TrueCar $TRUE ( ▲ 14.93% ) founder Scott Painter said he aims to fix communication, restore trust and help dealers sell more cars for less, now that he is leading the company for a second time.
Driving the news: At 57, Painter said he's learned some hard lessons from building TrueCar more than 20 years ago. "I think the first lesson is to collaborate instead of trying to take on a system," he told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D'Arc and Uli de' Martino.
“I am not only taking the time to listen to our employees, but I'm also talking to all of our key accounts,” he explained. “I'm talking to all the dealers that are on the program, and getting a lot of really positive feedback.”
The problem: TrueCar 1.0 was fundamentally a consumer-first price transparency machine that dealers felt weaponized their own data against them.
However, technology has finally caught up to the retailing reality Painter wants to create.
“Today, I think dealers are much more comfortable with the idea that auto pricing is transparent and upfront, and consumers have much more access to information,” he said.
So, instead of trying to be provocative, Painter is figuring out what works about TrueCar and how it can be a more efficient, neutral bridge between in‑market shoppers and “forward‑leaning” dealers.
“There's absolutely a flywheel here between helping consumers to save time and money when buying a car, and selling more cars for dealers at less money…,” Painter said. “If we don't make the TrueCar value proposition true for a consumer, we fail. If we don't make it work for the dealer, so that they can truly sell more cars for less money, we fail.”
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Nuts and bolts: Painter also emphasized that TrueCar is first and foremost, a technology marketplace.
He said that the platform does not create a “race to the bottom” on pricing (which in reality, is affected more by the times).
Using Uber for an analogy, he said that TrueCar helps pair riders with drivers, just as TrueCar wants to pair customers with dealers.
Why it matters: Painter sees dealer participation as necessary for this system to work. The alternative is AI optimizing purely for consumers with no regard for dealer economics.
Looking ahead: Accountability, transparency and communication will help drive TrueCar toward its goals.
Painter also wants to see more app-based, rather than web-based, communication.
“You wouldn't use Uber if you had to use email as a way of communicating with the platform,” Painter said. “A smartphone really unlocks a level of fidelity and capability that has never really been seen before.”
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