8/13/2023 0 Comments Shift car sales locationsI rarely bought a car because I thought it was such a terrible experience. I jokingly say that I have a PhD in political economy and I’m afraid to walk into a dealership. Toby: The personal experience of being really nervous about buying a car –– and the challenges around selling them. Scott: How did you decide that this was a field you wanted to disrupt? There’s no negotiation, no haggling, and you can do it all in your driveway, at your home or wherever you’d like to meet. You see all of your lending options and a totally transparent price. You can get a manufacturer-style, like-new warranty. If you want to buy it, we have an iPad you can use to apply for financing. Tap “see this car,” and schedule a time to bring it to you, on your terms. Toby: There are two users: sellers and buyers. Scott: Walk me through the user experience. Ultimately, it’s a peer-to-peer exchange. We allow people to access used cars with the peace of mind they’d have when buying a new car: the ability to test drive it and return it. Toby: We use technology to eliminate the current information disadvantage so people can sell their car with no hassle. Scott: Tell me more about how Shift changes things. At Shift, we think anybody should be able to go online, find the car they want, tap a button and either buy it or have it come to them so they can test drive it without a pushy salesperson. However, technology is leveling the playing field. Women, in particular, say they get their “‘car guy” –– like a husband, brother or friend –– to buy a car on their behalf because they’re not empowered to do it. Women, folks who are new to the country or people new to buying cars just know that they’ll be shaken down. That’s why the used car salesman gets such a bad reputation. And it openly discriminates against huge swaths of the population. –– is still essentially a non-online offering. But the largest retail category on the planet –– the automobile market in the U.S. Toby: You can buy just about anything online. I’m having a hell of a time buying another car, so our conversation is fortuitous. Scott: The lease on the Technori-mobile is up soon. Read on for Toby’s thoughts on how and why his startup is creating a paradigm Shift in the marketplace. Word has it, the company plans an IPO in 2021.Ĭan a startup disrupt a massive industry that’s still largely offline, stubbornly unresponsive to consumer habits and intent on obfuscating its inner workings? Founded in 2013, San Francisco-based Shift has raised $293 million in venture capital and brought in a cool $135 million in revenue last year. So he and his co-founder, George Arison, built an online used car marketplace that features transparent pricing, concierge service and a generous return policy. It’s a huge financial commitment.”īut, says Toby, the process is stuck in analog mode. Or the second biggest, if you buy a house. “It’s the biggest purchase you’ll make in your life. “Finding the right car –– and buying it or leasing it –– is a really hard problem,” he says. Toby Russell, the cofounder and co-CEO of Shift, is here to change all that. Those are just a few reasons why buying a car –– especially a used one –– is about as appealing as getting a root canal, being stuck on a packed airplane taxiing on a runway or using a porta-john at a burrito festival. Topped off with a trip to everyone’s favorite place, the DMV.
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