With revenue growth of almost 160 per cent in the last 12 months, Fixed Price Car Service is the largest, and one of the fastest growing, automotive comparison websites in Australia with its sights firmly set on disrupting the $16 billion national automotive maintenance and repairs sector.
With 60,000 Australian users calculating quotes for over $7.5 million in services per month, and close to 8 per cent of Australian aftermarket mechanics signed up, the company is well on its way to becoming the next big player in the industry.
In October 2016, Fixed Price Car Service recorded its highest sales activity, doubling the number of confirmed bookings compared to the same time last year.
The website has attracted 850,000 visits in the last 12 months, and helped more than 1.8 million Australians generate a car service quote over the past two years.
Founder and CEO Eden Shirley said with 16.8 million road vehicles registered nationally* there’s an increasing demand for digital marketplaces to support the consumer in sourcing affordable, quality servicing.
“Australia has one of the most diverse vehicle markets in the world with over 54 brands and an estimated 25,000 vehicle variants on our roads today,” Mr Shirley said.
“The majority of consumers have no idea what’s involved when servicing their car, or how much it should cost, and with little or no means of shopping around, it’s easy to feel like you’re being taken for a ride.
“Our mission is to empower motorists to book automotive services online with confidence.”
Mr Shirley attributes the company’s rapid success to its use of leading technology and its customer-centric model, becoming the most trusted and convenient site for vehicle owners and mechanics in Australia.
Fixed Price Car Service boasts a proprietary Application Programming Interface (API) integrated with over one million factory service and repairs time data points, which formulates the service and repair costs of approximately 97 percent of vehicles on Australian roads.
With the backing of cornerstone investor, Super Retail Group, the company is undergoing an extensive diversification to include hundreds of mechanical repairs such as timing belts, brakes, engine faults and a comprehensive range of vehicle inspections.
What will set Fixed Price apart is the development of a hybrid e-commerce/tendering model utilising real-time quoting when data is available, and adopting a job-bidding model (similar to HiPages), when there is a need to tender out the request for the consumer.
The past 15 months has seen unprecedented investment in Australian digital marketplaces, most noteworthy being the sale of Menulog for an eye-watering $855 million in June 2015, and News Ltd investing $40 million into HiPages.com.au in January this year.
“They’re fast becoming the go-to platform for research and booking, saving consumers time and money,” Mr Shirley said.
“Comparison websites offer fast, easy-to-use technology so consumers can research and book quickly whether at work, in the living room or on the run. It gives control back to the consumer helping them to navigate the process.
“We’re just scratching the surface of our potential. There is so much going on behind the scenes as we look to improve our operations, technology and customer service offering continuously. It’s such an exciting time.”
For more information on Fixed Price Car Service visit www.fixedpricecarservice.com.au
*Data as at 31 January 2016
