CashForCars — Prerna Kashyap

Context

CashForCars needed to automate their offer flow for acquiring vehicles to auction or sell to partnered vendors.

CashForCars is Copart's platform for acquiring vehicles to auction or sell but poor lead conversion rate was slashing their inventory volume. I was tasked to redesign the end-to-end offer (InstaQuote) flow to improve conversion rate through a frictionless self-service experience.

Problem 1

Finalizing each offer required multiple follow ups

3-6 Calls

per offer were required in order to verify car details

Delays

This frustrated the user and also took up valuable time away from the team

Problem 2

Users were abandoning the flow midway, preventing the business from scaling effectively.

~275k

Users visited the platform monthly in order to sell their car

10%

of the 275k actually made it to the final offer screen.

Target User

User Persona

Demographic

Individuals based in the US wanting to sell their car

Their motivations

Need an instant and fair value for their car

Their pain points

Skeptical of online-only payments, limited mechanical knowledge

Research

What do people experience when trying to sell their car online?

To better understand the needs and experiences of our users we conducted a mix of usability testing, user interviews and behavioral data analysis with our stakeholders, focusing on answering these 4 questions.

What triggers trust or distrust when selling a car through an online platform?

What are the key emotional and decision-making moments in the car-selling journey?

What information and visibility do customers need throughout the selling process to feel confident?

How well does the current "Instaquote" flow support users in completing a sale without external help?

Insights

Users want transparency and control

I led the usability testing interviews to understand where the current experience was causing confusion and failing users.

01 Being thorough is more important than speed.

Participants were willing to complete a longer form if it meant getting a reliable quote. When questions felt specific, it signaled that the platform was genuinely accounting for every detail before making an offer.

Users doubted the final quote because they couldn't specify the extent of vehicle damage

02 Clarity is essential when trying to build trust.

Users hesitated when asked to enter their phone number because most of them come to the platform expecting a quick offer.

3/5 users navigated to "how it works" to figure out why they needed to enter their phone number but couldn't navigate back to the form leading to confusion and having to restart the flow

03 Small problems, big impact

Goals

What does success mean?

Automate the Flow

Reduce manual call volume by creating a fully self-serve digital experience.

New UI System

Build a consistent design system to modernize the UI and maintain consistency.

Drive Acquisitions

Optimize the end-to-end funnel to increase conversion rates and acquire more vehicles.

User Flow

Balancing User Effort with Data Needs

I collaborated with the product manager to identify important vehicle data requirements to optimize the quote generation flow by analyzing the buyer behavior at Copart and pricing model.

Understanding the Pricing Model

A core goal with this redesign was to motivate users by displaying a price range earlier in the process, understanding how the model calculates the value for a car allowed us to pinpoint exactly which questions to ask and at what specific step to generate an accurate early estimate.

Aligning with Buyer Priorities

Since acquired vehicles are ultimately auctioned on Copart, I mapped out buyer priorities to ensure the form captures the exact data needed to maximize final resale value.

Before

After

Design

Work in Progress

This project is still under progress and we are working on the design right now, reach out if you are interested in learning more.

Design assets available upon request

Redesigning the offer flow to drive vehicle acquisition