App helps people negotiate smarter deals on cars.

• Author: Madison, Rachel
• Position: Around Utah

Lehi--An app created in Lehi is helping people nationwide find the best deals around when they're in the market for a used vehicle. VINNY is a free mobile app that scans a vehicle identification number, or VIN, and reveals the wholesale price of that car.

"Every car has its own unique number, so Vinny scans that barcode and it will tell you the wholesale price of the vehicle," says Dalena Tran, co-founder of Vinny and head of marketing and social media. "We get that number from nationwide auctions. There are wholesale auctions around America that are basically only for dealers. We take that pricing information and give it out to the public."

Tran says Vinny's price is formulated by entering the figures into sophisticated statistical algorithms that can be calculated within seconds. In the app, consumers can also include the number of miles the car has and the condition it's in to make the price reflect the car better.

In addition to showing consumers the wholesale price of vehicles, the Vinny app also provides vehicle history reports for a price through a partnership with a company...