Kars Incorporated

What Kars Incorporated does

Kars Incorporated is a privately held used car dealership founded in 1963 and headquartered at 5701 NE 12th in Pleasant Hill, Iowa, with a secondary location in Des Moines. The company sells pre-owned domestic and imported vehicles — sedans, trucks, SUVs, and vans from brands including Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Ram, Toyota, Jeep, Dodge, Cadillac, Infiniti, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Subaru, Volkswagen, and Volvo — across price tiers from budget units under $10,000 to premium vehicles priced up to approximately $39,995. Its core product is the resale of used vehicles, augmented by in-house financing facilitation, extended warranty programs, on-site maintenance and repair services, and a National Vehicle Search capability that taps an Iowa-wide sourcing network to locate cars not currently on either lot.

The underlying technology is a relatively standard dealer website and inventory management platform operated by AutoJini, with daily-updated listings of approximately 138 vehicles that include photos, mileage, transmission, color, features, pricing, warranty details, and integrated CARFAX vehicle history reports. Customers browse inventory online, filter by make/model/year/price, and then complete transactions in person at one of two showrooms. Revenue is generated from four streams: one-time used vehicle sales (the dominant stream), transaction fees from financing arranged through partner banks and manufacturer finance divisions, recurring or attachment revenue from warranty sales, and professional services revenue from maintenance and repairs. The customer base is exclusively individual retail consumers in the Des Moines metro and broader Iowa market, served through a direct-to-consumer go-to-market motion with a hybrid online-to-offline funnel.

No revenue, ownership, headcount, or funding data is disclosed, which constrains visibility into unit economics and growth investment capacity. The company has no disclosed patents, trademarks, certifications, awards, or AI/ML capabilities, and its competitive position rests on local physical presence, inventory breadth across price tiers, financing access, and Iowa-wide sourcing reach rather than on technology differentiation.

Name

Kars Incorporated

Legal name

Kars Incorporated

Website

https://kars-inc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kars Incorporated is a privately held used car dealership founded in 1963, operating showrooms in Pleasant Hill and Des Moines, Iowa. It sells pre-owned vehicles across price tiers and provides financing, warranties, and repair services to individual retail consumers in the Iowa market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Des Moines

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Used Vehicle Sales: Primary revenue from selling used cars, trucks, SUVs, and vans to individual consumers. Inventory includes domestic and imported vehicles ranging from budget-friendly options under $10,000 to premium vehicles.
2. Financing Services: In-house financing assistance connecting customers with financial institutions. The dealership processes credit applications and works with banks and financing divisions to arrange vehicle loans.
3. Maintenance and Repair Services: On-site maintenance and repair services for vehicles sold at the dealership.
4. Warranties: Vehicle warranty programs offered to provide coverage beyond standard manufacturer warranties.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Kars Incorporated operates a traditional used car dealership that sells pre-owned cars, trucks, SUVs, and vans from domestic and imported manufacturers through its Pleasant Hill, Iowa headquarters and a secondary Des Moines location. In addition to vehicle sales, the dealership offers in-house financing assistance, warranty programs, on-site maintenance and repair services, and a statewide network to source vehicles not currently in inventory.

Product overview

Kars Incorporated is a used car dealership offering a diverse selection of pre-owned vehicles including cars, trucks, SUVs, and vans. The company provides both domestic and imported used vehicles across multiple brands such as Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Dodge, Ram, Jeep, Toyota, Cadillac, Infiniti, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Subaru, Volkswagen, and Volvo. The product portfolio centers on used vehicle sales as the core offering, supplemented by financing services, warranties, and maintenance/repair services. The company also offers a national vehicle search capability to locate hard-to-find vehicles for customers. They maintain an online inventory system that is updated daily with vehicle specifications, photos, pricing, and features.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Used Vehicle Sales

Quantifiable outcome

• Daily inventory updates keep online listings current
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CARFAXcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegrated vehicle history reporting service used on all vehicle listings. Provides customers with CARFAX reports showing accident history, ownership records, and service history to build trust in vehicle condition.
• Financial Institutions PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBanks, finance companies, and financing divisions of motor vehicle manufacturers that work with the dealership to provide financing options for vehicle purchases. Customers can apply for financing through the dealership's application process.
• Iowa Vehicle NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of used car sources throughout the state of Iowa and Ames area that enables the dealership to find vehicles not currently in their inventory for customers seeking specific vehicles.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Carvana: Carvana pioneered the online-only used-car purchase with home delivery and integrated financing, putting pressure on local dealers like Kars on selection, convenience, and finance-desk economics for the same retail buyer.
• CarMax: CarMax is the largest dedicated used-car retailer in the U.S., operating superstores with no-haggle pricing, in-house financing, and online inventory — directly comparable to Kars' used-car-led model with attached F&I and reconditioning services.
• DriveTime: DriveTime is a used-car retailer focused on subprime and credit-challenged buyers with in-house financing — closely comparable to Kars' emphasis on arranging financing for customers who need lender relationships to complete a sale.

Emerging players

• Vroom: Vroom operated an online used-car marketplace with home delivery and e-commerce financing — a comparable online-first used-car model that has since materially retrenched, illustrating the execution risk of pure-play digital dealers relative to Kars' physical-store model.

Broad incumbents

• Asbury Automotive Group: Asbury is a publicly traded dealer group with franchised stores and used-vehicle operations including Total Care Auto and clicklane digital retailing — comparable in the multi-brand used-car and F&I space, though national in scope.
• Sonic Automotive: Sonic Automotive operates franchised dealerships and the EchoPark used-car chain, competing directly with Kars in used-vehicle retail with the same F&I attach opportunity set at much larger scale.
• AutoNation: AutoNation is one of the largest U.S. automotive dealer groups, operating multi-brand new and used-car rooftops plus AutoNation USA used-car stores — comparable to Kars as a multi-brand used-car operator, though at much greater scale and with a national footprint.
• Hendrick Automotive Group: Hendrick is the largest privately held automotive dealer group in the U.S., operating new- and used-car rooftops across multiple states — a same-industry incumbent whose scale and private status most closely mirror Kars' independent dealer model.
• Penske Automotive Group: Penske is a major premium-brand franchised dealer group with U.S. and international operations — relevant as a same-industry incumbent against which Kars competes for multi-brand used-vehicle buyer demand in their respective regions.
• Lithia Motors: Lithia Motors is a large publicly traded dealer group with hundreds of new- and used-car rooftops and a growing digital retail platform (Driveway) — comparable in used-car retail and F&I economics, though with vastly broader scale and omnichannel capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kars-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kars Incorporated