The Blink smartphone app, developed by Denver car dealer Rod Buscher, helps used-car buyers and sellers do it themselves, with just the cell phones in their pockets. However, it’s still important to check the auto accident history of any car you’re considering.
‘Blinker’ Helps You Choose, Finance, Sell a Used Car
A Denver-area entrepreneur is adding a new level of innovation to the automobile marketplace across Colorado with an app that allows you to choose, finance, and sell a car with amazing speed, and with just the smartphone in your pocket.
The project has already caught the eye of news media, including Forbes magazine and Denver’s KMGH television news, and recently won a major distinction among the state’s businesses.
Blinker, a peer-to-peer marketplace for used cars, recently won the honor of “Colorado Company to Watch” from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International trade, the Edward Lowe Foundation, and other partners.
To put your car on the market, you just download the Blinker app and use it to take a picture of your car, with its license plate. Using the information, the app will find your car’s Kelley Blue Book value to help you set the price, and then it will start connecting you with car shoppers.
Rapid Expansion
Rod Buscher, the founder of John Elway Dealers and Summit Automotive partners, launched Blinker in September 2016. The app was initially restricted to sales in Colorado but is now branching out into Texas, the company said.
Buscher said:
“After doing business here for more than three decades, we built Blinker to innovate the auto industry by putting people in control of car ownership using a mobile app, in the same way that Airbnb revolutionized its industry.”
The state and private industry entities behind Colorado Companies to Watch began giving the awards in 2009. The group annually confers the award on 50 second-stage companies bringing new industry to the state by developing products and services that create good jobs.
“Blinker is honored to receive this distinction, and we are proud to be based in Colorado,” Buscher said.
In January, the South-by-Southwest organization picked Blinker to receive one of its SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards, in the New Economy category, for the app’s creativity, function, and overall experience.
Colorado Lemon Law Has Limitations
Before you buy a new or used car in Colorado, there are some things you should know. You’ll want to check reliability reports and, with used cars, have a mechanic check it out for problems. It’s also a good idea to check the car’s history for previous auto accidents it may have been involved in. But in spite of doing this you might still have mechanical issues that make you regret buying. So-called “lemon laws” might be your last resort if everything goes wrong. Such warranty acts give people who buy defective cars, trucks, and vans the chance to get a new replacement vehicle or to have the money returned.
Colorado’s law, though, protects buyers of new cars, mainly, and only some used cars, according to DMV.org, an informational Web site supported in part by the insurance industry. The lemon law, or warranties act, applies to cars, trucks, and vans that are still under warranty and have some kind of recurring problem that keeps the vehicle from functioning properly and as a result makes it worth less than it should be worth. It helps owners get new replacement vehicles or have their money returned.
Get an Attorney on Your Side
Your owner’s manual will provide contact information for a manufacturer representative so you can begin the complaint process.
Before you call, though, you should consider talking to a qualified lemon law attorney, one who is well-versed in this area of the law and knows how to deal with auto manufacturers.
Motorcycles and motorhomes are not covered by the Colorado law.