Mobile car-care startup Spiffy raises $30M from investors

Spiffy, the on-demand car care startup headquartered in Durham, has raised another $30 million from investors — this time to help car dealerships boost their mobile offerings, the company's CEO Scot Wingo told Axios.

Driving the news: Spiffy will use the money to sell its internal software and van upfits to car dealerships and repair shops, so that they can begin offering mobile services as well, Wingo said.

• It's a potentially large market, with nearly 17,000 franchised dealerships in the U.S., according to the National Automobile Dealers Association.
• The investment round was led by Edison Partners, and included local investors Bull City Venture Partners and IDEA Fund Partners. Several car dealer groups invested as well.

Why it matters: Spiffy originally made its name by providing on-demand car washes via its signature blue vans — allowing office workers to get their cars washed while still working.

• Spiffy now offers mobile car services such as brake maintenance and tire-and-oil changes. The company employs around 80 people at its Durham office and 500 technicians across the U.S. — with plans to grow that number even more.

Of note: The move comes after AutoNation, a large dealership chain, bought RepairSmith, another mobile service provider, for $190 million in December.

• Wingo said dealerships are looking to turn their service centers into moneymakers — especially as car makers seek to do more direct online sales.

What they're saying: "Dealership customers usually drop off after the warranty goes away, so they're looking for ways to keep them," said Wingo, also the Triangle's most active investor through his Triangle Tweener Fund. "This is another service they can provide."