TAKE POLL Vehicle Subscription Models - Is Fair 'The Answer?'

[ryan.gerardi]

Given the choice, would you rather...

1. Pay a monthly fee for financing (or leasing) a vehicle, plus insurance and maintenance, and be locked into the vehicle for 3-5 years, or
2. Pay the same monthly fee, be at liberty to switch to and from any vehicle you like at any time with no mileage restrictions, maintenance or insurance fees, free pickup and delivery, etc?

Of course, everyone would choose Option 2.

But is this possible? Can these be achieved economically?

Fair is aiming to transform vehicle ownership with a new way to shop, get approved, and pay for a car for a low, all-in, month-to-month payment — right on your phone. And they just secured $1B in underwriting.

Does Fair have a feasible model?

With BOOK by Cadillac, members can switch between different Cadillacs to best suit their needs with this first-of-its-kind subscription service from an OEM.

What other vehicle subscription models exist?

 

[Salete]

I like the model,
But I do not think you can switch cars at anytime within same lease ( not sure if that is what you were saying )
. Yes there is no term. You can always RE-LEASE, but remember there is always a Start Payment that would make people think about it a tad more

 

[Rob]

Feels like a "devil is in the details" sort of situation. Hard to see this making any economic sense for dealers or Fair, either.


For crazy $$$$$ per month? Sure. But then who's signing up?

 

[Salete]

dealers get a sale. 500 spiff for back end. And first right of refusal when car come back..

as a consumer, my wife and I want to lease. But not for 3 years. Dont know what we really want. Flexibility is a value add for us

 

[Brendan Dolan]

It'll be interesting to see if they can make it work. I'd personally love to buy something, then get bored of it, and dump it for something else.

I just don't see how they'll deal with it though. While they're smart to work off of used cars that are under market value at time of purchase, they'll still get bitten if someone jumps out of it quickly. If I decided I wanted a 4x4 for the snow season and then I dump it when the weather is nice, I assume they'll take a bath on it. It'll be interesting to see what shakes out.

 

[Steve Stauning]

Fair and Dealer Groups have the advantage over the OEM models that are out there (or recently announced).

With Fair or (for example) Germain's program, you can switch between brands. For example, at Germain for $1,000 a month you can choose between any of the following: Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C Class, Lexus ES and IS, BMW X3, Audi Q3, Lexus RX350, Ford F-150, Toyota Tundra and Honda Odyssey.

Much more attractive (in my opinion) than BOOK by Cadillac.

 

[ryan.gerardi]

In a conversation yesterday with the e-commerce director of a Top 50 auto group, it was revealed that they are "sandboxing" ideas for subscription models to see what works and what doesn't, similar to what Germain is doing. The auto group essentially is the purchaser, underwriting the subscription to the consumer, permitting consumers access to new and used vehicles.

The multi-franchise groups certainly have an advantage with this, meaning single stores and smaller groups will have to align with each other (or the larger groups) to compete in this new frontier.

 

[hondadealer]

Is the model appealing to the customer? Absolutely. Is there any logical way that a manufacturer could offer it at a price close to what a lease or finance would cost? Absolutely not. Pretty tough to defy the laws of depreciation, maintenance, and interest. Will very rich people who aren't worried about the price sign up? Perhaps. It really depends on whether they value the variety of being able to drive different vehicles more than the value of owning (or leasing) a car that is "theirs". At the most, this will be a minor part of a luxury brand's business.

 

[Jason@nabthat]

The model will ultimately be decided by depreciation. Can you sustain revenues greater than the depreciation of the assets the company is holding...this is why I believe Fair.com is in a better position because they are buying already depreciated vehicles. For dealers or a 3rd party trying to do this with new vehicles would have a difficult time after the initial 36 months when inventory has to rotate out, etc.

I think OEM's will ultimately have to figure out a way to underwrite the short-term lease/subscription models (Volvo has a 12 month lease program coming out)...seems like TMobile JUMP plan for cars.