Safety recalls are a pain point shared by auto dealers around the country. Ryan Maher knows that firsthand—he and his relatives have dealt with recalls for years at their third-generation family business, St. Charles Automotive.
When a car manufacturer initiates a federally-mandated safety recall, dealerships are incentivized to do the repairs. They’re reimbursed for the work, and no costs are passed on to drivers. The real challenge? Reaching vehicle owners and convincing them to take time to schedule an appointment. Traditionally, recall notifications show up as letters in the mail—often ignored or forgotten.
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“People put their mail on the counter and nothing happens with it,” Maher says. “Then these cars are being driven around and they’re unsafe. As a result, car companies, which are required to fix these problems for free, are banging their heads against the wall saying, ‘How can we do this better?’”
Maher believes he found the answer: His St. Louis-based startup BizzyCar. It’s an automated platform designed to help auto dealers connect with drivers more easily and seamlessly. When a recall is issued, a text message is sent to vehicle owners on behalf of the dealership, not only informing them of the recall but getting them scheduled for the repair.
“You don’t have to click any buttons and you don’t have to call anybody,” Maher says. “I have even integrated valet [service], and pickup and delivery. We’ve tried to make this easy and convenient to get your recall repair.”
With more than $30 million in venture capital, Maher has grown BizzyCar to include more than 100 employees—10 of them based in the St. Louis region. “We’re looking to triple [the number of local workers] this year,” Maher says.
There’s reason to believe that will happen. BizzyCar currently works with 19 global manufacturers—a point of pride for Maher, who remembers the skepticism he encountered as he formulated the idea for the company.
“The first time I told somebody that I was going to integrate our platform with Toyota, or GM, or Ford, they laughed at me, like, ‘There’s no way your tiny startup from St. Louis is going to get global car companies to share data with you,’” he says. “Now we have every major domestic, Japanese, Korean, and German manufacturer. There are still one or two out there that we don’t work with, but we do work with 90-plus percent of the major manufacturers.
Why It Matters: Maher estimates there are 70 million cars in the United States on the road today with an open safety recall. “The scale of the problem is enormous,” he says. There are penalties for vehicle manufacturers who fail to get their recalls repaired—and those fines can reach nine figures. “Dealerships get paid to do this work from the manufacturer,” Maher says. “Not only is it free for you, the customer, but it’s also free for the dealer. There’s a really good business proposition all around.”
What’s Next: Building on the recall automation platform, BizzyCar now offers a mobile service feature. “Now, a technician can come to your house, and not only can they fix the recall, they can change your oil, rotate your tires, and do other maintenance,” Maher says. “We can do about 71 percent of all vehicle maintenance in your driveway. Customers love it. You know what they don’t love? Sitting at the dealership and having to give up a day of their time.”
