LOS ALTOS, Calif. — Beepi, which sells pre-owned vehicles on a mobile app or website, announced on Monday that it is launching a service that delivers vehicles to buyers “no matter where you live within the U.S.”
Vehicles sold on Beepi’s online marketplace are put through a 240-point inspection, and come with a 10-day money-back guarantee and a three-month, 3,000-mile warranty. The company, named as one of the hottest startups of 2015 by Forbes, has been active in 16 markets.
“… We’ve been inundated with questions from people — from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine — asking when they can use our service,” wrote the company’s head of content, Alex Lloyd, in a blog posted on Monday. “The move to add nationwide delivery is our response to that demand.”
According to Lloyd, the company has teamed with one of the largest car-carrying transporters in the country, but hinted that the delivery service may one day be handled in-house.
“Someday, we’ll have actual Beepi hubs across all areas of the United States, but until that day arrives, this move ensures that we’ve got you covered,” Lloyd wrote. “Simple, we don’t believe that people should have to put up with the traditional old-school dealership. We believe that everyone deserves better.”
In December, the company announced a partnership with Ally to offer vehicle financing for vehicles purchased on the online marketplace. That relationship expanded in April, when Ally added a leasing option to the used-car buying service.
Last month, the company launched Beepi 360, the company’s first foray into immersive technology to “create a better-than-reality experience for car buyers and sellers.” The virtual walkaround app allows consumers to view both the exterior and interior of a vehicle from their mobile phone or desktop computer. For the latter, users simply drag the mouse to view different parts of the vehicle.
“With Beepi 360, this is our first step into incorporating fully virtual reality,” Lloyd wrote the day the new tool was launched. “It’s a trend that’s catching on; even Cadillac’s president Johan de Bysschen is reportedly readying to ask store owners to replace physical showrooms filled with cars to ones with virtual reality headsets.”
Beepi joins a growing list of online retailers, including Vroom, Carvana, and Carlypso, looking to disrupt the used-vehicle marketplace. It was founded in September 2013 by CEO Ale Resnik, who, according to the firm’s website, started the company after a “horrible car-buying experience.”
“After doing a ton of research and test driving a certified pre-owned car, he bought the car only to have it catch fire days later,” the company’s website states. “Ale met Owen Savir, both serial entrepreneurs obsessed with breaking down complex problems, and together they vowed no one should ever have that bad experience again. They resolved to reinvent the entire way people buy, sell and own cars.”
The cost of the delivery service, according to the company, is determined by the distance between the seller and buyer. For a vehicle located in San Leandro, Calif., for instance, a six-hour, in-state delivery costs $299, while a delivery to Florida costs $1,099.
