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Frequently Asked Questions

These are the most common questions we get about CarWoo! If you can't find what you're looking for please let us know by emailing us support@carwoo.com.

About CarWoo!

  • What is CarWoo!?

    CarWoo! is the only "true" way to buy a car online today. It is the easiest way to get a great deal on a new car without having to haggle directly with a car dealer. Unlike other sites that claim to be "hassle-free", CarWoo! is the only site that doesn't give your name, email, or phone number to dealers until you're ready to buy and actually does the legwork for you.

  • Why does the world need CarWoo!?

    There is no better feeling than driving off a dealer’s lot with a brand new car. It is CarWoo’s proposition that the entire car buying process should feel as good as the moment you drive off the lot.

    The world, and day-to-day life is full of pressures…car buying does not have to add to those pressures. CarWoo! makes the world a better place one happy buyer at a time.

  • Where did the name CarWoo! come from?

    It's pretty simple really. The name is a reflection of the excitement people feel after buying a new car. We noticed that people said Woo! a lot when they drive away in a brand new car. So we put Car and Woo! together to echo how people feel buying a new car with CarWoo!

  • Who are the founders and who else is behind CarWoo!?

    CarWoo! was founded in 2009 by serial entrepreneurs Tommy McClung, Erik Landerholm, and Michael Young. A member of the 2009 Y Combinator (ycombinator.com) class, CarWoo! (www.carwoo.com) is based in Burlingame, CA and is funded by Blumberg Capital (www.blumbergcapital.com), Comcast Interactive Capital (www.civentures.com), and Interwest Partners (www.interwest.com).

    Also associated with CarWoo! are veteran industry advisors and our board directors.

    Our advisory board includes Rob Chesney - Former GM eBay Motors, Tim Weaver - VP Business Development, ResponseLogix, Jeff Fluhr - Founder and Former CEO, Stubhub.com, and Niall Hay - eCommerce Director, Penske Automotive Group.

    Our board of directors include Doug Pepper - Interwest Partners, Michael Yang - Comcast Interactive Capital, Dillon McDonald - Former CEO and Founder of Jumpstart Automotive, Tommy McClung - CEO and co-founder CarWoo!, and Erik Landerholm - CTO and co-founder CarWoo!.

  • How did you come up with the idea? Why did you start CarWoo!?

    Tommy McClung, CEO and co-Founder describes how CarWoo! came about: "When I bought my last car, the experience was horrible. I shopped online, but all I got was spam email and phone calls from dealers, none of which answered my questions. All they wanted was for me to come into their dealerships. The time that it took me to shop multiple dealerships, compare their quotes, negotiate, and finally settle on a car was overwhelming. At the end of the day, I was still not sure whether I had gotten the best overall deal or if I had just been beaten down. I knew there had to be a better way. There had to be a way to truly shop online and not just be sold off to several dealers as a lead. I wanted a way to be sure that I had gotten the best offer and to have fun while I was doing it. So, we created CarWoo!."

  • Who are your competitors?

    There are no other companies that truly allow a buyer to negotiate anonymously with dealers online and ultimately arrive at a final price. So, in the truest sense, there are no competitors.

    Because CarWoo! does allow buyers to get great prices online without haggling with dealers, the closest companies would be ones that offer single prices with no haggle, like Costco. However, because dealers must commit to price points on vehicles for periods of days at a time, they can never get prices as low as CarWoo! dealers can offer. In addition, all other companies charge dealers. CarWoo! never charges dealers.

  • How many cars have you sold?

    CarWoo! does not sell cars, our dealers sell cars. Currently our dealers are selling about 250 cars per month through the CarWoo! service. This number is, of course, pre-launch and has been growing steadily. We expect our dealers to be selling 10,000 cars per month in the next 36 months.

  • Is CarWoo! a broker?

    Absolutely not! CarWoo! does not insert into the specific transaction in any way. It does not take a commission from either the buyer or the seller. It does not provide specific advice regarding the transaction to the buyer or seller. CarWoo! ensures full transparency, buyer privacy, clear and open communication between the buyer and seller and a fun and easy way for buyers and sellers to work with each other. The actual transaction occurs at the dealership. CarWoo! never buys or sells cars-only CarWoo! dealers and buyers do that. Buyers pay only for the convenience of using the CarWoo! portal.

  • Why would dealers work with you? Doesn’t this hurt them?

    The internet has completely changed the way dealers have to operate. Internet buyers are savvy. They do their research. They shop multiple dealerships but they don’t go into the stores. Dealers are handicapped because they don’t know what the buyer knows.

    The current third party lead system just exacerbates the issues facing dealers. Dealers pay for these leads knowing that they are being multi-sold and also knowing that, for the most part, the leads do not convert to buyers. It is extremely frustrating for dealers and makes it hard for them to do their best by the buyer, even though they do want to.

    CarWoo! provides highly qualified buyers who buy cars 80% of the time, as opposed to 3rd party leads that close 2% - 5% of the time. CarWoo! makes entire process completely transparent, so dealers know what buyers know and want. The service is very easy and intuitive to use.

    On top of all that, the basic service is free to dealers.

  • How many dealers does CarWoo! work with?

    Currently the CarWoo! dealer network is over 9,000 nationwide (approximately 50% of new car dealers nationwide) and is growing at a rate of about 150-200 per week.

  • Does CarWoo have dealers in every state?

    CarWoo! has dealers in all 50 states and we have dealers covering every make and model.

  • Are the testimonials true?

    Yes, all testimonials are quotations from individuals who have used CarWoo.

  • Where do you get your vehicle images from?

    Vehicle images provided by Chrome Systems.

Using The CarWoo! Service

  • How does it work?

    First, you tell us what kind of car you want. Then, we go out and contact 15 dealerships and get them to start giving you offers. As the offers come in (most buyers usually get an offer within 24 hours) we present them to you in a standardized, easy-to-understand format.

    Once you've received an offer you really like, you accept it, at which point we connect you with the dealer. Then all that's left to do is go to the dealership, present your CarWoo! Claim Certificate, sign some paperwork, and drive off in your brand new car, woo!

  • How much does it cost?

    CarWoo! offers two services. The Basic plan costs $0.00 and you get to look for 1 car. The Plus plan (our most popular plan) costs a one-time fee of $99.00 and you can search for up to 3 cars.

  • Why isn't it free?

    CarWoo! charges a small fee so that dealers know you are serious about buying a car. Once dealers know you're serious they'll treat you better and give you a better deal. Simple as that. They also know that CarWoo! buyers expect great prices, so we always get the best prices possible. Lower than any other way you can buy a car. Guaranteed.

  • Do I have to buy a car if I sign up?

    Nope! But once you see the prices you can get by buying with CarWoo! it'll be hard not to!

  • Is CarWoo! only for New cars or can you do Used cars as well?

    At this time CarWoo! only supports New car transactions. We do not allow you to buy a Used car through CarWoo!

  • Can I use CarWoo! to get a lease?

    Absolutely. CarWoo! can be used to negotiate a lease on a new car as well.

  • How is CarWoo! different than an auto-broker or concierge service?

    CarWoo! is very similar to those services because we do all the hard work of getting you a great deal on a new car, but the biggest difference is that we don't charge you nearly as much as an auto-broker, which can be over $2000!

    However, CarWoo! is definitively not a broker. CarWoo! facilitates the flow of information between the buyer and the seller and assists buyers in understanding their offers. It provides tools to the buyer to make negotiating fun. CarWoo! is never directly involved in the transaction and it does not provide advice or guidance directly related to the deal to either the buyer or the seller. The buyer ultimately buys the car directly from the dealer.

    The CarWoo! buying process is also more interactive--you get to see the offers in your own password-protected online dashboard right here on the website as they're coming in and give feedback to the dealers, but we protect your privacy throughout the entire process. This makes it fun for you as a buyer and makes sure that you're really getting the type of car you want.

  • How is CarWoo! different from other auto sites?

    First and foremost, we focus on the car buying process, not research. There are hundreds of other sites where you can learn about gas mileage and horsepower, but we're the only one that will actually help you through the hardest part: buying the car. Unlike other auto sites, we also protect your privacy.

    Did you know that when you click the "Request A Free Quote" button on other sites they sell your name, email address, and phone number to dealers, which leads to dinner-time phone calls and spammy emails? CarWoo!, on the other hand, keeps you anonymous until you're ready to buy so that you don't have to worry about any of that.

  • Is my information protected? If so, how do you ensure that?

    Dealers don't get to see any of your personal information when they give you offers—we only show them what kind of car you're looking for and your first name. We keep your full name, email address, and phone number hidden from the dealers until you've picked the offer you want to accept, at which point we only give the winning dealer your contact information so that you can arrange a time to pick up the car. Dealers can only communicate with you through a email and phone proxy provided by CarWoo! that keeps all of your personal information hidden

    Unlike other auto sites, we do NOT sell your information to dealers.

  • How far away are the dealers that give me offers?

    It varies based on what type of car you're trying to buy. The most common cars have many dealerships in most cities so you won't have to travel far. There are two important things to remember, though: (1) you can get your car serviced ANYWHERE, it doesn't have to be at the dealership from which you bought it. Your local dealership will be more than happy to service your car, even if you didn't buy it there; and (2) you're buying something that is worth thousands of dollars. Driving for a couple hours is totally worth it if it means an extra couple thousand dollars in savings, right?

  • Can I use your service with a dealer near me?

    CarWoo! will always try to contact the dealers closest to you. If there is a specific dealer that a buyer wants included in the process, CarWoo! will include that dealer. The CarWoo! process cannot guarantee that any specific dealer will be the most competitive on any given deal though. The value of CarWoo! is that we get dealers to compete in an open marketplace. If the local dealer wins, that is great.

  • What if I get a list of dealers who are nowhere close to me?

    This happens very rarely. And we're adding dealers all the time, so the odds of this happening are getting smaller and smaller.

  • How do I pick the best deal?

    It's a personal decision and the best deal is different for everyone. CarWoo! provides you with offer comparison tools you can use to help make a decision (e.g. we'll tell you what we think is the best offer), but at the end of the day it's completely up to you. Just remember, the offer with the lowest price isn't necessarily the best deal--you should choose based on which one gives you the most "bang for your buck."

  • Is CarWoo! available outside of the US?

    At this time CarWoo! is only available in the United States.

Paying For & Picking Up Your Car

  • Where and when do I pay for the car?

    You pay for the car at the dealership after we've connected you with the dealer through CarWoo! In other words, you only ever pay us the one-time fee. You do NOT pay for the car through CarWoo!

  • How does the dealer know what price I'm supposed to pay?

    Once you've accepted an offer, we tell the dealer that you'll be coming in to pick up the car and that you should pay the agreed upon price. We also give you a printable CarWoo! Claim Certificate with the car's specs and the final price on it to present to the dealer and that is what they will charge you.

  • Will dealers haggle with me when I go to the dealership?

    No. CarWoo! has relationships with all of its dealers and they have agreed not to haggle with CarWoo! buyers since you've already agreed on the price of the car. If for some reason a dealer tries to haggle with you when you go to pick up your car, you should leave, then report it to us immediately. We will call the dealer for you and make sure that they understand that they're not allowed to do that. Then you can either go back, or you can pick a different offer to accept if you really didn't like the dealer.

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