Buying a car is exciting, but it also can be very intense and confusing. If part of your deal involves a trade-in, a new Ames-based company hopes to make the process a little less baffling.

Lloyd Snell had a bad experience with a car deal, so he decided to turn the process on its head. After swapping ideas with a couple of friends, he became the president of the newly formed company, Trading-in.com.

“It came about because of an individual not feeling like they got enough value for their trade in,” said Brad Rosenhamer, vice president.

The founders of Trading-in.com believe their system not only helps people with trading a car, but also dealers and used car buyers. They recently signed their first dealer partner, Wilson Toyota of Ames.

Although they’re just getting started, Rosenhamer said the company has big ambitions — it wants to be the “de facto standard” for used car sales.

How it works

For sellers: The used-car seller still negotiates on the dealer’s lot, but they can ask the dealer to also list the car at Trading-in.com, where people can bid on it. This transparent system helps the seller feel like they are getting a fair price. If the car sells via the website, the seller gets a portion of the profits.

The site also offers free for-sale-by-owner listings.

For buyers: When shopping for a car on Trading-in.com, buyers can see a price breakdown, including the the trade-in price given to the last owner and any repairs, detailing and certification costs added by the dealer. This helps them know that they, too, are getting a fair price.

For dealers: Many of the trade-ins a dealer typically purchases are unwanted vehicles that end up going to wholesale auctions; Trading-in.com offers a cheaper alternative.

It can help salesmen work more efficiently because most of the negotiating is handled online.

Finally, it can help honest dealers show they are trustworthy, because skeptical buyers can see they are getting a fair price.