A data-shop, not a test garage: it crunches millions of listings into rankings and gets paid by dealers on the leads it forwards, while the company says its algorithm ignores who pays.
What it's really for A used-car search engine; rankings come from statistical models over millions of listings.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its statistical car rankings on price and reliability, not everything the site does.
Medium Scoring Confidence Mostly sourced, but a detail or two still needs a primary source, so the grade could shift slightly.
Dealers and lead partners pay most: iSeeCars takes a commission when a shopper inquires about a partner's listing, and by the CEO's own statement to ABC News the site does not get paid on every inquiry and its algorithm "doesn't take into account whether they get paid or not."
Source →- Operating since
- 2013 (13 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- A used-car search engine that uses proprietary algorithms over tens of millions of dealer listings to score and rank cars and dealers and flag "good deals."
- What they do
- iSeeCars aggregates roughly 75% of US used-car listings daily and applies statistical models to rank vehicles on price fairness, reliability/longevity, depreciation, and safety.
- What to watch for
- It earns a cut from dealer partners when you inquire about a car, and that monetization is not disclosed on its about or ranking pages, though the CEO says the ranking algorithm does not factor in who pays.
- Composite score
- 2.50 / 5.00 → grade C
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- Per CEO Phong Ly, the site 'gets a cut from some of his partners if a user inquires about their cars,' but he says the rating algorithm 'doesn't take into account whether they get paid or not' and the company doesn't get paid on every inquiry. Source: ABC News →
- iSeeCars describes its method as aggregating data daily from over 75% of US used-car listings and using proprietary algorithms over 25+ billion data points to score cars and dealers on price competitiveness, transparency, and responsiveness; rankings analyses draw on 330M+ vehicles plus NHTSA/IIHS safety ratings. Source: iSeeCars About Us →
- Founded October 23, 2013 by Vineet Manohar and Phong Ly; operates an automotive search engine analyzing used-car listings and pricing fairness via proprietary algorithms over a database of 30M+ listings; privately held with no parent organization. Source: Wikipedia: ISeeCars.com →