They also have enforcement agents (bailiff) for repossessions (not just cars) — Wild!
So yes scheme is meant as structure or plan.
The idea is to offer the best of leasing and buying.
No down payment
Can return anytime. No stringent lock-ins
Warranty included
Its basically just financing: buy the car, rent it out, resell it. The profit of the startup is the financing since customer is paying for depreciation+interest in disguise.
The challenge is how to make it happen.
Why is the idea even being discussed: hopefully giving the consumer a better experience. Do you think there is value in offering this? If yes then my challenge is to make it work by finding ways to manage all the moving parts without getting the customer to worry about these things while still making a small profit. Obviously this is not for everyone but having some market share is enough to make it a viable business.
OP can I be the GM? I have LH experience
I’m qualified I believe I’m sure everyone else can vouch for me here
Sure especially if you bring financing from PIF (saudi public investment fund)
I dont think that you can offer this at a price point that makes it compelling and would keep you solvent.
I had a sociopathic (almost psychopathic) boss who used the word Scheme all the time (he was british raised), as it turned out he actually meant the American version of Scheme, all his ideas were to make money by cheating other people out of it…dang.
Have you done the math on what maintenance & warranty will cost you per month?
How do you plan to have a consistent supply of cars that you can buy at reasonable acquisition cost?
Have you modeled out depreciation curve by month - what if someone wants to walk away at 3mo, 6mo, 12mo, 18mo, etc.?
How will you remarket the car when you get it back? Who do they return the car to?
When you factor in the depreciation cost, maintenance/warranty, operating expenses + your cost of capital… and then back out provisions for bad debt, etc…. Can you actually show any profit at the various terms above?
If you could generate strong returns with this type of program, you don’t think an auto OEM or rental company with steady supply of 2-3 year old cars would have already done this?
Yeah, Little known fact.
I have been think about used car leasing for sometime. I just trying to figure out to turn a profit. New cars are supported by the manufacturer and they basically lend money at next to nothing.
It is also important to deal with all the inventory when off lease too. You can throw it into the auction and see who pays the most for them but it is extremely tough.
You need a financial plan with conservative estimates. The challenge of doing that is that every used car is different and will throw your numbers off . This will also prevent you estimating your cash flow accurately all the time . I am not in this business so don’t know for sure but this is probably the reason why long term rental rates are x2 to x3 of a typical lease rates . They are baking the uncertainty cost into the price . Like I said I am looking at this from the perspective of building a scalable business . For a few cars , math may well work but won’t make you earn a living .
OP, it sounds like you are trying to start a used car subscription business (not used car leasing business).
What is your motivation behind the idea? Are you seeing an untapped business opportunity in this area? Do you have a resource advantage (special connection to OEM, cheap capital, or insurance company)? Or are you posing this simply as a thought experiment?
Why this idea has failed historically has been well outlined by others above. When you calculate the cost associated with maintaining a used car, it is not price competitive against consumers’ alternatives ways of obtaining a vehicle.
I would very much like to hear if you have a special angle to this business proposition – are you targeting a demographic or geographic that has not previously been served? What would be your competitive advantage? The reason I ask is that the car subscription businesses that have not yet failed have some special arrangements with OEMs/dealers/insurance companies to protect themselves against the RV and maintenance loss. You would need a unique advantage to stay afloat in this business.
I want to see how he deals with vehicles with a few accidents on carfax since he won’t be able to charge lessees for repaired damage.
Or if car needs a repair, will he choose to get the car fixed as quickly as possible or shop around for cheaper parts/ labor?
Has to be in-house or else too much relying on 3rd parties.
Leasing used cars is a stupid idea, unless you are Ernest Garcia II. Here, I said it.
Using your Altima example, if someone returns it after 1 year, you expect the next “customer” to pay the same $300/month for that Altima that’s 1 year older now? And then the “customer” after that?
The trick is to charge them $150 biweekly and possibly have a discount lot where used and abused leases get sold to lower rung BHPH customers.
Realistically to make it work you need to own three types of dealers from gravel lot with a trailer to a full blown franchise or at least develop some level of synchrony between all three as a partnership concern.
Don’t be discouraged, maybe there’s a way but it sounds like your fellow lease hackrs are worried for you. I applaud the entrepreneurial spirit and if you succeed, sign me up.