Mr. Hung Anh, who works at Military Bank, wanted to sell his car, a Ford Everest, but found it wasn’t so easy. He posted an ad on Facebook, Instagram, and some automobile websites and forums, but no luck. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Hoang, a police office in Hanoi, was looking at a used Toyota in a showroom in Long Bien district but it was difficult to judge the state of the vehicle, so he engaged a couple of engineers to test it.

These are just some of the problems customers face when buying or selling second-hand vehicles, but startup Caramo can solve all such troubles. 

Caramo is the first startup focused on buying and selling used vehicles in Vietnam and was established by CEO Cong Tran in January, after a year of preparations.

In its two months of operations, it has had 65 requests for help, signed nine contracts, and finalized two sales. For each successful transaction it receives a 6 per cent commission from the seller.

From car lover to Caramo boss

Mr. Cong Tran said his idea came to him when he was taking part in a discussion about second-hand motor cars and how to know what you’re looking at. 

“Information technology is applied to many things in life, like Uber and Grab in transport,” he said. “So we decided to establish Caramo, to meet customer needs in the sale or purchase of used cars.” 

Despite various challenges in changing customer habits about buying used cars, he still believes the market has great potential.

“Redefining the market for used car sales in Vietnam by applying technology” is the slogan Caramo has adopted. 

After researching the market in Vietnam for a year, Mr. Cong Tran found development opportunities for Caramo and other companies given the large and growing demand. 

Outperforming other car trading forums, Caramo’s app assists customers in all steps, starting from receiving enquiries, then quality valuations and assistance in completing the necessary procedures for the handover of the car. 

During the entire process, Caramo’s staff help both sellers and buyers in reaching best outcome. 

The car valuation process has always been a difficult thing for all concerned, but Caramo has a specialized team taking care of it.

It raised capital from angel investor Jonah Levey, who said he decided to invest because he understood the online marketplace and sees potential. 

Moreover, he also saw that Caramo’s staff were capable of implementing the online platform. 

Outstanding advantages

The reason Caramo believes in its growth potential is because it possesses outstanding features no other used car app in Vietnam has. 

Mr. Cong Tran said that all cars must pass an assessment procedure before being introduced to customers. 

This helps buyers feel totally secure about the origin and quality of the car they’re looking at. 

Additionally, within ten days of the sale, if the car proves to perform differently to what’s been stated, Caramo will take it back and provide a 100 per cent refund to the buyer.

He’s also optimistic about his Magical Pricing Algorithm, which is an international-standard valuation technology that provides an exact value for buyers and sellers. 

And as many customers in the used car market can’t pay in full, Caramo has also linked up with more than 50 banks that will provide loans with reasonable interest rates.

Despite its special features, various challenges still face Caramo. It’s only been around for a couple of months so problems are to be expected. 

The greatest challenge, according to Mr. Cong Tran, is managing staff, because while the Caramo team has been doing well they have a host of duties to fulfil, relating to technology, valuation, sales, marketing, operations, and customer service. 

With passion, though, Mr. Cong Tran believes that “the values that Caramo bring are exactly what car dealers and purchasers really need: assurance, transparency, convenience, and quality services.” 

Moving ahead

As for development plans in the future, Mr. Cong Tran said that “we want to develop sustainably and expand Caramo’s scale, so everything must be prepared carefully in the early stages.” 

Most important of all is building a professional team, training staff in dealing with all customer problems, and serving various customer segments. 

Another key issue is developing management systems as well as core technologies, increasing productivity, operations, and customer services. 

All of these matters have to be straightened out as soon as possible.

Spreading the Caramo brand also requires attention. Mr. Cong Tran hopes that when customers think about buying a used car, they will think about Caramo. 

He also plans to develop a service where Caramo will buy used cars that have been advertised on its website for more than a month with no buyers.

VN Economic Times