TrueCar CEO Scott Painter Will Step Down
TrueCar CEO Scott Painter will leave the company at the end of this year, Automotive News is reporting.
Painter announced he was leaving the company after TrueCar announced it had lost $14.7 million in the second quarter on $65.3 million revenue.
“After a decade of building TrueCar from an idea into a public company, I have come to the conclusion reached by many founders and entrepreneurs in my position: It is time for a change.” Painter said in a statement according to Automotive News.
Painter will remain on the company’s board of directors.
It’s been a tough year for Painter and TrueCar.
In July, AutoNation announced it would sever ties with the online auto-buying tool. Representatives from AutoNation said TrueCar wanted sales data from all its car sales — not just the ones directly attributable to TrueCar. TrueCar representatives said the company asked AutoNation for fees that it was charging other dealerships for its service.
Also, a lawsuit brought by 100 dealers this month alleged that TrueCar engaged in deceptive business practices by not disclosing that it was charging dealers $299 to $399 for each car sold, a cost that would presumably be passed along to customers.
A replacement for Painter has not yet been announced.
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stopped trusting truecar when they switched to working for dealers.
THis guy looks like one of those fast talking used car salesmen I see all the time. Wonder if he wears double knits and white patent leather shoes??
"alleged that TrueCar engaged in deceptive business practices by not disclosing that it was charging dealers" I mean, OK, I get that this is deceptive. But on the other hand, who the hell went to TrueCar and didn't wonder by what means this service was made possible? Did people think TrueCar was doing this out of the goodness of their hearts?
I think for many people TrueCar still creates real value by saving them from “salesmen” at dealerships or from rolling over and accepting dealer’s no-haggle internet-only prices. There’s peace of mind in knowing that you’re getting to within $300 of as good of a deal as can be expected, rather than unwittingly raped. The savvy can probably spot slightly better deals and even pocket that $300, but I can't think of anyone else who is as well known to the public and serves more people than Truecar (maybe Costco?). TrueCar has probably done a lot towards keeping dealer's more competitive.