A Seattle-startup company called Tred is hoping to make the car-buying process easier by bringing cars to buyer's homes for test drives instead of forcing them to go to a dealership.
Many car buyers have resorted to buying cars online instead of at a dealership because many people feel uncomfortable around car salesmen. Car sales people ranked below members of Congress in trustworthiness in a Gallup poll last year according to Reuters.
Tred, which officially launched this week in Seattle, is hoping to capitalize on this issue by delivering almost any vehicle to a potential buyer for just $19 a car.
Dealers are also on board with the idea, and will pay the company an "undisclosed amount" for each test drive.
If all goes well in Seattle, expect the company to branch out to other densely populated cities like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles according to Tred Chief Executive and founder Grant Feek.
"I always felt there should be a better experience, a better way to buy," he said in a telephone interview.
The company, launched in 2012, will work with approximately 30 dealers in Seattle representing almost every brand available today.
The online service will allow consumers to schedule a test drive online, which will be delivered by Tred employees not associated with the dealers providing the cars, Feek said.
Employees ride along on the test drive and will provide information about the car to help reduce the time spent at a dealership to one to two hours from the national average of four or more.
Tred raised $100,000 in a first round of financing from a group that included former GM CEO Rick Wagoner, whom Feek, 32, met while Wagoner was speaking to Feek and his classmates at Harvard Business School according to Reuters.
In the fall of 2012, Tred raised another 1.7 million from a number of private equity firms, including Fraser McCombs Capital. The firm also received money from the family of Red McCombs, who owns eight different dealerships in San Antonio and used to on the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Vikings.
"A customer asking for a car to be brought to their house is in my opinion converted from a shopper to a buyer," said Fraser McCombs in a press statement.
Related Articles:
2013 Kia Soul Named One of The 'Coolest Cars Under $18,000' by Kelley Blue Book
2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51 Performance Estimates Released
TWA Flight 800 Crash: F.B.I. Cover Up Exposed in New Documentary? (VIDEO)
Aaron Hernandez Update: Police Search Patriots Tight End's House, Rental Car Next (VIDEO)
Aston Martin Reveals 183-MPH Vanquish Volante Convertible (SLIDESHOW/ VIDEO)
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
