Georg Bauer to report on progress of fair.com at IAFN Conference

Georg Bauer will report on the progress of fintech start-up fair.com, a business he co-founded this year with TrueCar pioneer Scott Painter. Bauer will be speaking at the International Auto Finance Network conference in January 2018 in London.

Fair.com’s business model has grown out of the founders’ belief that modern consumers find problems with the current car buying process. Confrontational experiences with dealership salespeople and the long-term commitments required for purchases, leases and loan agreements are all out of step with purchasing patterns in most other sectors, where consumers increasingly favour pay on use and subscription arrangements, they argue.

Fair.com aims to offer a solution, with a smartphone app-based service through which users source and fund a vehicle with a few touches of the screen.

Complex algorithms carry out risk assessment and finance checks automatically, meaning users can simply download the app and scan their driving licence to be instantly approved for a monthly payment.

The payment includes a warranty, roadside assistance and standard maintenance, while insurance for wear and tear and collision liability can be paid on a monthly basis.

Speaking to financial news network Cheddar last week, Painter said: “It’s like an iTunes account for your car where you have an all-in single low cost of ownership that is much simpler way to manage the overall complexity of owning a car.

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“What unlocks this is the ability to understand what a vehicle is worth. One of the things we developed at TrueCar is a level of clarity around the retail market and what others pay for their cars. It gives us a very deep understanding around what a car is worth both new and used, because we can also see now the wholesale market today and the future. This enables us to unlock an entire asset class differently than we have before.”

The Fair app scans the used car market for fairly priced cars and the company will then purchase them to lease to customers, using its deep understanding of market pricing to get the best deal.

Users don’t commit to long-term funding agreements as they can simply return the vehicle at any time, so they don’t have to use lease swap services if they wish to change their car.

Painter said: “Swap-a-lease and lease traders are really a biproduct of this very rigid financial contract – the lease – which is a term-based product. In order for the lessor to count on their revenue, they have to know that you are going to be stuck in that car for 36 months or 24 months and I really spent my career trying to address the problems that most millennials and most modern buyers have with buying a car.”

Fair.com recently completed a strategic funding round led by BMW i Ventures that includes investments from Penske Automotive Group and other strategic investors, which will fund its expansion across the US in 2018.

Georg Bauer, president and co-founder of Fair.com will be presenting the keynote speech at the International Auto Finance Network Conference on January 26, 2018 at the Hilton Tower Bridge, London. To book your place complete the form below.

Georg Bauer’s presentation is sponsored by NETSOL Technologies Europe. Georg is a member of the NETSOL Technologies Advisory Board.