Why I built AutoMatch

I first worked in the automotive industry during high school at Repco while also preparing and delivering vehicles for a local dealership. After leaving school I spent a gap year with one of Christchurch's largest dealerships, working in vehicle compliance before returning to Repco part-time across several Auckland branches while studying at university.

My career then took me into custom boatbuilding, Rocket Lab, production management, and eventually back to boatbuilding with Emirates Team New Zealand.

A few months ago, my wife and I started looking for a replacement vehicle. She had settled on a Mazda CX-5, and what should have been an exciting experience quickly became frustrating. We spent evenings comparing listings, weighing up kilometres against price, colour against specification, and trying to work out what was genuinely the best option. Every dealership presented vehicles slightly differently, and it felt like we were doing the same work over and over again.

That's when I found myself thinking:

There has to be a better way.

The more I thought about it, the more I realised the problem wasn't just for buyers. Dealerships were investing time responding to enquiries that often weren't the right fit, while buyers were spending hours searching for vehicles that didn't quite meet their needs.

That's where AutoMatch began.

Rather than creating another marketplace, AutoMatch starts with the buyer. You tell us exactly what you're looking for, and AutoMatch takes that request to relevant dealerships who can decide whether they have a vehicle — and a deal — that fits.

AutoMatch has been designed and built here in New Zealand with one simple goal:

To create better outcomes for buyers and dealerships alike.

I'm still closely involved in every part of AutoMatch, from talking with buyers and dealers to refining how the service works. The aim is to build something genuinely useful: a better way for buyers to find the right vehicle, and a better way for dealers to respond to real demand.