BMW hits the road with new online financing tools
It’s not quite the same as buying a vehicle completely online, but BMW Group Financial Services is rolling out a new site that makes it easier for BMW buyers to select online finance options and sell their old car.
The group, the consumer finance arm of BMW of North America LLC, has launched Up2drive.com, which enables BMW owners and potential BMW owners to calculate car payments and apply for financing online. Once the loan has been approved and a customer has acquired the vehicle, owners can also use Up2drive.com to manage their account, see their payments history and change their profile.
"With our new online venture, we can now offer automotive finance to all customers,” says Up2drive.com president Shaun Bugbee.
Other automotive manufacturers such as Ford and General Motors offer similar online finance tools. But BMW believes Up2drive.com will drive more consumer finance deals because the site also has features that help buyers sell their used vehicles. For instance, users can use digital printing tools to make signs and images that can be uploaded to third-party automotive sites or used offline as a used car ad for newspapers and weekly shoppers. Other tools help shoppers set a price for their used car, truck or sport utility vehicle.
“With more than six million individuals seeking to sell vehicles privately, Up2drive.com`s approach of targeting both buyers and sellers has the potential to impact the automobile sales cycle,” says Bugbee.
BMW Group Financial Services historically works with dealers to arrange financing for qualified buyers, but the company sees a bigger opportunity in using the web to set up a direct lending channel. “We’re expanding the business to beyond the traditional role of a captive finance company in order to reach more consumers,” says Bugbee.
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