SAN FRANCISCO -

Online used-car marketplace Shift has added a few new wrinkles to its offering, including digitally scheduled service and repairs and an avenue where customers throughout the country can buy vehicles directly online. 

Shift, which in a news release Tuesday also announced new facilities in California, has launched a new direct online car-buying option, a pre-qualification financing tool and a maintenance/repair service.

Here’s how each of those shakes out.

Starting with the online buying addition, Shift is now allowing consumers to buy vehicles directly online and skip the test drive and in-person visit. The vehicle is shipped to the customer, who has a five-day return period.

This option was launched in November and since then, about 15% of Shift sales have gone this route.

Essentially, this is completely online car-buying, through which any customer across the country can buy a vehicle through Shift sight-unseen, a company spokesperson explained via email.

This was not formally offered in the past, the spokesperson said, aside from a few case-by-case remote car sales. 

Previously, the customer would initiate the transaction online, but the process would also typicaly include a test-drive, either on demand to the customer's location or at a hub. Now, the customer can do the entire transaction online, if they so choose.  

So, with this addition, the spokesperson explained, consumers can choose to:

  • Use the buy-it-now option, purchasing the car 100% online, with no test drive
  • Utilize on-demand test drives delivered
  • Visit a hub and test drive multiple vehicles 

“From the first days of Shift, we always envisioned that some portion of customers would want to buy a car fully online without first seeing the car, and then have it shipped to them,” Shift co-founder and co-CEO George Arison said in a news release.

“Over the last few months we have released this capability to our customers — expanding our forward-thinking, fully paperless car buying experience to include both test drives brought to their driveway and purchases completed online,” he said.

As for the service piece, Shift is now offering digital appointment-based retail repairs and maintenance in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas, where existing Shift customers can use their online account to schedule standard maintenance and service.

Through the digital portal, the customer can receive updates and reports and pay for their service.

The spokesperson confirmed that the repairs are currently being done by Shift personnel at Shift facilities. The customer brings the car in and picks it  up. 

“However, this is a new and developing program so it should be expected that it will continue to evolve,” the spokesperson said. 

Next up, financing. Shift’s prequalification tool gives customers an early look at their options for financing the purchase. Through machine learning, it is designed to forecast what financing offers are likely for that customer. The consumer does not have to enter a phone number, address or Social Security Number to receive this information.

The customer provides the pre-qualification details and can filter their search based on their specific financing parameters. The shopper can also see prices based on estimated monthly payments, while also adjusting preferred down payment and contract duration.

“Making car buying more accessible and transparent has always been core to our mission,” Shift co-CEO Toby Russell said in a news release. “Now, consumers making a large, considered purchase have full access to key financial information from the beginning of their buying journey. This is a game changer for many customers.”