getWorth disrupts the traditional used car market
Jamie Surkont, co-founder of get\Worth.
A new entrant in the used car market is disrupting the way business is done with its innovative approach. getWorth is changing perceptions by providing car sellers with tools to ensure their vehicles are traded at true value.
Technology is disrupting every single industry. It not only introduces new ways of doing business, but it is designed to improve the total customer experience. get\Worth has developed online tools and products that give car buyers peace of mind and sellers the benefits of a private sale without the risk.
getWorth co-founder Jamie Surkont says the car selling industry is facing huge changes with many motorists now buying and selling online rather than through a traditional dealership. "But that in itself was presenting several challenges to consumers."
After teaming up with former colleagues Mark Ridgway and Colin Morgan, the three realised that the problems in the industry required a very different approach. Deciding against buying a traditional dealership, they began developing something new - to offer all the services that the market currently offers plus more.
They introduced getMore, an innovative product that ensures that a seller receives a market value cash amount upfront. get\Worth then takes ownership of the car and markets the vehicle at a price set by the seller. When it sells, the seller receives the balance of the selling price less the fees that the company charges.
This model is best explained by a real-life example. A client was offered R380 000 from a brand dealer for his Mercedes GL350. getWorth paid the client R385 000 and took possession of the vehicle. After 57 days the car sold for R518 000, which was within 1% of the prediction by getWorth’s sophisticated pricing engine. get\Worth paid the client an additional R100 700 or 28% more than he was offered by the dealer.
“For someone who buys a car from us, we want to be transparent about the car and we don’t want to push them into a purchase they will regret a day later. So we give them a 7-day/700km money-back guarantee on qualifying vehicles, with no questions asked,” he says.
“It is a 7-day test drive - far better than the traditional 15 minutes down the road and back. It makes a huge difference for any buyer, but particularly those who want to buy online.”
Surkont says for most people a motor vehicle is a significant financial commitment and the process of selling and buying cars can have a serious negative impact on finances. “I’ve been frustrated with the traditional approach for many years and have played with various ideas and concepts to address it.”
“The getMore product is a global first. There’s some clever stuff under the hood, which we’ve patented,” adds Morgan. “We’ve developed proprietary machine learning models and hooked them up to a portfolio management and pricing system to manage the risks. There will be tools for our customers to interact with us online and get information on the market and their open deals.”
While it’s still early days for the business, the three partners have ambitious expansion plans. “We have a really exciting innovative line of new products and we aim to expand to additional asset classes,” Surkont concludes.
