Company aims to help in clean vehicle purchases

By L.J. Gambone
Apple Valley Review

Car buyers beware: You may think you scored a great deal on your new car, but in all likelihood, you were taken to the cleaners. At least that’s what former car dealership owner Ali Omoomy says.

Omoomy was in the auto sales business for over 30 years and says he witnessed more ripoffs for new rides than he cares to admit.

Fed up with the way consumers were treated, Omoomy decided to turn the tables on the industry by starting his company MyHopscotch, which was founded last November and works on behalf of car buyers to negotiate the best price and other terms of a vehicle contract.

“MyHopscotch puts customers firmly in the driver's seat,” said Omoomy, former owner of Novato Ford in Novato. “And it advocates purely on the side of the buyer. No dealer fees allowed.

“Our goal is to level the car-buying playing field by offering best-in-class expertise on the best way to buy a car in an open and transparent way that puts the consumer in the best position to save thousands of dollars on their next car purchase.”

MyHopscotch offers a fixed set of fees, which range from $199 to $399 according to the tier of service a customer chooses. In addition, there are no hidden costs and MyHopscotch does not get paid by the dealer.

"Consumers have no idea that these other buyer services get paid by both the buyer and the dealer,” said Omoomy. “How can you be on the buyer's side when you're getting paid from the seller too?”

MyHopscotch works by finding the car a person wants to buy at the dealership closest to their home. Once the car is located, the company assesses and evaluates what the car should be sold for, accounting for all variables, alignments and steps involved in the deal.

That’s when the negotiating begins.

Omoomy said if the dealer agrees on the price and terms for the vehicle, MyHopscotch will put the process in motion from beginning to end. The company does everything from price assessment and arranging test drives to preparing paperwork for the buyer. MyHopscotch aims to offer a stress-free, simple and completely transparent transaction.

"The car-selling business is structured by a motivation to sell the car at the highest price possible,” said Omoomy. “In addition, oftentimes some unnecessary appendages can be added into a sale. In the car industry, it is generally deemed a successful transaction when the buyer is outmaneuvered. It really is very sad."

During the time Omoomy was running his dealership, he said he worked diligently to put systems in place within the industry to promote transparency and set prices. He approached this problem from several angles, none of which were embraced. The only thing left to do was move on, he said.

“I just couldn’t deal with the conflict of my values anymore,” said Omoomy. “I was becoming short-tempered and frustrated. It was eating me up, so I sold my business and my stress went away. And trust me, many other car salesmen go through the same thing but stay in the business because they need the paycheck.

"Ultimately, I hope that my company will be the start of the auto industry becoming aware that they can be very profitable without trying to get the most money they can from customers. That model of doing business is antiquated and very wrong for our day and times.”

MyHopscotch’s services are currently available in California. A full national roll-out is planned for April, Omoomy said.

Visit myhopsccotch.com for more information.