Smartphones Become Automated Vehicle Inspection Systems

In 1999, when the internet was young, Firas Makhouf worked for a technology company that sent him to upstate New York to set up a digital system at Driver’s Village, a mega-dealership.

The intended few weeks’ stint turned into a permanent relocation when he took a job at the multi-franchise store in Cicero, near Syracuse.

He’s still working there 25 years later. 

“It’s an amazing, forward-thinking organization,” Makhouf tells WardsAuto.

That’s when he caught the car-business bug. “It’s like the line in the Eagles’ song ‘Hotel California,’” he quips. “‘You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave.’”

Makhouf, who studied information technology and computer science at Syracuse University, became Driver’s Village chief information officer. Four years ago, he became its used-car director, too.

“I oversaw the internet department and would often sit in on used-car department meetings. I got interested in the used-car side of the business.”

He brings his tech savvy to pre-owned auto retailing. That includes inventory acquisition, about 95% of which the dealership derives from trade-ins, lease buyouts and private-party transactions, otherwise known as street purchases.

Driver’s Village ads urge prospective vehicle sellers to visit its website. They are then versed on how to use ClearCar Price and ClearCar Capture, digital tools provided by Buffalo, NY-based ACV Auctions and developed by technology provider MONK.

ClearCar Price provides consumers a data-driven value estimate for their vehicles.

With ClearCar Capture, consumers take and submit photos of their vehicles for documentation of condition through AI imaging. It digitally detects exterior damage and irregularities.

It’s like a hand-held automated inspection system.   

“We’ve taken our inspection platform that’s used on the wholesale side and made a lighter, simpler version for a mobile phone,” ACV Chief Operating Officer Vikas Mehta (below, left) tells WardsAuto.

“Anyone can answer a few questions, scan the VIN (vehicle identification number), take some images of the car and essentially have our algorithms provide an accurate condition and price range of the car,” he says. “We know what these cars are selling for in every part of the country based on actual bidding data.”

ACV says ClearCar demystifies the relation between vehicle condition and value, allowing dealer and commercial clients to partake in more-transparent conversations with consumers. Consumers benefit from knowing that analytics are objectively valuing their vehicles.

“The results have made a huge impact on our business,” says Driver’s Village’s Makhouf. “The leads generated by ClearCar are highly qualified. We’ve seen an 80% show ratio and about a 45% buy ratio.”

The dealership sells about 380 used cars a month.

An impending version of ClearCar will also provide reconditioning cost estimates to dealers, notes Makhouf, who sees value in that.   

ACV in 2023 began offering ClearCar because many dealers were asking for a tool like it, Mehta says. “Dealers were very specific about wanting a user-inspection capability to acquire cars from consumers.”

But doesn’t a product like that take ACV somewhat away from its core auction business?

“At a high level, it might seem that way,” Mehta says. “But we’re leveraging our product portfolio to help dealers with their needs. In recent times, those have focused on supply acquisition.”

ACV also has an auction digital tool that monitors the sound of a car engines and uses comparison data to detect knocks, ticks and other imperfections, he says. “The mission is to get a better condition report.”

For engineless electric vehicles, ACV is working on a similar detection system.

“With EVs, vibration is a lot more relevant,” Mehta says. “It indicates something is wrong with the motor. Another big piece is battery life. We’re in the early stages of benchmarking there.”