Fair — a used-car, no commitment leasing app — launched Tuesday, which the founders are calling an “iTunes account for your car” offering an all-in-one monthly payment model.
Fair allows customers to shop for a car based on a prequalified monthly payment range tailored to their budget, and includes the flexibility to walk away with only five days’ notice.
Unlike a traditional loan or lease, “We are not trying to qualify consumers based on their credit score; we are using their affordability index to determine how much they can afford to pay,” Scott Painter, Fair co-founder and chief executive, told Auto Finance News. “We then also benchmark what folks like Dealertrack and other platforms would put the consumer into with an indirect loan. … We are actually doing the math behind the scenes on what you would be able to finance for the car you are looking for, down to the monthly payment, and we give a guarantee.”
During a demo, Painter showed that a consumer could pick from more than 500 cars at a price of $150 to $400 a month, which includes warranty, standard maintenance, roadside assistance, collision and liability insurance, and excess wear and tear coverage, he added. “You don’t have to worry about all those other things,” Painter said. “They can all be managed through your phone.”
Fair is available in the greater Los Angeles area through 73 dealer partners and will be rolling out to the rest of California by yearend. The startup also plans to expand to other select markets
across the U.S. — likely starting with Texas and Midwestern states — in 2018, said Georg Bauer, Fair’s co-founder and president.
Fair raised $16 million in a seed financing round led by Javelin Venture Partners. Fair’s Series A-1 financing round is ongoing and led by BMW i Ventures.
Bauer will present a session entitled “The Mobile Landscape in Big Auto” at the 17th annual Auto Finance Summit, which will take place Oct. 25-27 at the Wynn Las Vegas. In Bauer’s session, he will offer an overview of traditional auto finance consumer best practices, how auto finance success limits incentive for mobile innovation, and provide examples of incremental digital offerings — and why the future demands more.
Other sessions at AFS include: Economic Trends in Auto Finance, Practical Compliance Lessons, Strategies for Enhanced Dealer Relationships, and Default Management: Strategy & Methodology. To learn more or to register, click here.