A Direct-Indirect Financing Model
A new company is bringing car shopping to consumers’ doorsteps. Literally. 
Tred, a Seattle-based startup, has launched a home-delivery test drive service. For $19 per car, a buyer can select specific vehicles to be delivered at a set time for a test drive. Consumers can even have more than one car delivered at once for side-by-side comparisons. With the at-home test drives, people have the ability to get a better gauge of space needs – they can fill the trunk, have the kids sit in the back, etc. Founder Grant Feek set up Tred as a means to “humanize and personalize the car-buying experience,” he told Auto Finance News.
Tred consults local dealerships throughout the entire process. “We’re committed to helping dealers participate in the customer service revolution that is sweeping the rest of the retail economy,” Feek said. “And we believe that doing so is the single best way to capture Gen Y and busy families and professionals.”
While Feek has specifically avoided the financing angle of the transaction, it seems like a perfect fit. Why not bring the car to the customer, then show the customer what financing options are available? For instance, if a Chevy Traverse is available with 0% financing and $1,500 cash back, and a Kia Sorento is available with 2.9% financing and $500 cash back, shouldn’t those options be part of the side-by-side vehicle comparison? I’m guessing they could sway the consumer’s decision one way or another.
Essentially, the service would be something of a cross between direct and indirect lending. In fact, maybe this model would eliminate ― or at least minimize ― the dread consumers feel about the F&I process. They can sit in the comfort of their own homes and talk about loan or lease options.
