4:19 pm, May 7, 2020
Motor finance company Startline says it is easing the way for dealers to offer online-based home delivery for used car sales because of the coronavirus crisis.
Chief executive Paul Burgess, pictured, said that because finance was part of the vast majority of sales, hire purchase and personal contract purchase had to be fast, easy to use, robust and compliant to make the online retail model viable.
‘We have long offered the capability to carry out the entire task of processing motor finance online from both a car buyer and retailer point of view but, pre-lockdown, some dealers chose to maintain traditional processes,’ he said.
‘It is these retailers that we are now helping. When it comes to the vehicle handover, points of contact need to be minimised or eliminated, of course, including signing a paper motor finance agreement.
‘Everything has to be online for home delivery, and if click-and-collect becomes widely adopted in the near future, the approach will be essentially the same.’
He added that Startline had been seeing significantly more activity from dealers in recent days and that many, especially larger dealer groups and car supermarkets, were preparing to use fairly comprehensive online sales models.
And Burgess pointed out: ‘It is important to bear in mind that while many people are facing a difficult time financially, others have disposable income, especially because they are not spending on all kinds of things – from restaurants to concerts – that are currently unavailable to them.
‘Also, anecdotally, there is a new, potential group of car buyers who are currently keen to enter the market because they no longer feel comfortable using public transport.’
More: Better customer relationships could come out of coronavirus crisis, says Startline
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