Buying A 2nd-Hand Car? Carsome Launches 100,000sqft “Automall” In PJ

After launching Southeast Asia’s largest car refurbishment facility in February, the automotive e-commerce platform Carsome today opened the doors of its biggest experience centre.

The 100,000 square foot facility in Petaling Jaya holds some 200 cars indoors and another 50 outside, along with financial facilities on-location and services such as detailing and tinting.

Located just off the Federal Highway at the Naza Automall showroom, it’s basically a one-stop-shop for second-hand cars which Carsome co-founder and group CEO Eric Cheng says offers comfort and convenience under one roof.

“Our motivation is to make this experience centre a lifestyle-centric one, where customers can walk in to enjoy the shopping process, and more importantly, leave the worry and hassle to our dedicated teams,” he said.

Carsome’s now 14 experience centres, first introduced in 2020, allow buyers to browse for cars online and have those cars sent to the centre nearest to them for test driving.

Furthermore, to celebrate the launch of the Carsome PJ Automall, there will be a two-day Shop and Dine Carsome CARnival event on June 11 and 12, from noon to 8.30pm, with food, performances, games, and lucky draws with prizes totaling up to RM12,000.

Those who purchase a Carsome Certified car from the PJ Automall during the event will also get a free Platinum Warranty Upgrade worth up to RM1,500, free window tinting worth RM900 and RM100 Touch ‘n Go eWallet credits.

However, when asked at today’s launch on whether Carsome’s push to sell even more cars directly to buyers will cannibalize smaller second-hand dealers who traditionally made up a large portion of their market, Carsome Certified country general manager Alan Cheah said that all stakeholders have a part to play and did not elaborate further despite prompting.

The launch today was officiated by Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari who described Carsome as Malaysia first “unicorn startup” which refers to unlisted companies valued at over USD 1 billion, and shared hopes that it wouldn’t be the last and would help make “baby unicorns”.