System and method for obtaining competitive pricing for vehicle services
First Claim
1. A system for receiving a vehicle service request for a specific vehicle and providing pricing data from one or more vendors able to provide service for the specific vehicle, comprising:
- (a) a memory in which a plurality of machine instructions are stored;
(b) a data link for receiving the vehicle service request;
(c) a processor coupled to the memory and to the data link, said processor executing the machine instructions to carry out a plurality of functions, including;
in response to receiving the vehicle service request, instructing an operator of the specific vehicle to acquire electronic vehicle performance data from a data port on the specific vehicle and to transmit the electronic vehicle performance data acquired by the operator from the data port on the specific vehicle over the data link, the electronic vehicle performance data being useful in diagnosing a vehicle service that is required;
(ii) in response to receiving the electronic vehicle performance data from the specific vehicle, evaluating the electronic vehicle performance data from the specific vehicle to validate the vehicle service that is required;
(iii) upon validating the vehicle service that is required, conveying the vehicle service request to a plurality of vendors, to enable each vendor interested in responding to the vehicle service request to provide a price quote for their services; and
(iv) in response to receiving a price quote from a vendor, conveying the price quote to at least one entity selected from a group of entities consisting of;
(A) the operator of the specific vehicle; and
(B) a third party able to convey the price quote to the operator of the specific vehicle.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In order to obtain competitive pricing for vehicle servicing, a pricing service provider is used to obtain pricing data from a plurality of service vendors. In at least some embodiments, one or more of the following types of additional information for each vendor will be provided along with the pricing data, to enable the consumer (the owner or operator of the vehicle) to make an informed selection: a rating of the vendor, a relative distance between the consumer (or known vehicle location) and the vendor, and a time period defining when the vendor will be able to accommodate the service. In at least some embodiments, a pricing service provider hosts a reverse auction for the benefit of the consumer. In at least some embodiment, the pricing service provider hosts a webpage upon which results of the service requests from the plurality of vendors are displayed.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A system for receiving a vehicle service request for a specific vehicle and providing pricing data from one or more vendors able to provide service for the specific vehicle, comprising:
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(a) a memory in which a plurality of machine instructions are stored; (b) a data link for receiving the vehicle service request; (c) a processor coupled to the memory and to the data link, said processor executing the machine instructions to carry out a plurality of functions, including; in response to receiving the vehicle service request, instructing an operator of the specific vehicle to acquire electronic vehicle performance data from a data port on the specific vehicle and to transmit the electronic vehicle performance data acquired by the operator from the data port on the specific vehicle over the data link, the electronic vehicle performance data being useful in diagnosing a vehicle service that is required; (ii) in response to receiving the electronic vehicle performance data from the specific vehicle, evaluating the electronic vehicle performance data from the specific vehicle to validate the vehicle service that is required; (iii) upon validating the vehicle service that is required, conveying the vehicle service request to a plurality of vendors, to enable each vendor interested in responding to the vehicle service request to provide a price quote for their services; and (iv) in response to receiving a price quote from a vendor, conveying the price quote to at least one entity selected from a group of entities consisting of; (A) the operator of the specific vehicle; and (B) a third party able to convey the price quote to the operator of the specific vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A system for receiving a vehicle service request for a specific vehicle and providing pricing data from one or more vendors able to provide service for the specific vehicle, comprising:
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(a) a memory in which a plurality of machine instructions are stored; (b) a data link for receiving the vehicle service request; (c) a processor coupled to the memory and to the data link, said processor executing the machine instructions to carry out a plurality of functions, including; (i) in response to receiving the vehicle service request, instructing an operator of the specific vehicle to acquire electronic vehicle performance data from a data port on the specific vehicle and to transmit the electronic vehicle performance data acquired by the operator from the data port on the specific vehicle over the data link, the electronic vehicle performance data being useful in diagnosing a vehicle service that is required; (ii) in response to receiving the electronic vehicle performance data from the specific vehicle, conveying the vehicle service request and the electronic vehicle performance data from the specific vehicle to a plurality of vendors, to enable each vendor interested in responding to the vehicle service request to validate the vehicle service that is required and provide a price quote for their services; and (iii) in response to receiving a price quote from a vendor, conveying the price quote to at least one entity selected from a group of entities consisting of; (A) the operator of the specific vehicle; and (B) a third party able to convey the price quote to the operator of the specific vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification