Leasing startup Honcker added used-car trade-in capabilities to its mobile app via a partnership established with Carvana in November 2018, Honcker Founder and Chief Executive Nathan Hecht told AFN. Technology integration was completed in February, and the companies officially launched the tool to users last week.
With the partnership, consumers can sell their used car and get into a new lease with the Honcker app. “Users on the Honcker app fill out the information about their current vehicle, and after choosing the lease they want, there will be a little icon that says, ‘Would you like to sell your existing car?’” Hecht said. Once a user clicks that icon, the app will ask for the used car’s VIN, and Carvana’s technology will assign pricing.
“Carvana will send a price they are willing to pay the customer for that particular car,” Hecht said. “A consumer can save that price for 72 hours.” Carvana will then set up a time to pick up the used vehicle and pay the consumer. “At that point, the consumer can go back to the app and do the lease transaction,” he said.
The product did not go through a pilot phase, Hecht said, and was launched across all 24 states where both Honcker and Carvana operate. Before the partnership with Carvana, consumers would have to go to Honcker-approved dealerships to sell their used vehicles.
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