AiM Surpasses 35 Million Inspections
Fueled in part by the growing amount of vehicle remarketing done on the Web, Alliance Inspection Management recently passed a historic milestone — exceeding 35 million inspections.
The company that provides detailed vehicle condition reports for manufacturers, dealers, captive finance companies, auctions, transportation companies and consumers, highlighted the 35 million inspections were conducted during the past six years. That’s when the seasonally adjusted annual rate for new-vehicle sales fell to 10.6 million new units sold in 2009 and the used-vehicle market increased to above 35 million transactions.
AiM, which lists Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Nissan and Avis Budget Group among its clients, intends to verify the condition of new and used, off-lease and fleet vehicles at assembly plants, rail yards, ports, auction sites and dealerships throughout the country.
Last year, AiM began to provide consumers with vehicle inspections.
Officials insisted each new- or used-vehicle inspected by AiM goes through a thorough, bumper-to-bumper evaluation before being delivered to a dealership through the supply chain via ship, train or a vehicle hauler and for consumers and dealers in the final stages of the sales transaction.
AiM employs a network of 500 full-time inspectors, who are instructed to provide independent, third-party condition reports on vehicles, inspecting body panels, interiors, tires and more.
For every vehicle inspected, AiM provides a comprehensive, electronic condition report — what it calls a “virtual vehicle” — with information and photos that can allow potential buyers to review and analyze the unit prior to purchase.
“It’s important to understand what dealers want and need from an online purchase,” stated Jim Yates, AiM’s chief executive officer.
“Dealers want a concise description of a vehicle that accurately reflects any damage it may have, and our condition reports provide that in words and pictures,” Yates added.
AiM’s vehicle condition reports are designed to help buyers make quicker decisions via online marketplaces and aid sellers by providing transparency to the condition of the vehicle, reducing transportation costs and helping companies make better decisions further upstream when deciding when and where to remarket their inventory.
“AiM’s online condition reports help us sell vehicles in a more efficient manner,” noted Greg Thibault, vice president of fleet disposal for Avis Budget Group, an AiM client which remarkets thousands of vehicles annually.
“AiM’s team of quality inspectors is professional and thorough. We are very confident with their capabilities,” Thibault went on to say.
AiM also contends inspections can save the industry money by reporting damage to new vehicles that could occur between the factory and the showroom. The company noted in-transit losses and damages to new vehicles have dropped by more than half — from $38 million to $15 million — since 2005.
“Inspections are a major part of reducing in-transit damage and reducing expenses that would be passed on to dealers and ultimately to the consumer,” Yates concluded.