CarFirst – instant and unique

It’s always a risky bet to enter a market with a well-established name, unless you come with an edge. CarFirst, an online platform has come up with a unique selling proposition; a quick process starting from inspection to selling used cars in just under an hour. The business model is such that instead of buying and selling used cars to general public, CarFirst buys from general sellers and has created a wing of strategic partners who buy these sold cars.

The online platform aims to provide car sellers a safe and hassle-free process to get their cars inspected and sold at a fair price within an hour, including the processing time for payment. All this is done through an internally generated algorithm and market intelligence, besides a professionally trained team that guides potential sellers on the current market value of their car and make an offer to buy accordingly. Its online system is backed by a nationwide network of inspection centres. Also, the seller gets a free valuation when he enters the details of his vehicle on the online platform.

CarFirst’s online auction platform for used cars also offers its App, which provides its strategic partners and network of buyers a quick way to find the car of their need, saving them the inconvenience of worrying about any mechanical and inspection-related issues.

Launched in late 2016, CarFirst is held by the Frontier Car Group (Delaware LLC) with over 90 employees. It currently operates in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. CarFirst recently opened its first flagship inspection centre at PSO Cavalry Ground, Lahore. Though the investment amount has not been made public, CarFirst has just raised its first significant round of financing.

The funds have come from the parent company that builds and runs marketplaces focused on emerging markets in the auto sector, and will be used for improving CarFirst’s online buying and selling platform. The founder/ CEO, Raja Murad highlights that the series A funding – one of the largest in the country – will help the platform invest in technology and infrastructure creation to reinvent how the used car is traded in Pakistan.