Auto Retailer: Offering Payment Options, Including Crypto, Simplifies Car Buying

When customers are buying a luxury vehicle, they’re probably expecting white-glove treatment throughout the shopping and buying journey — and that includes being able to use their choice of payment method.

Motorenn, an automotive eCommerce startup focusing on luxury, exotic and premium used vehicles, recently began accepting cryptocurrency via BitPay. The move came in response to customer requests and the retailer’s desire to simplify all aspects of the transaction.

“It’s one of our core beliefs that we want to make the process as informed and easy as possible, and leverage technology every step of the way to do that,” David Chou, CEO of Motorenn, told PYMNTS. “Part of that is making the payment component as easy as possible in the way that the consumer wants to transact.”

Offering Customers Payment Options

Motorenn now allows customers to purchase vehicles with 13 different types of cryptocurrency. Customers can pay with their digital wallets by selecting BitPay during Motorenn’s online checkout process. The exchange rate is provided at the time of the transaction.

“We want to make that option open to our customers who are sitting on cryptocurrencies and want to transact and get a really cool vehicle,” Chou said. “It’s time to reward themselves a little bit and these are folks that, when they’re transacting this amount, they’re definitely believers in cryptocurrency.”

The biggest hurdle to Motorenn’s enabling the use of crypto was understanding the regulatory environment and feeling comfortable with that, Chou said.

“In automotive — especially with the large amounts — there’s always concerns of making sure that you’re in line with federal and state regulations,” Chou said. “There’s a lot of complexity about cash payments, so how does crypto play into that?”

Motorenn dealt with these concerns by partnering with BitPay and letting that firm manage the regulatory aspect. The retailer also chose an option that converts the crypto to dollars, so customers pay with crypto while Motorenn gets paid in dollars. The company buys vehicles, pays utilities and pays employees in dollars, so they chose that option, Chou said.

Helping Customers Feel Confident Buying Vehicles Online

This is the company’s latest step in offering options and convenience to customers, Chou said. Motorenn was founded in June 2020 with the idea of operating with a digital-first mentality and low overhead costs.

Operating through a digital channel and out of a warehouse near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Motorenn saves 80% of the labor and overhead it would have if it were a traditional dealership on the famous Rodeo Drive.

At the same time, Motorenn aims to offer a more white-glove experience than other automotive eCommerce retailers. To help customers feel comfortable buying luxury cars online, the company provides a CARFAX vehicle history report, a window sticker and highly detailed pictures. It also offers human assistance to walk them through the process when desired.

“I think really what it comes down to is being able to have an experience that feels safe, an experience that informs the consumer as much as possible, so they feel confident that they’re getting what they’re expecting to get,” Chou said.

While the typical brick-and-motor dealership serves customers within a 30-mile radius, Motorenn finds that 90% of its customers are outside that radius, and half of them are in other states. When customers buy online, Motorenn works with third-party transporters to deliver the vehicles to the customer.

“For these people, time is money, and stress is — well, stress is stress. We can all do with a little bit less of it, right?” Chou said. “Our process really reduces that as much as you can. We had a guy buy a super high-quality Porsche in 30 minutes.”

Preferring Electronic Payments

Beyond crypto, Motorenn accepts wire transfers, bank checks, loan funding documents and cash — though cash is not recommended. In the two years Motorenn has been selling cars, wire transfer has been customers’ go-to choice.

For the company, the least preferred payment method is cash. While Motorenn does offer that as an option as long as it’s disclosed to the IRS, the company prefers other options.

“The issue is just literally handling that amount of cash and securing it,” Chou said. “I’d much rather it all be electronic because, ultimately, when it’s electronic, it’s digital, it’s instantaneous and it’s not something that we have to worry about.”