AI technology is shaping the future of the vehicle industry, and the latest advancement is in the ability to run nearly automated exterior vehicle inspections. Supplementing a process that is traditionally manual means that AI has the potential to bring greater efficiency and accuracy to the world of vehicle inspections for Car Dealers. But the benefits don’t stop there, let’s explore what we stand to gain from the new technological capability and who will benefit.
What solutions can AI-powered vehicle inspections offer?
- Boosting accuracy and reliability: With algorithm-driven methods, AI vehicle inspections stand to be far more precise and consistent than humans ever could be. This means evaluation processes can be more standardized and detailed to catch the onset of even minor issues like dents and scratches.
- Offering predictive insights: Pulling from a wide dataset, AI can lean on patterns to create predictions about individual vehicles, which will allow car dealers to know if specific vehicles that customers bring in for trade-in's have chronic problems that could be costly for recon.
- Automating processes: AI can help to streamline the inspection process and automate the entire workflow so that car dealerships are able to operate smoother. Instead of having a service technician work on vehicle inspections that tech can be moved to retail and warranty service work.
- Saving time: By executing routine inspections, employers and employees can save time and have their skilled team focus on higher-level problem solving. Removing inspections from the list of responsibilities will give those individuals their time back and allow them to specialize on other, more important decision-making responsibilities.
- Increasing customer satisfaction: The objectivity and speed you can achieve with an AI system can help build customer trust and increase customer satisfaction. There won’t be any subjectiveness with debating dings and scratches since AI is providing a report.
- Eliminating human error: Human error is a primary risk in vehicle inspection processes, and with the detailed, data-driven approach offered by AI, this can be largely eliminated. Using a standardized method, AI can detect minor issues that would not be observable to the human eye and won’t suffer from errors that could come as a result of subjectivity, fatigue, or multitasking.
What are the challenges facing AI-powered vehicle inspection?
As with all new technology, AI vehicle inspections come with a few headwinds. Firstly, data privacy for each vehicle owner is always a concern with new digital solutions. Additionally, it will be important to manage adoption in order to avoid a negative sentiment on jobs. Finally, financially, it will take time for these all tools to be available at a price point that can help them reach scale– for many dealerships today, the cost is simply too high to justify.
But, thankfully ClearCar offers an affordable tool for dealers to use so they can start harnessing the power of AI. ClearCar uses AI to detect vehicle damage based on photos that a customer uploads, allowing for more accurate inspections that reflect the car’s actual condition. Car Dealers can easily use this tool when customers bring in their cars for service. Here’s how it works: First, a customer receives a link from ClearCar Capture where they can submit the photos they take using their phone, then ClearCar’s AI scans the images for signs of damage. The tool calls out scratches, dents, and other signs creating a report that summarizes the issues and their severity. Then, the report is sent to the dealer to assess.
Transform your use of AI with Clear Car
Processing vehicle trade-ins based on AI vehicle inspections isn’t just the future – it’s happening now. With ClearCar, you can start utilizing this technology for your service bay, and also provide it to customers so they can take pictures of their trade in’s and AI can review the car. ClearCar is easy for your team and customers to use – all the customer needs is a smart phone to take pictures. Learn more about how ClearCar can transform your business by taking a demo.
Sources
Barhate, Pritam. 2024. “Revolutionizing vehicle inspections: The role of AI in damage detection.” Mobisoft. Retrieved November 20, 2024. https://mobisoftinfotech.com/resources/blog/role-of-ai-in-vehicle-inspection-process
