Green Cars of Austin

By Yvonne Lim Wilson Friday, 26 February 2010

SOUTHWEST AUSTIN — Trent McClure is a matchmaker of sorts. Only instead of pairing people together, he helps clients find their perfect car. McClure launched Green Cars of Austin and McClure Motorcar Consultants simultaneously last June.

Green Cars of Austin helps clients find the right green car for them. Green can range anywhere from a plug-in electric or hybrid to simply a vehicle that is fuel-efficient and produces low carbon emissions.

“Transportation is going through its greatest evolutions,” McClure said. “Everyone can agree driving green helps the environment and makes us less dependent on foreign oil. What’s in your driveway does matter.”

Through McClure Motorcar Consultants, McClure helps clients choose the best car for them, green or otherwise. If the car is not in stock or found locally, McClure will search for the vehicle nationwide and handle the buying process.

“If I can change the car-buying experience and make walk out happier, that makes me feel good,” McClure said.

Finding cars for family and friends had been a personal hobby for McClure for the past 25 years. When he found himself laid off twice in one year, he decided it was time to turn his hobby into a career.

“I was tired of corporate America,” he said. “I wanted to bite the bullet and do something I’m passionate about.”

When a client comes in for a consultation, McClure creates a personal profile based on the client’s needs and budget. McClure also takes into account other factors such as trade evaluation to get the best value for a client.

“No one I know loves going to buy a car—it’s a horrific experience,” he said. “We take the car-buying process from a dealer-centric process to a client-centric process.”

McClure said fees start at $299 and prices for cars are straightforward.

“We have a ‘one fair price.’ It’s just me, so you don’t have to go back and forth between a manager,” he said.

As McClure was getting started with the business, he relied on the City of Austin’s Small Business Development Program and SCORE Austin, a nonprofit group of retired professionals who volunteer advice and support on all aspects of business.

Lending, however, was “atrocious,” McClure said, and he is funding the business entirely on his own.

“I’ve never been so poor, I’ve never been so tired, but I’ve never been so content,” he said. “I realize life is greater if you do something you’re passionate about.”