The world of pre-owned cars can be daunting for a first-time car buyer or someone who's not had much experience buying from a used car dealer.
It feels even more nerve-wracking when one hears about the cases of shady dealers who render poor service or worse, run off with customers' hard-earned money without delivering the vehicle. Stories like these lead to the perception that the car trade is 'shady'.
In reality, such cases are the exception rather than the rule. Most people in the car trade are in it for the long term and just want to make a living. In fact, there are many companies that do right by their clients and by themselves.
Car Choice Singapore is one such company. It started out as a 'boy's dream' with an inventory of four cars, operating out of a sub-leased half-unit at Commonwealth Car Mall, without so much as a signboard to its name.
Today, Car Choice is established and well-known for having the largest number of pre-owned car list on Sgcarmart, with well over 400 listings in the country's number one car portal.
This success did not materialize overnight. According to Managing Director Joseph Liauw, Car Choice's journey has been marked by strategic planning, meticulous research, and measured steps towards progress.
Solid fundamentals
Trust is key in any industry and Car Choice has prioritised not just building but also maintaining its customers' trust by not making empty promises. But being able to do this requires a solid foundation.
One of the most common problems in the automobile trade is dealers incurring heavy debt, especially with regard to inventory. Having a wide range of cars is great, but being unable to sell them results in ballooning inventory costs.
Car Choice avoids this by strictly adhering to an 'aging list' and practicing a 'fast-in, fast-out' philosophy.
Another advantage to this operating principle is that it inculcates discipline in the firm's inventory purchasers, who must acquire the right vehicles in response to market demands. This gives customers and dealers confidence in buying cars from the company.
Aftersales is another key pillar, too. Early on, the firm knew that well-executed aftersales was the key to a successful business. Joseph views every sale as another customer gained rather than more money in the bank. The results speak for themselves: Most sales stem from client referrals.
With such focus on customer satisfaction and peace of mind, Car Choice's decision to join BuySafe and Sgcarmart's Warranty programmes was a natural one.
BuySafe aims to make the purchase of a pre-owned car as worry-free as possible. Its benefits include price transparency (there are no hidden costs), pre-purchase inspections and the best trade-in prices, just to name a few.
Sgcarmart's Warranty Programme, on the other hand, assures buyers that the car they wish to purchase has been inspected and certified to be fault-free. The Warranty covers more than 100 vehicle parts for two years or 20,000km/year.
The Sgcarmart Warranty is also backed by ECICS, a fully licenced general insurer under the approval of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Not all warranties can claim to be backed by an MAS-regulated insurer.
Future goals
To consolidate their progress, Car Choice prioritises taking care of their internal ecosystem. This includes ensuring that they hire the right people for the job so that they grow together with the company.
One of the firm's new initiatives is having their customer service team follow-up with clients after they have made a downpayment to confirm that the downpayment and any subsequent payments are sent to the correct account.
"Empowering your employees and taking responsibility for everything we do goes a long way towards sustaining the firm and the business," says Joseph.
With sound principles and practices, Car Choice has a solid foundation upon which to embark on their next stage of growth, which includes plans to expand into markets around the region.
