LA and SF Car Buyers Now Have a Safe, No-Contact Test Drive Option

 Shift Technologies, Inc. (Shift), the premier online used vehicle marketplace, announced the launch of its essential worker discount program and no-contact test drives in Los Angeles and San Francisco in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. As a pioneering ecommerce company, Shift was designed to sell cars digitally and bring services to customers’ homes. Given local ordinances, Shift is currently one or the only place to both try and buy a car, now and for the foreseeable future. 

Making getting around more complicated, recent data shows that reduced service and limitedpublic transportation options, along with declines in ridesharing usage amid social distancing measures are presenting challenges for essential employees to get to work in a safe and healthy manner.  In cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco where some residents may have been able to live without a vehicle, a car may now be a necessity, especially for workers considered essential.  Shift’s new Essential Worker Program is intended for customers who are considered essential and frontline workers during the coronavirus including grocery store staff, utilities operators, government employees and medical professionals.  The program will apply to cars both for local test drive appointments and cars purchased directly online. The program will continue for as long as strict public health directives are in place. 

To help reduce the spread of germs, Shift is now exclusively offering no-contact test drives. That means they’ll bring consumers the car, disinfect it, and offer a test drive without a Shift Concierge present. In addition, the Concierge will avoid being in close proximity during the appointment and will not be shaking hands.  During the appointment, a Shift Car Concierge will show up at a customer’s home with the car to test drive. They’ll ask for a driver’s license so it can be verified. Once that’s done, the concierge will wipe down any frequently touched surfaces (including the interior and exterior of the car, keys, iPad, and driver’s license), hand clients the keys, and then customers get to go take the car out for a spin alone while the concierge waits at a designated meeting spot. At the end of the test drive experience, if clients decide to buy the car, Shift will facilitate the transaction right then and there. If not, the Shift Concierge will simply drive the vehicle back.