Cars.com and RepairPal, an Online Maintenance Site, Form New Partnership, Plan to Merge Expertise

Feb 19, 2013 11:57 AM EST | Staff Reporter

Online car shopping site Cars.com has formed a new partnership with auto repair and maintenance site RepairPal, a report from Wards Auto stated. The deal will bring a greater presence by the auto repair service on one of the Internet's largest operations for new and used car information.

In the report, Cars.com CEP Mitch Golub said the people who typically rely on his site when shopping for new or used cars return to the site every two or three years.

"By developing our partnership with RepairPal, we can extend that relationship on a regular basis. There has to be something that serves customers and dealers, but this is a natural extension of what we do at Cars.com, which is offer consumers trust, transparency and advice," Golub said to Wards Auto.

People visit RepairPal for price estimates on auto service work, advice from certified mechanics and for directories of high-quality auto facilities, said RepairPal CEO Art Shaw, according to Wards Auto.

The new deal will have RepairPal's expertise and information readily available to users at Cars.com.

"People own cars an average of 11 years, and a typical warranty is three to five years," Shaw said in the article. "Most people are out of warranty for most of their car ownership. It's critical they have access to high-quality independent information about repairs, maintenance advice and associated costs."

The two CEOs seem to agree that their products are of equally high quality and that their partnership will not only benefit their companies but their customers as well.

"When it comes to maintaining a vehicle, there is a lot of confusion among consumers," Golub said. "We see an opportunity to transform the repair category and provide vehicle owners with the same credible advice they have come to depend on us for when it comes time to service or repair their car.".

Golub said one big misconception about automotive maintenance is that dealer's prices are too high for repair work. 

"They're not, and Art's site has proven that," he said. "Franchised dealers operate the best shops in what is an $8 billion marketplace."

RepairPal has been a content partner with Cars.com since 2009, but the site will soon play a greater role and have a larger presence on Cars.com, though specific details on the more robust partnership are still in the works, the report stated. 

"We're still working on that side of the business," Golub said. "We have a large, dedicated team at Cars.com working with a large, dedicated team at RepairPal to figure out how one plus one can equal three."  

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