IF only a car could sing! Lin Zhe, 41, said he cannot imagine a better way of depicting the joy of a consumer who sells a used car through a trustworthy dealer at a reasonable price.

Lin's Carsing wireless auction platform, founded in 2009, has certainly struck a chord with people wanting to sell their cars. The company, based in an office on Wuzhong Road in Shanghai, is believed to be the first of its kind in China, linking car sellers and used-car dealers directly.

Carsing is designed to take some of the sting of finding a buyer in a used-car market overflowing with independent brokers, car dealerships and specialty shops.

It's a formidable array of possibilities for a used-car seller, who has to make the rounds to find the best deal. According to Lin, only one in 10 inquiries leads to a sale, which means that sellers can waste a lot of time, money and shoe leather as their cars depreciate in the meantime.

"It largely undermines the consumer's initiative to sell and leaves the used-car market in a supply crunch," Lin said. "The best way to rekindle consumer interest is to help them fetch better prices in a cost-effective way."

To spare consumers the trouble of undergoing repeated valuations by different dealers, Carsing offers an independent report on a car's condition, based on a 30-minute appraisal conducted on a consumer's doorstep.

Fifty of the 170 employees at Carsing have been trained to provide that service, which is free and covers almost all areas of Shanghai.

The valuation covers a checklist of 76 items and is available for reference on the online bidding platform. Six closed auctions are arranged by Carsing every day during the workweek, while five are held each day on the weekends. Each lasts 30 minutes.

Nearing a milestone

Dealers "attend" the auction via a tailor-made PDA, a palm-top wireless communications device used to post bids. If the highest one is accepted by the consumer within three days, Carsing handles the offline transaction and charges dealers commissions.

With the average price of a used car going for about 70,000 yuan (US$10,955) - or 80,000 yuan with a license plate - Carsing reported transactions valued at a record 60 million yuan in August and said it expects to reach the milestone of 1,000 deals a month in the near future.

"The market has not reached its full potential," Lin said. "The ratio of used cars to new ones in China is only one to four, compared with the 2-to-1 in the auto markets of more developed countries."

China has grown into the world's largest car market, driven by government subsidies and incentives aimed at promoting the nation's auto industry. There are now about 72 million private cars in the country, accounting for 73 percent of vehicles on the road. Growth in car ownership has slowed after explosive gains since 2003, as governments withdraw incentives for new-car buyers to try to stanch choking smog and traffic in big cities.

As new car prices rise and more people seek to own vehicles, the used-car market has blossomed. It has been helped by economic growth in smaller cities outside the eastern coastal belt, where lower incomes haven't dented the desire to own a car. The environment is perfect for Carsing, Lin said, though the company still faces the challenge of getting more users to its platform.

Lin once drew on his background in the information technology industry to build an online bulletin board to boost the information exchange between buyers and sellers, only to hit a brick wall when used-car dealers shunned the idea of paying for advertisements.

"Dealers may have a big say in the pricing, but they still need to look for tangible deal opportunities on a large scale because market research shows potential sellers are scattered around," Lin said.

Back in September 2009, six months after its opening, Carsing had already become the top used car broker in Shanghai after closing 200 plus deals within a month. Lin credits good technical and training support for its success.

Pilot program

He devoted half a year to developing the tailor-made PDA for dealers, allowing them to bid anywhere, anytime. The interface and features are designed to be simple and user-friendly.

After internal testing, he launched a pilot program, which eventually developed into a weekly workshop pitching his business model to dealers and teaching them to use the free gadgets provided by the company.

More than 700 dealers attended the workshop before Carsing was officially launched. That number is now edging towards 2,000, with around 1,500 now stationed on the platform as regular bidders.

With its network now covering almost the entire dealer community in Shanghai, Carsing is now extending its reach to Nanjing, capital city of neighboring Jiangsu Province, which is one of the biggest buyers of used cars from Shanghai.

"A smart broker always follows the market's pulse," Lin said. "The chain of used-car dealerships in China extends from the city to the countryside, covering highly segmented markets in terms of locations and needs."

The business opportunities far surpass Carsing's capability to handle. Lin said he is not afraid of competition. Indeed, he said he's quite willing to assist others in adopting Carsing's business model. A nationwide network would benefit everyone, he said.

Carsing is providing technological support and services training to a state-owned company that is following its steps and may become the country's second major wireless used car auction.

"Creating a replica website or device might be easy, but to nail down similar success requires a lot of work," Lin said. "It's all in the details."

Consumers have a big say at Carsing. They can protest the independent valuation done on their cars and have it reassessed before a vehicle goes to auction. Cars that have been in accidents are sold in special auctions and undergo different independent appraisals.

Consumers can normally choose the time slot for the auction of their cars.

All final transactions take place in Carsing's office, where the car ownership is transferred after money and necessary paperwork have changed hands. Dealers are required to post a deposit of 300 yuan in case the deal falls through for any reason.

"These ideas are simple, but they all require a down-to-earth attitude," Lin said. "It's hard work to build up a company brand and it is even harder work to maintain it."

Venture capital funds are keeping a close eye on Carsing's success. Some have expressed interest in investing in the company. But Lin is cautious. He said he doesn't want outsiders interfering with the company's business strategy or operations.

"Currently, Carsing is more than happy to stay true to itself," he said. "It always has and always will."

In other words, Carsing won't be changing its tune.