Garner quotes industry statistics that show 8 out of 10 buyers who walk onto a used car lot are credit challenged. He says these are customers with a job, references, and some form of down payment, but no way to obtain a vehicle through traditional means of dealer financing.

From the September How 2 issue of RTO Magazine

Watch the video podcast with Michael Garner - SEADRA.

The South East Automobile Dealers Rental Association announced at the recent RentDirect Nationwide Member 2 Member meeting that the company had secured $300 million to help rent-to-own dealers secure inventory for the new rental business concept that has everyone talking – rent-to-own automobiles.

"We recognize used autos are a big-ticket purchase. That is why we are the only company able to help dealers get into this business by providing up to $5 million in financing to help obtain inventory," said Michael Garner of SEADRA.

"We have dealers all over the country who have opened since we developed this program in 1998. But most rental dealers may be familiar with Fred Pearson's story. Fred is a great example of an RTO dealer who saw a new product, tried our program, and fairly soon after sold all of his rental locations to offer rent-to-own automobiles exclusively. He has four lots in Arkansas that are doing a fabulous business helping folks get into good, running automobiles. It's a huge benefit to customers, as well. Like with any other RTO agreement, they can walk away from the car or upgrade to another vehicle at any time while they are renting without further obligation."

Garner quotes industry statistics that show 8 out of 10 buyers who walk onto a used car lot are credit challenged. He says these are customers with a job, references, and some form of down payment, but no way to obtain a vehicle through traditional means of dealer financing.

"What SEADRA offers is a turnkey system that allows the rental-purchase dealer to provide another much-needed product to their existing customers and to customers they have never served before. Everyone needs a vehicle, and SEADRA can help rental dealers provide vehicles to their customers."

The biggest question Garner says he hears from dealers involves the logistics of handling automotive insurance.

"We provide dealers with insurance on every vehicle that goes out, and the dealer retains ownership of that vehicle. The customer is still required to obtain their own liability policy on the vehicle, so in most cases, there are two policies on each car."

Additionally, to prevent vehicle loss, SEADRA takes precautionary measures to ensure dealers have knowledge of their inventory's whereabouts at all times.

"Every vehicle in our system has a safety-equipped GPS starter-interrupter. These cars won't stop while they are running, but once the engine has been safely turned off they won't start up again, if necessary. When a dealer wants to know the location of the vehicle, he or she can simply ‘ping' it on their computer and see right where the vehicle is."

Additionally, Garner says there is a multitude of accounting benefits that make the rental-purchase automotive transaction much more lucrative for a dealer than buy here – pay here programs.

"Suffice it to say, once we review the program details with rental-purchase dealers they are as excited as we are to be able to offer this much-needed service to their customers. Whether as a stand-alone lot or as an extension of an existing RTO operation, this program represents a wonderful opportunity for SEADRA, the rental dealer, and the rental customer."