set something up to exchange info about the vehicle and then you have to verify it and then blah blah blah.
Josh Holstein recognized this pain point and decided to do something about it. His solution is called CellARide (bonus points: love the double meaning in the name) and it makes it so, so much simpler to buy and sell a used car.
How does it work?
Instead of heading down to the hardware store and buying one of those ugly signs, go over to CellARide and create your car’s “mobile brochure.” When you’re done, CellARide will provide you with a printable ticket (which they call the RIDEtag) to put on your car.
If someone is interested in buying your old beater, all they have to do is text the code on the RIDEtag. They’ll instantly be provided with your mobile brochure, complete with any and all photos you’ve included, a CarFax report, and a “virtual test drive video.”
If they have any questions, they can send you a direct message via email or text; your choice. This means that you don’t have to deal with anyone who hasn’t already learned the most salient facts about your car and decided that they’re at least interested enough to enquire about it, thereby saving yourself a whole lot of time and aggravation.
Love it.
This is one of the things I love the most about startup founders. They see a problem and rather than just complaining about it like most of us do, they create a solution. CellARide is an excellent example of something that I personally wouldn’t have thought of but I love that someone else did.
They just started a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. If you think this is the kind of thing that the world needs (as I do), head on over and drop them a couple dollars.
Summary:
CellARide provides a quick and easy way for you to share information about your car when it’s for sale. Upload all the facts, print out the RIDEtag, and wait for people who are interested to contact you via text or email. It’s “information without the conversation.” Check out their Indiegogo campaign to show your support.
Shareable: Streamline the (obnoxious) process of buying or selling a car with CellARide.
