MintList this week officially launched “Canada’s first two-sided online vehicle marketplace.”
The Vancouver startup’s platform enables consumers to sell their privately owned vehicles at auction and also buy a new or used vehicle from inventory across a network of pre-approved dealers. From start to finish, “it takes only 10 minutes for a seller to list their vehicle for sale,” according to a statement from the BC company.
MintList guides the seller through the process, from photos to answering questions on year and mileage. MintList then builds a profile of the vehicle “using a patent-pending artificial intelligence process to determine the vehicle’s condition and automatically estimate its auction starting price.”
“Buying and selling vehicles online is the future of the retail car business in Canada, and MintList is making this entire process easy for everyone through our two-sided marketplace that provides the convenience, choice, and confidence that consumers require,” stated Mike Wood, CEO of MintList.
Once the seller accepts an offer, they have the option to receive their money within 24 hours or use the funds to purchase another vehicle from the inventory offered by hundreds of authorized dealers in the MintList network.
“By providing transparency each step of the way and enabling competition among dealers in how they acquire and sell their inventory, we ensure consumers not only get the highest value for their used vehicle but also save on the taxes for their new car purchase,” explains Wood.
According to a MintList survey of 300 consumers, 66% were not aware that they are entitled to significant tax savings when they trade in a vehicle and purchase another vehicle from the same dealer. MintList now provides this benefit to consumers that sell their existing vehicle on MintList and choose to use the funds to purchase another vehicle within seven days from any dealer on the platform.
“It’s an industry game-changer when sellers no longer have to visit car dealerships and invest hours or days trying to get the best price for their trade-in, only to receive a disappointing offer,” noted Mehrsa Raeiszadeh, COO at MintList. “Plus, those looking to buy a vehicle no longer need to visit dealer lots or arrange with private sellers for viewings and test drives.”
The MintList automotive marketplace is currently available to consumers in British Columbia, with plans underway to expand into other provinces.
MintList recently won a Stevie Award for Tech Startup of the Year in the Software category, marking the first Canadian company to win this award, now in its 19th annual edition. The BC startup, cofounded in 2020 by Wood and Raeiszadeh, secured seed capital earlier this year and counts investors such as Vancouver-based Little Green Bamboo among its backers.
Also out of Vancouver is Canada Drives, a marketplace which buys and sells used motor vehicles through its own inventory. The company recently raised a big round.
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