RichmondGRID.com: CarLotz Offers a New Way to Sell Used Vehicles

More Innovators Articles

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BIOTECH BOOM: LOCAL FIRM UNVEILS LIFE-SAVING PRODUCT
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Work

Innovators

CarLotz Offers a New Way to Sell Used Vehicles

You know the feeling -- that long, tedious, and uncomfortable journey of buying or selling your favorite ride. CarLotz, a newly launched consignment shop for automobiles, is putting the customer in the driver's seat.

11/18/2011 9:28:24 AM

Sam Kirby

The CarLotz Team: Michael Bor,- Justin Moyer, Aaron Montgomery and Will Boland model the company t-shirt.

Located on Midlothian Turnpike, CarLotz is offering a completely new-and improved-experience for Richmonders on the go. "Last year, I was shopping for a used car, and I would often see 'For Sale' signs in cars parked along Grove Avenue on my way to work," explains Michael Bor, cofounder of CarLotz. "The thought of calling a stranger, finding a time to meet, negotiating, and not knowing if the car was a lemon was so unpleasant, I figured there had to be a better way to buy or sell a car privately."

That's when the idea for CarLotz was born.

Bor quickly partnered with Will Boland and Aaron Montgomery to launch RVA's latest breakout. Since then the buzz of the CarLotz success story has already hit The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and The New York Times.

"The early feedback from our customers has been awesome, and we believe CarLotz has potential to be a multi-unit concept both in Richmond and other geographies," explains Bor. While its current focus is on continuing to improve the customer experience and building awareness throughout Richmond, the CarLotz gang is already moving into the preliminary stages of exploring new locations as it aims to help more people in the sale-by-owner car market.

"Richmond has been an awesome place to start a business," says Will Boland, part of the dynamic trio that launched CarLotz.

"We've found that if you serve someone here well, they will spread the word-a large number of our early customers have been through referrals. We also have a ton of fun together as a team, whether bouncing ideas off one another, giving each other a hard time for a slip-up at the lot, or grabbing a beer after we close. We all love coming into the office every day," he notes.

While many consumers aren't satisfied with the existing options for buying and selling cars in the sale-by-owner market, CarLotz is offering an alternative that gets buyers and sellers a value for their cars without the traditional hassles.

Aaron Montgomery, says that results have been well above initial expectations.

"CarLotz recently sold its 100th car in just the fifth month, which was an exciting milestone for our team. Many of our customers walk in and tell us, 'I should've thought of this idea,' which signals to us that there is pent-up demand for our service," reports Montgomery.

Article from Issue #12