In this transcribed episode of the Used Car Dealer Podcast, Zach engages in an insightful conversation with In this episode of the Used Car Dealer Podcast, Zach talks with Mark Allen, President of AutoAp, a leading provider of recall management services for dealerships, fleets, and various automotive integration partners. They discuss how AutoAp’s technology resolves the frequent discrepancies in safety recall data, the complexities behind VIN checks, and why automated, timely recall information is crucial for protecting customers and avoiding costly liability. Mark shares how his extensive experience in the auto industry led him to join and eventually lead AutoAp, and he offers insights into how all players—dealers, OEMs, service providers, and government agencies—must work together to improve overall road safety.
Zach: Zach here, and today on the podcast, we have a very special guest, Mark Allen, who is the president of AutoAp, which is a leading provider of recall management services for various platforms in the automotive industry in the fleet management space. Mark, really appreciate you taking your time to come on the podcast, especially right before NADA in New Orleans.
Mark: Yeah, I appreciate the opportunity, Zach.
Zach: Thanks. So, Mark, tell us a little bit about yourself, how you got into the auto industry. We'd love to hear that story.
Mark: Sure, you know, I'll bore you with my whole resume, but I've kind of been in and around auto my entire life, literally. To sum it up, I've worked for a dealership for some years. I worked at General Motors, I worked at EDS for those of you that remember that company, a couple of DMS companies, and a couple others in the tech sector with automotive retail. So my entire career has been focused on automotive and automotive retail specifically. Even while I was at General Motors, it was focused on the interaction between GM and their dealers.
I was born in Detroit, and I live just outside the Motor City—I’ve been here my entire life. So, one might say that I have motor oil in my blood. In fact, I've been an auto enthusiast since a very young age. My mom told me that when I was three, I used to sit in the window and call out the brands of the cars as they went by, and I was right.
Zach: Wow, that's great. Now, Mark, you're the president of AutoAp, and some of our viewers might be familiar with the company, some may not. Tell us a little bit about AutoAp and how you came into the role as president.
Mark: As I mentioned, I've been in the industry a long time and got to talking with the founder of AutoAp a few years back, around 2020. I really thought he was on to something—he had discovered a niche that needed filling and had an awesome product to fill it. I joined the company initially as Executive Vice President of Business Development, and then we put the plan in motion for me to take over leadership as he wanted to retire, and he has since retired.
We’re focused exclusively on the automotive vehicle safety recall space. We do one thing, and we do it pretty well. Recalls are pretty common—you hear about them in the news almost every week. There's a lot of vehicle complexity out there. New features on vehicles are almost always safety-related: collision avoidance, pedestrian detection, antilock braking, and so on. Because so many components are tied to safety, when something goes wrong, it often becomes a safety recall.
That's why we've seen an enormous uptick in recalls over the years—it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. In 2024 alone, there were around 460 recalls in the passenger/light-duty category, equating to over 28 million vehicles—about 10% of all vehicles on the road in the U.S. last year. Our response to that was to build technology and processes to create the industry’s most accurate and timely single source for recall information across all brands.
We serve dealerships directly, helping them manage recalls on the vehicles in their lot. We also work with fleets to help them manage recalls on their vehicles. But the biggest part of our business is partnering with other software and service providers—both in automotive and in other industries—to integrate our high-quality recall information into their products and services, ultimately enhancing their offerings to dealerships, fleets, or even consumers.
Zach: And curious, how many recalls—so we're in January 2025—but in last year, 2024, how many recalls were there in the United States?
Mark: There were about 28 million vehicles recalled last year. That’s enormous, and it’s been trending around that level for the past couple of years. The complexity of vehicles and the prevalence of safety-related functions are key reasons behind those numbers.
Zach: Mark, there are definitely various sources out there to check a VIN for recalls. But is that enough, or is there more to consider regarding VIN checks and what AutoAp does?
Mark: That’s a great question. The recall ecosystem is far more complicated than people realize. On the surface, you’d think you can just check a VIN with the OEM or NHTSA and be done, but the reality is that manufacturers, suppliers, government agencies, dealerships, and consumers all play a role. They’re not always in sync.
If you check different sources, you might get different answers—usually because of timing differences, sometimes errors. It’s not a huge problem for a single consumer if they check today and it shows no recall, but tomorrow there is one. But for a dealership about to sell a vehicle, they need the right answer right now. Which source do they trust when they see a discrepancy?
The only way to verify is to check multiple sources every single day for every single vehicle, see if anything changed, and then figure out who’s correct. That’s a ton of work. That’s why we exist—to aggregate and resolve discrepancies so people can get consistent, accurate, timely answers without the hassle.
Zach: So what can be done about it?
Mark: We discovered a need for a single, consistent, and highly accurate source of recall data. We first targeted dealerships because they feel the pain most acutely—selling vehicles with open recalls can lead to major compliance and liability issues. Then we found that many other companies in the automotive ecosystem can also benefit from consistent recall info.
Over the past 10 years, we’ve built sophisticated tech and processes to identify which VINs are affected by each recall, resolve data conflicts, and deliver extremely high accuracy. That immediacy is crucial—if you’re about to deliver or loan a vehicle, you need to know for sure if there’s an open recall. It’s not just legal risks; it’s also the safety of the driver or passenger.
So the solution is basically automation. Checking manually is too time-consuming, so we automate it all and provide that real-time information for our clients.
Zach: You’ve highlighted use cases beyond dealerships. How do you specifically work with these other companies? Any examples of your partnership approach?
Mark: Dealerships and fleets are the most obvious examples, but there are many other uses for recall information. Fleets need to protect their drivers, maintain compliance, and keep their vehicles on the road.
Then there are auto retail and tech companies that need our data for acquisition valuation: if a vehicle has a stop-sale recall with no remedy, it affects its value. Dealerships also need to manage recalls during reconditioning—some states require them to fix or disclose it before selling.
We integrate with point-of-sale systems, so at delivery or signing, the buyer sees whether there’s a recall. We also integrate with service appointment systems—someone comes in for an oil change, a new recall came out last week, and the service department can fix it immediately.
A huge part of our business is outreach—there are millions of vehicles on the road that need recall repairs, and our information helps dealerships or other service providers contact those customers and get them in for the fix. That can drive significant service revenue and improve safety on the roads.
We’re also starting to partner with consumer protection companies who monitor things like your credit or identity and now want to help you monitor your vehicle for safety recalls. It’s a valuable add-on service.
Zach: Definitely a wide total addressable market. Let’s talk about the specific services AutoAp offers, and maybe share a key client example.
Mark: Sure. We have deep conversations with prospective partners to understand how recall information best fits into their product or workflow. Some solutions are batch-oriented, while others are real-time APIs.
Monitor is for ongoing tracking of a fixed set of VINs—like a dealership’s inventory or a fleet—alerting them right away if a new recall appears.
Verify is an on-demand API to check a single VIN when you need an immediate status for decisions like an auction bid or trade-in.
Disclose generates a PDF for use in digital signing workflows, so you can show a customer the recall status at the point of sale.
Campaign is for larger-scale outreach. For example, a service call campaign to inform customers about recalls on their vehicles.
In many cases, clients combine these services—maybe they verify VINs at acquisition and then place them into a monitor list.
We work with companies of all sizes. A notable client is Vehlo, which has multiple dealer-facing solutions—reconditioning, valuation, outreach—and each uses recall data slightly differently. We also recently partnered with a consumer-protection firm outside the auto space.
Zach: Really fascinating. Anything you’d like to add to wrap things up?
Mark: It really does take a village—OEMs, suppliers, government, dealers, consumers, service providers—all must collaborate to improve recall repair rates. It’s more complex than you think, and each entity has its own needs.
At any point, 20–25% of vehicles in the U.S. have at least one open recall. If you pull up to a four-way stop, one car is likely driving a dangerous vehicle. OEMs and the government identify the defects and issue recalls, but it takes more than a letter in the mail to get cars fixed. We need multiple touchpoints across the ecosystem—inventory checks, consumer outreach, service appointments, all of it.
At AutoAp, we’re proud of the part we play, and we like to think we might have saved someone’s life by enabling timely repairs.
Zach: Definitely well put, Mark. For companies listening and wanting to get in touch or learn about upcoming conferences, what’s the best way to do that?
Mark: We’d love to connect with anyone interested in leveraging our recall data. Visit our website at www.autoap.com, email info@autoap.com, or find us on LinkedIn. We’ll also be at the NADA show in New Orleans—if you’re there, reach out, and we’ll schedule some time.
Zach: Awesome. Well, Mark, I’ve learned a lot about the recall management space. Really appreciate your time on the podcast today.
Mark: Thank you, Zach. It was a pleasure.