Scott,
We hope you are well in spite of all of the chaos. TrueCar faces a tough challenge and we are working diligently to address the situation. We recommend the company adjusts the position dealers have in our ecosystem. The dealers, as TrueCars ultimate customer, should be limited in their ability to look at eachothers prices and slightly changing the platform to create healthy competition. Mending our relationship with the dealers is imperative to our survival in the long term, but the process will take time. In the near term, we suggest adding on new revenue streams. Bolstering our used car sale business to generate additional revenue and reaching more customers in addition to dealerships will provide TrueCar with a competitive advantage
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Currently, most consumers list their cars for sale on Craigslist, which offers no additional value to the customer beyond the ability to post an ad. We are poised to offer them an extremely accurate price, a list of dealers who are willing to purchase that car for that price, and possibly as a way to list the car. We will need to look into any regulatory issues that may arise and ensure our new platform complies. Today, our product mix is beginning to shift towards used car sales, which we earn $399 per transaction. Given our shrinking revenue growth and high cash burn, this incremental revenue will provide additional liquidity while we implement our long-term dealer strategy. Through analysis of our web traffic, we have estimated most site visitors are ~6 months away from purchasing a new car. The delay stems from the fact the customer needs to sell their current car before making a new car purchase. Our used car platform would be synergistic to our new car platform. Two times as many used cars are transacted in the US as new cars. If those customers use TrueCar as their method to check the value of and sell their car, they will be increasingly more likely to use TrueCar to purchase their next vehicle. By bolstering this platform, we will reach a wider audience and grow the overall TrueCar user base. This strategy will also begin to transform TrueCar into the holistic car company you