It’s a 21st Century internet truism: millennials ruin everything. So far, they’ve ruined everything from marriage and the diamond industry to the workforce and vacations.
However, there are a few things that have only been revised due to millennial trends. Automotive financing, for example, is one of them.
Auto financing hasn’t gotten a facelift since, well, its inception. While auto financing is common among car buyers — 43% of people do it in order to help pay for their new vehicles — the process remains very antiquated. It is still largely paper-driven, after all. It’s also a relatively slow process and a confusing one at that. Why some potential buyers aren’t approved for loans often remains a mystery.
Millennials have already disrupted the car buying experience with their digital fixations and e-commerce preferences. Thanks to the millennial buying experience, which is largely centered on Amazon-like services that deliver products to your doorstep with a click of a button, the overall American buying experience for all products, including cars, has changed.
The days of walking into a dealership to go car shopping with the help of a salesman are largely gone. When a buyer does walk into a dealership, they have likely already done research and know what they want. It was only a matter of time that dealership financing and insurance shopping saw the same changes.
Now, JPMorgan Chase has developed a new financing option: Chase Auto Direct. This Chase service, in partnership with TrueCar, an online car-buying service, streamlines the process of financing.
It works like this: pre-approved borrowers who apply with Chase are directed to one of Chase’s more than 14,000 affiliated dealerships. When the cars hit the lot, they will come with their financing paperwork already figured out, so the buyer can just show up to the showroom, sign, and drive.
It’s as instant as possible, as long as the app is as seamless and user-friendly as Chase promises it will be. Currently, Chase Auto Direct is available in 30 states. Chase is expected to expand its availability to all 50 states sometime next year.