CarGurus Launches Finance in Advance*™, A New Digital Retailing Feature

Rhea-AI Summary

CarGurus (Nasdaq: CARG) has launched a new feature allowing consumers to pre-qualify for financing while searching for vehicles. This innovation aims to enhance the car buying experience by providing detailed financing options through multiple lenders, enabling shoppers to arrive at dealerships with pre-qualified rates. As noted, 61% of consumers finance their purchases at dealerships, making this tool particularly beneficial. The service is part of CarGurus' strategy to promote transparency and efficiency in automotive retail.

Positive

• Launch of a pre-qualification feature enhances the car shopping experience.
• Allows consumers to compare financing rates efficiently.
• Partnerships with lenders like Capital One offer extensive coverage of dealership listings.

Negative

• None.

Consumers Can Now Compare Financing Rates and Visit the Dealership More Prepared to Purchase a Vehicle

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CarGurus, Inc. (Nasdaq: CARG), a leading online automotive marketplace, today announced a new feature that enables shoppers to pre-qualify** for financing as they search on CarGurus for their next car. Pre-qualification offers are provided through the multiple participating lenders that work with CarGurus’ listing dealers, allowing consumers to go to the dealership with real rates*** in hand for the specific car in which they are interested. The service is the latest in CarGurus’ growing suite of digital retail products engineered to help consumers and dealers by bringing ease and transparency to the car shopping process.

“Financing is a critical, yet often forgotten about, part of purchasing a car. As the pioneers of trust and transparency in automotive retail, we believe that providing shoppers with information about financing rates will help guide better purchase decisions,” said Josh Berg, Vice President of Consumer Products at CarGurus. “Shoppers that use CarGurus’ pre-qualification tool will know the real costs of their desired vehicle and can go to the dealer ready to complete their financing. That results in saved time for both consumers and dealers.”

According to the CarGurus 2020 Buyer Journey report, 61% of consumers that buy at a dealership finance their purchase, and over half (53%) do so through the dealership where they buy.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/43833ffc-6ead-47d1-8e4d-4e0caa4e8787

Caption: Examples of how rates are presented to shoppers using Finance in Advance* and what shoppers can use to present their rates to dealers****

How Finance in Advance* Works
Finance in Advance* is an easy-to-use feature for eligible shoppers to obtain pre-qualification* for vehicle financing. Car shoppers simply go to https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/finance to pre-qualify for free and with no impact***** to their credit score. Participating lenders include Capital One, Westlake Financial and Global Lending Services, which in combination provide almost 90% coverage of all dealership listings on the CarGurus site.

The majority of shoppers are notified in a matter of minutes when they are pre-qualified* and their personalized, pre-qualified offers are automatically applied to their car search on CarGurus. This enables shoppers to filter their search results to vehicles where they are eligible for financing and ultimately compare real financing rates*** across those eligible vehicles.

Additionally, shoppers can also customize the vehicle purchase terms like their down payment, estimate the value of their trade-in vehicle and apply that value to their deal. Once a shopper has selected a vehicle and created a customized offer, they simply print or email to themselves a certificate with their rates. Then, the shopper brings their certificate into the dealership where they complete the credit application and finalize the financing terms for that vehicle with the dealership.

* Product of CarGurus, Inc. Subject to final agreement between dealership and customer. Financing not completed on site.
** Pre-qualification subject to verification of credit with participating lenders. Pre-qualification terms are not guaranteed. Completing a credit application at a dealership may result in inquiries posted to the consumer’s credit file. Final agreement will reflect purchase and finance terms.
*** Subject to dealership’s and customer’s agreement on terms and conditions.
****Vehicles, prices and terms are samples for demonstrative purposes only based on excellent credit. Visit CarGurus.com for available offers, subject to credit verification and agreement on terms and conditions with the participating lender.
***** Completing a credit application at a dealership may result in one or more inquiries posted to the consumer’s credit file.

About CarGurus
Founded in 2006, CarGurus (Nasdaq: CARG) is a global, online automotive marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of new and used cars. The Company uses proprietary technology, search algorithms and data analytics to bring trust and transparency to the automotive search experience and help users find great deals from top-rated dealers. CarGurus is the most visited automotive shopping site in the U.S. (source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Automotive-Information/Resources, Total Audience, Q3 2020, U.S. (Competitive set includes: CarGurus.com, Autotrader.com, Cars.com, TrueCar.com)). In addition to the United States, CarGurus operates online marketplaces under the CarGurus brand in Canada and the United Kingdom. In the United States and the United Kingdom, CarGurus also operates the Autolist and PistonHeads online marketplaces, respectively, as independent brands.

To learn more about CarGurus, visit www.cargurus.com. CarGurus® is a registered trademark of CarGurus, Inc.

© 2021 CarGurus, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding our online financing platform and our ability to help our dealers and consumers, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “guide,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “will” and similar expressions and their negatives are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks related to our growth and ability to grow our revenue, our relationships with dealers, competition in the markets in which we operate, market growth, our ability to innovate, our ability to realize benefits from our acquisitions and successfully implement the integration strategies in connection therewith, natural disasters, epidemics or pandemics, like COVID-19 that has negatively impacted our business, our ability to realize cost savings and achieve other benefits for our business from our expense reduction efforts at the levels we expect, our ability to operate in compliance with applicable laws, as well as other risks and uncertainties as may be detailed from time to time in our Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Moreover, we operate in very competitive and rapidly changing environments. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, we cannot guarantee that future results, levels of activity, performance, achievements or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will occur. We are under no duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Contact:
Brian Kramer
pr@cargurus.com  

FAQ

What is the new feature announced by CarGurus on January 29, 2021?

CarGurus announced a new pre-qualification feature for vehicle financing, allowing shoppers to receive financing rates while searching for cars.

How does the pre-qualification tool benefit CarGurus users?

It helps users understand their financing options before visiting dealerships, leading to better purchase decisions.

Which lenders are participating in CarGurus' new financing feature?

Participating lenders include Capital One, Westlake Financial, and Global Lending Services.

What percentage of consumers finance their car purchases through dealerships?

According to CarGurus' 2020 Buyer Journey report, 61% of consumers that buy at a dealership finance their purchase.