DingIT, a Los Angeles-based Internet shop referral service, is planning a June debut for the New York City marketplace. The company is also contemplating eventual entry into other large metropolitan areas.

“Right now we’re expanding the infrastructure” in anticipation of the Big Apple roll-out, says head of marketing Eyal Golan, who co-founded the business in 2003. “We’re going one-by-one, and New York seems to be the next one” best-suited for the company’s near-term growth. Other cities on the company's radar for potential sites include San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, Baltimore and Washington, D.C..

DingIT initially served West Los Angeles, subsequently moving into communities throughout the LA basin. Participating body shop owners say they are quite satisfied with the results thus far.

In a year’s time, Euro-Design Auto in West Hollywood has received eight to ten successful referrals through the program, according to owner Henry Mardakhanian.

“You don’t have to go to the body shop – the body shop comes to you,” Mardakhanian explains. “I recommend a lot of people. Whenever people want a second opinion, I always recommend this Web site.”

Similar to travel-based systems where users compare airline fares and hotel accommodations without actually contacting the provider, with DingIT a consumer posts pictures of the vehicle to invite estimates from five to ten body shops.

Car owners go to the DingIT.com site, fill out information such as make, model and year, plus a description of the damage along with a photograph or two. Using an online map, they select a geographic area from which they want estimates.

Once a potential customer’s information is submitted, a network of shops in that area receives an e-mail noting the online presence of a potential patron.

Shops interested in bidding for the job enter an estimate into the system to be viewed by the consumer. If the prospect indicates a positive response, both parties are placed in contact with each other to further the transaction.

The shop then pays DingIT a 15 percent commission on the job. Consumers, who access the service for free, are able to rate the shop’s performance when the repairs are completed.

“Not only can you see the price (before engaging a shop’s services), but you can also see the feedback from other customers,” says Golan. “In many cases people are willing to spend a little more when they see the referrals from other people.”

“I just wrote an estimate yesterday,” reports Karo Pakhlevanyan, co-owner of European Coachcraft Auto Collision Center in Burbank. A relatively recent sign-on into the DingIT network, he says the ratings system is perfect for a top-notch operation such as his.

“We are a very high quality shop using very high performance tools,” according to Pakhlevanyan, who describes an assortment of heavy duty equipment, premium painting capability and full computerization throughout. “I can get the measurement of any car, and all my customers are happy” with the resulting repairs, he says.

Among DingIT’s customer base, “About 70 percent are really trying to save money – looking for a good deal,” according to Golan, who says 30 percent of the site’s traffic involves newer cars from the 2004-2005 model years. “These are people who don’t necessarily want to save, but they are more interested in a good job.”

The company’s financial performance keeps rising, Golan says. “The business is steadily growing in the LA area. The number of free estimates rendered online via DingIT.com has increased 280 percent in 2005 compared to 2004. At the same time, the number of actual repairs that were initiated via DingIT increased by 725 percent, and the total dollar value of the repairs increased over tenfold, at 1,187 percent.”

DingIT limits the volume of participating shops in a given market area to ensure that just five to ten operations are vying to bid on a particular repair. This ratio also allows a shop to avoid wasting time, effort and expense by writing an estimate that gets lost in a flood of competing proposals.

“We need about one out of every 50 to 100 shops out there,” Golan elaborates. “We’re at the point where we don’t have to approach them; they approach us based on referrals from other body shops.”

An aggressive advertising campaign is in place to reach consumers. Spots are aired on cable television, trailers are screened in movie theaters and placards placed on taxis. Also, DingIT links are posted online at various auto-related sites. “We get the best response and results from the Internet.”