Comparison

Stockwave vs AutoIMS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Stockwave

Streamline wholesale vehicle acquisition by simplifying auction sourcing. Quickly evaluate vehicles, access pricing guides, and get real-time bid guidance to make profitable decisions.

Highlights
  • VIN scanning for bid determination
  • Access to multiple price guides
  • Vehicle history reports
  • Auction condition report evaluation
  • Save vehicle notes
  • Navigate auction run lists
  • Real-time bid guidance
Features
Read full description

Stockwave is the latest innovation from vAuto for Wholesale Vehicle Acquisition. The Stockwave application will work for all existing vAuto clients that have a current AuctionGenius subscription or sign up for a new Stockwave subscription. Sourcing used car inventory at auction can drain time and money from a dealership. The searching and researching before the auction doesn’t always lead to the best buying opportunities. The bidding and buying process doesn’t always lead to profitable outcomes. Stockwave simplifies sourcing so much, you don’t have to spend time searching or researching - or waste money on the wrong bids again. The Stockwave mobile application is designed to aide in searching for Wholesale inventory from all major United States Automobile Auctions and for quickly evaluate the vehicles when at alive auction. Key Features: * Scan a VIN to quickly determine what to bid on a vehicle * Access price guides based on your current subscription such as MMR, KBB, Black Book, NADA, and Galves * Access Vehicle History Reports * Evaluate the Auction Condition Reports before you place a bid * Save Notes about each Vehicle to access your prior research * Navigate Auction Run Lists with ease while at the auction * Access real time bid guidance and profit projections Usage Requirements: * This app requires an active subscription with vAuto for AuctionGenius or Stockwave. * The VIN scanner requires access to your camera, and you can grant permissions by going to Settings -> Privacy -> Camera. * The VIN scanner requires an autofocusing camera. Some older Apple devices do NOT have autofocus cameras, so VIN scanning is NOT supported on those devices. * The Black Book and Galves price guides may require an additional subscription to access the data on a mobile device.

About

AutoIMS

Manage your automotive inventory and auction activities directly from your mobile device. Review vehicle condition, approve repairs, set floor prices, and update statuses with ease. This app provides essential tools for users with an existing auction or client account.

Highlights
  • Interact with inventory
  • Review condition reports and photos
  • Approve repairs
  • Place and release holds
  • Enter floor price
  • Update vehicle status
  • Enter notes
Features
Read full description

The AutoIMS Mobile App brings the core power and most heavily-used features to your mobile phone with this complimentary app. Your existing auction or client account unlocks these opportunities: - Ability to interact with inventory - per membership privileges - Review condition reports and photos - Approve repairs - Place and release holds - Enter floor price - Update vehicle status - Enter notes, and much more.

Screenshots

Stockwave4 screens
AutoIMS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: AutoIMS at 5.0 against Stockwave's 3.5. AutoIMS also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Stockwave's advantage is ratings volume (31 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AutoIMS holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stockwave has 31 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stockwave ships an update monthly, AutoIMS every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Stockwave versus AutoIMS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStockwaveAutoIMS
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (31 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews41.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings31 — better2
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB30 MB
Age rating17+4+
DevelopervAuto, Inc.Auto Auction Services Corp.

Customer experience

Stockwave

All ratings31 ratings
Positive61.3%
Neutral6.5%
Negative32.3%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive41.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative50.0%

AutoIMS

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Stockwave

No in-app purchases

None

AutoIMS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Stockwave free?
Stockwave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AutoIMS free?
AutoIMS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Stockwave or AutoIMS?
AutoIMS is rated higher. Stockwave averages 3.5 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while AutoIMS averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Stockwave or AutoIMS have ads?
Neither Stockwave nor AutoIMS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stockwave or AutoIMS?
Stockwave ships an update monthly, and AutoIMS every 5 weeks. Most recently, Stockwave was updated on October 1, 2026 and AutoIMS on September 19, 2026.

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