Comparison market consolidates following the Demise of Dipstix

Soaring costs are forcing comparison start-ups to close but demand for convenience and quality continues

Comparison market consolidates following the Demise of Dipstix

Britain’s 32 million motorists are looking for smarter ways to maintain their vehicles, industry experts say.

The rise of the traditional comparison website has seen more and more consumers turn to the internet in search of everything from pet insurance to holidays, and more recently, car servicing and repairs.

However, with more people turning to Google to find a local garage, comparison websites can no longer rely on pay per click (PPC) campaigns to drive traffic.

Lucy Burnford, co-founder of AA Garage Guide said that soaring costs have made PPC cost prohibitive for most start-ups.

Speaking to GW, she explained: “It could cost up to £40 to get a customer via Google to book a £30 MOT of which the aggregator might charge the garage a £10 fee for – it doesn’t add up.”

Demise of Dipstix

It’s likely to be a factor in the recent demise of Dipstix, who reportedly told shareholders that the market had proven too expensive to acquire when compared to its revenue per customer.

Alistair Preston, co-founder of WhoCanFixMyCar.com, said: “The consumer today expects instant evaluation or aggregation with way more transparency than he or she was ever used to ten or twenty years ago.

“The key thing for us in terms of how we’ve managed to get so far with the business is the interaction with the garages because without them we wouldn’t have a business at all.”

The number of users on WhoCanFixMyCar.com has increased sixfold in the past 12 months, and the website expects around 15,000 drivers to use the site this month alone.

Trust over price

Findings from an AA Populus survey suggests that 88 per cent of motorists think that trust and reliability are more important than price when choosing a garage for a service or MOT.

Lucy Burnford, said: “We want to say to our members, ‘look you need some work doing on your car, here’s a list of the best garages in your area that employ professionally, accredited and trained technicians and the business is a member of the regulatory scheme that we recognise.’

“You get what you pay for, it might be one per cent more expensive to take your car to somewhere where technicians are professionally trained – it could be cheaper – but you shouldn’t be looking for the cheapest price, you need to look at all of these other more important factors.”

‘Level playing field’

Websites such as WCFMC and the AA garage guide are an attractive marketing tool for independents.

Alistair said: “You’ve got individual businesses that can now go head to head with bigger established businesses.

“I like to be able to tell a garage that if he so chooses he could build an entire business through us because the economics are very appealing.”

For £79.99 a year, WCFMC members are sent local job alerts by email and text, allowing them to quote for the work online or by phone, and pay a small commission (around £10) when the car comes in.

The AA Garage Guide is open to anyone, provided they meet a strict criteria.

Lucy said: “We want to have that whole of market approach because that’s what consumers want and it allows independents to show they do have trained professionals, they do have high standards and they do use OE or OE-equivalent parts.”

“We’ve got 4M customers that are members and it’s an expectation more than anything that we help our members find a garage for them.”

Do you use a comparison website to gain extra custom? Were you listed on Dipstix? Leave your comments below.

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