Who Benefits from an Online Vehicle Inspection?

– Vitaliy, what is an online inspection, and who needs it?

– It is an innovative service for Uber, Lyft drivers, and car rental companies.

– To get a job in a taxi, you need to pass a complete vehicle inspection, and if you already provide such services, you must confirm annually that your car is technically safe for passenger transport. The second part of our service is technical inspections for cars rented out, for example, on car-sharing platforms. Vehicle inspections must also be conducted both when first renting out a car and annually thereafter. In other words, you cannot drive/work if the vehicle has not passed the mandatory inspection.

Previously, Uber had hubs where you could go and get this done for free. Then, due to optimization, which I assume started during Covid, Uber closed half of the sites. As a result, the alternative for people was to go to a car service center. Besides the fact that this service costs about $40, depending on the day of the week, you need to spend from three hours to half a day. Against this background, the idea came up to simplify this process somehow—it could be done online. The car does not need to be lifted on a lift, have its exhaust checked, etc.

– So, your service is entirely online?

– Yes, we accept materials online, but we do not allow uploading videos from memory to limit those who might try to provide old photos when the car was in better condition. A visual inspection allows us to conclude that your car has working seat belts, that the seats in the cabin move back and forth as needed, the doors open and close, there are no physical damages, and the headlights, turn signals, and wipers work.

– What devices are needed to visualize the vehicle?

– You only need a phone with a camera; you can do this near your home. We need six photos from specific angles and three short videos. The entire process takes a maximum of 10-15 minutes. This allows us to conclude the condition of the vehicle. After analyzing the photos and videos, if our mechanic sees that the car meets technical safety standards, we issue a certificate that is licensed and accepted by the services.

In other words, a smartphone with a camera and internet access is all you need to get a certificate without an appointment, at any time, and in a convenient location.

– If I rent a car and want to do a more in-depth analysis, can I contact you?– An in-depth analysis for rental or, for example, a pre-sale technical diagnosis is technically challenging to do remotely; the inspection must be offline. Our mechanics do travel and perform such inspections, but that is a different process.

– Do you only operate in California?

– We are licensed to work in 44 states across America. There are six states that are “conditionally wavering.” For example, Illinois, because part of the state requires a state inspection, while our license is acceptable in another part. In some states, only state companies can provide this service.

– From which states do you have clients?

– Most of them are from California. I am personally involved in the car rental business, and it seems that through word of mouth, good news spread in the Russian-Ukrainian-speaking community—70% of our clients, as well as many people who came to America from Central Asia. Although yesterday we had clients from Chicago and Idaho.

Our website is in four languages—English, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese, and that is currently enough to provide services.

– How long have you been on the market?

– We received our license almost a year ago, and the first clients came in January. We have been actively growing for four months.

– Do you have many competitors?

– We have competitors online. But we have an advantage over them in that they work through Zoom with live video, which takes 20-25 minutes, requires a different technique, and needs an appointment for an available mechanic. The process can also be complicated by poor connection quality, for example, if the image is “pixelated.” Moreover, it is more expensive than ours. This is understandable since one of our mechanics can perform hundreds of inspections, while their process requires a person on the other end of the line analyzing what the driver records in real-time. The hourly wage of such a person in California is not cheap. With us, the client uploads photos and videos at a convenient time and is not tied to an available mechanic.

– Let’s talk about the price.

– Our price is fixed. It’s $24 for one certificate for one company. Or, if a person is applying to both Uber and Lyft, we give a discount—$39 for both companies. Two certificates for one car, as the companies require slightly different information.

– How long does it take to get the result?

– We commit to doing this within 4 hours, depending on the mechanic’s workload. But in 99% of cases, we provide service within half an hour from the time the video is uploaded to receiving the certificate, which the client prints out or uploads depending on the company’s requirements. You receive fully legal certificates issued by a licensed company.

– Do all vehicles pass the certification?

– Of course not. Some people think that because the service is online, we don’t care about the car’s condition. The California Bureau of Automotive Repair requires a license for a reason; this is our responsibility. But we offer a free re-inspection. If your car did not pass the inspection, but you followed our mechanic’s advice and fixed everything, you can get the certificate without additional payment. But if, for example, a driver thinks it’s okay to carry a client with a broken headlight and doesn’t want to fix it, or doesn’t see the need to replace a windshield with a crack over 1.5 mm, they will not get the certificate.

– If I still have questions, can I call and discuss them?

– Our support works 24/7, you can call and ask any questions regarding the vehicle inspection or write an email. All information is available on our website.

– Are there any promotions that help save more, besides the two certificates at a lower price?

– Anyone who passes the vehicle inspection receives a 20% discount on the second inspection. If you “bring a friend”, both of you get a $5 discount.