CarGurus was founded in 2006 by Langley Steinert, former co-founder of TripAdvisor.[4] CarGurus is privately owned, and its Board of Directors includes Steve Kaufer, co-founder and current CEO of TripAdvisor, and Simon Rothman, formerly Global Vice President and General Manager of eBay Motors.$$$$$$$$$$$
~~~~~~~~NOW FOR THE PROPAGANDA~~~~~~ Unbiased Results
Some online commenters have implied that CarGurus favors certain dealers in its inventory ranking algorithms. This is not true.
CarGurus search results are not subject to any bias. The listings are ranked solely based on the consumer’s savings and the dealer’s reputation. Cargurus does not give any preference to dealers that work with CarGurus directly or via CarGurus partners.
CarGurus does offer a Featured Placement program whereby participating dealers can buy an advertising package that will promote their inventory to the top of the search results on every search page. However, these Featured Listings are clearly marked on CarGurus and are separate from the organic search results.
CarGurus takes seriously its obligation to remain unbiased in how it represents inventory to consumers and on behalf of dealers. The organic search results on CarGurus are based solely on our mathematical models.
So How Does CarGurus Help Dealers $$$$$$$$
As I mentioned above, CarGurus takes its responsibility to consumers and dealers equally seriously. We understand that we have to deliver value to both constituencies. So how do we help dealers? The answer is simple: CarGurus helps dealers sell cars.
Because of the unique way that CarGurus ordinates its search results, 95% of the leads sent from CarGurus to dealers each month are for inventory that has been validated by CarGurus as a Great, Good or Fair deal.
As a result, these leads convert to sold vehicles at rates far above the industry average. Consumers going to dealers from CarGurus do so with 3rd-party validation that the car in question is a Fair to Great deal. No other listings site on the web generates lead inquiries with this built-in pricing validation.
How Can CarGurus Designate a Listing as “High” or “Overpriced”?
Some have asked how CarGurus can label a piece of inventory as “High Priced” or “Overpriced”? Please know that these valuations are not our personal opinions. Rather, CarGurus market valuations are based on SIMILAR local market comparables. Depending on whether a listing is priced above or below the market, we designate it as a Great, Good, Fair, High Priced or Overpriced deal.
While CarGurus does have PROPRIETARY VALUATION technology that automates the process of inventory valuation, 3rd-party inventory valuation tools are not a new phenomenon to the online automotive space. Many sites like KBB, NADAGuides and Edmunds have offered manual valuation tools (where a consumer manually enters the trim, options, mileage, etc.) for many years.
Connecting Consumers and Dealers $$$$$$$$$
Each month, CarGurus has over 6 million consumers visit our site to shop for a new or used car. Our goal is a simple one: to connect shoppers with dealers. Much like MY LAST company, TripAdvisor, we do so by providing information transparency (pricing, dealer REPUTATION and inventory in local markets). In the end, judging by the conversion rates (sold cars/leads sent to dealers) we see from our dealer partners this unique focus on transparency is a good thing in that it ultimately leads to a more qualified buyer arriving at your store. In the online travel industry we used to call this the quest for “bookers,” not “lookers.” CarGurus is about driving buyers, not lookers, to your store.
I hope this information will help dealers better understand how we operate and how we can help you sell more cars.
Signed
Langley Steinert
Founder/CEO - Cargurus~~~~~~ END OF PROPAGANDA!~~~~~~