Interview with the CEO of Car Donation Wizard

Last week, Car Talk talked with Joe Hearn, the CEO of Advanced Remarketing Services, the company that handles the sale of each donated vehicle that comes in through our vehicle donation program. Joe pointed out that not everything in the vehicle donation world is as it seems: Some companies that handle donations also run used-vehicle auctions, and may not have the donor’s or charity’s interest first in every case.

Joe: Well, after working for these other companies, I wanted to make sure our sales were focused on the charity, not on making the most for the company handling the processing. So, I think of us as being totally oriented toward the donor, not the transaction. It’s a different mindset.

Because we’re not owned by an auction company, we’re totally liberated to take full advantage of every resale opportunity. We sell through over 500 different auctions nationally and about 1,500 direct buyers—these are dealers and dismantlers. In most markets we can get competing bids for our cars – not just a price from one auction house. That’s really important when it comes to getting the most for each vehicle.

Auctions take place anywhere from twice a week to twice a month, depending on the location, our direct sales take place all day, every day.

When a high-value car comes in, we’ll sometimes sell it directly on eBay or through another channel. Because we can’t be at every location at every moment, we use a variety of vehicle inspection services. They’ll check out the car, and take photos for us, as a first step.

All of these advantages make a big difference. In some markets, we are getting 15 percent to 20 percent more for vehicles than the larger “captured” auction houses.