Fresno Businessman Creates App for Car Sales

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A former RV salesman is using his experience to create a smartphone app he hopes will revolutionize the industry. Dan Gamel says he wants to bring the car-shopping process into the 21st century, and he's starting in Fresno.

Anyone who's bought a car will recognize a four-square. It's a sheet of paper with these categories: selling price, trade in, down, monthly payment, all part of the negotiation process between the customer and the dealership. After Dan Gamel's decades in the RV business... He wanted to streamline the negotiation process: "Well if you can order a Subway why can't you buy a car on mobile technology. Of course you should be able to. But the salesperson was really given no tools." So he invented one: an app called "My Foursquare Anywhere." The app is a digital version of the traditional "four-square" worksheet and is designed for auto, RV, boat or motorcycle sales. The salesperson can calculate the numbers, assess trade-ins and pricing offers right on their phone, even sending it to managers for approval. Without *ever* leaving the customers side. Gamel: "We're still doing the negotiation. But I'm not leaving you alone and you're leaning in, helping me with the numbers."

Gamel hopes to revolutionize the industry. Not just for sellers but for car buyers as well. Because right now one of the top complaints going car shopping is the whole dealership experience. And the app hopes to change that. Andy Leal can relate: "I think everyone's just disenchanted with the process. I've been a consumer too. So I kinda know I hate that process. I dislike it a lot." Leal is the owner of Andy's Fresno RV. He's among the first to try out the app at his dealership. Several of his salespeople downloaded it and use it. He says it's a win-win: "There's no smoke and mirrors, nothing hidden. It's really transparent. I've had customers actually compliment on how easy it is. We've always been looking at ways to do things differently, more efficiently, and a little bit smarter." And this app seems to fit the bill.

My Foursquare Anywhere is free to download, but costs between $12 to $39 a month to use. It's available through Google Play or iTunes.