Melbourne-based tech start-up Carbar is offering a new way of selling your car – by dropping it off at a servo.
The servo in question is the Caltex South Yarra on Punt Road, which claims to be running an Australia-first trial.
According to the company, all prospective sellers have to do is register their details online, then drop off their car. They’ll also get a $200 StarCash voucher that they can use to buy fuel, as well as a whole array of convenience items at Caltex stores.
‘A painful process’
“It’s 2018, and selling your car is still a painful process,” Carbar CEO Des Hang said. “More often than not you have to drive around from dealership to dealership hunting the best deal. That’s if they buy it at all.
“With this service, you simply register your car’s details online, hand in the keys, and you get paid.
“It’s an extension of our original car sales service, where we would come to your place of residence and inspect the car there.
“However, we found that most people wanted to hand over their car in their own time, often after business hours. So we’re trialling this offering as an added convenience to our customers.”
Taking convenience further
For its part, Caltex says the trial adds to the services it can offer customers through its P&C retail network.
“The concept of a traditional service station is changing,” Caltex General Manager, Convenience Development, Helen Moore, said.
“It’s no longer just about being able to refuel, but providing the convenience of fresh food, high-quality barista-made coffee, as well as services such as parcel pick-up. The convenience of selling your vehicle is another example of the potential for reinventing the traditional service station forecourt.”
How it works
- Register your car’s details at Carbar.com.au
- Receive a quote from Carbar “based on industry rates”
- Confirm the price with Carbar
- Drop your car off at Caltex South Yarra
- Have the car inspected
- Hand in the keys – and get immediate payment for your car.
As part of the trial, Caltex’s South Yarra site will also become a hub for swapping cars after business hours with Carbar’s car subscription service, which it introduced to Australia earlier this year.
