Honcker, an online auto leasing platform, piloted at the end of September and is already partnered with 40 to 50 lenders — depending on where you live — and includes nearly all of the captives, Nathan Hecht, CEO of Honcker, told Auto Finance News.
Honcker was able to on board that many lenders quickly, because it communicates and works with the dealers through the dealer’s existing CRM systems. The startup has already signed with two of the top three dealer groups in the country, and is in the midst of closing on the third, according to Hecht.
The company predicts that 90% of the time, consumers will be leasing through the respective manufacturer’s captive, but Honcker also has credit union partners, which dealers can add to their dashboard. If the credit union has a better deal than what the captive offers, that’s the rate that will be displayed.
“We built this [as] super dealer centric, we looked at the industry and said, ‘dealers aren’t going anywhere, but they do need an amazing digital platform,’” Hecht said.
The app works in three steps: browse, choose your car, and submit the lease applications. The transaction is completed entirely within the app and consumers can choose to pick it up from the dealership and do a test drive before signing the final documents or have it delivered directly to their home.
Dealers control the results consumers see in the app by determining pricing above or below invoice, and inputting the specific zip codes serviced. In this way, Honcker is able to display — in real time — monthly lease rates that accurately reflect a consumer’s credit score and personal information, based on communication between the dealer and lease provider.
“When you click the lease button on Honcker you have already been given a final price based on your credit, on a specific vehicle that you’re ordering, with add-ons and extras, like the car insurance and the extended warranties, already baked into the price,” Hecht said. “It’s a completed transaction, which is different from what’s out there today, which is essentially a request for quote.”
Hecket said the company also has plans to sign with RouteOne to gain access to its network of 1,400 lenders. There are also plans to launch loan financing on Honcker sometime in early 2017.
