What if you could buy the exact vehicle you wanted, by model, color and trim? No traveling dealer-to-dealer, or haggling on pricing. Simply push a button or two, make an offer, and see if it is accepted. And all of this can be done in the privacy of your own home. This is what Skoots is all about. It offers a unique web-based service for both auto dealers and their customers — based on the Microsoft®.NET Framework and other technologies, including Silverlight™.

Founded in 2005 by automotive and IT industry veterans, Skoots provides unique patent pending, web-based solutions for automotive dealers via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering. Using the Skoots hosted LIVEoffer automated platform, consumers can find the new or used vehicle they want, eNegotiate with a dealer in real time, and lock in a deal without having to ever leave their home or office. According to Ken Lees, President of Skoots, “With our solution, the only time you step into the showroom is when you go to pick up your car. And customers have told us that it takes them less than an hour to sign the papers and get the keys.”

Clearly, Skoots is capitalizing on a growing industry trend. According to a JD Powers & Associates and Jupiter Research, 90 percent of all car buyers first turn to the Internet for features and pricing before buying a car. Yet 56 percent of all automotive shoppers want price negotiations completed online before setting foot in the dealership, according to the same research.

Explains Glen Gulyas, Skoots CEO and a longtime user of Microsoft technology, “Until recently, the only solution auto dealers could offer a consumer was a ‘request a quote’ service — real-time 24-by-7 negotiation-based interaction was not an option. We set out to change that.”

Skoots LIVEoffer provides dealers with the tools they need to electronically publish actionable and transactional inventory anywhere on the Web so they can engage with consumers searching for automotive solutions. LIVEoffer, built on the Microsoft .NET Framework, is a business-to-consumer Web Services Platform that leverages patent-pending user aggregated database management tools and automated virtual storefronts that allow customers to eNegotiate dealer direct new and used car prices online in real time. Through the Accelerator product, the Skoots’ enterprise platform also provides for the creation of online advertising and the monitoring of keyword and targeted search terms so dealers can control these costs. 

According to Lees, “Our solutions provide the foundation for dealers to offer a richer, more compelling user experience on the web — whether a consumer is researching a car or ready to purchase one.”

And unlike paying a third party or major auto site such as cars.com or autotrader.com to generate semi-qualified leads, automotive dealers using Skoots’ solution achieve more effective search results through actionable interactive media that is created and managed by them. This saves time and money.

Adds Gulyas, “Skoots Accelerator is an interactive media solution that combines Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing software tools and features. With this, dealers can quickly create a Web campaign based on the inventory the dealer has available. They can indicate a set of VINs, purchase ad words that are highly localized to the dealer (by zip code, city name, etc.), and set the minimum offer or ‘buy now’ pricing.”

Prospective buyers searching for an auto can use a local dealer using the Skoots solution, and use it to make an offer with LIVEoffer and eNegotiate — all while remaining anonymous until the offer is at or above the dealer’s minimum price. Once the offer is accepted, buyers use a credit card to lock in the price for $150 fee, similar to renting a car. The buyer then receives a written Dealer Guarantee and arranges with the dealer for delivery of the vehicle.

The Skoot’s solution is built entirely on Microsoft technology including Windows® Enterprise Server 2003, SQL Server® 2005, Internet Information Server 6.0 and above, and Web Services.

Explains Lees, “We’re now in beta with a Silverlight™ solution that we hope to have available within the next 60 days. It will emphasize Silverlight and Silverlight Live Streaming Service for rich content on advertising campaigns to thousands of dealers supporting early adoption of this new technology. And down the line, we’re looking at using Microsoft Dynamics™, and delivering a comprehensive customer relationship management solution for dealers. “

With MSN CarPoint generating millions in auto sales each month, and eBay Motors selling a car every 60 seconds, according to Skoots’ corporate research, the company knows that cars are selling on the Internet. And its solution is catching on. It already has more than 224 dealerships using its SaaS solution. Says Gulyas, “Because the web services and enterprise platforms are hosted by Skoots, additional expenditures on IT equipment by dealers is not required to take advantage of the solution.”

In February 2008, Skoots was named ‘one of the top 10 cool technologies’ at the National Auto Dealers Association in San Francisco. The company was also named one of the first U.S. participants in the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program, aimed at helping high potential software startups around the globe. According to Skoots, the relationship with Microsoft has provided the company with access to the latest technology to enhance and expand its offering. Through Silverlight technology and Visual Studio® 2008, Skoots plans to deliver a rich online shopping experience — one that incorporates video, animation, interactivity, and stunning user interfaces.

Download Skoots' success story in PDF format.