Shift and Lithia’s Strategic Partnership in the News

Lithia to provide Shift with capital and facilities to grow

Shift Technologies has quickly become one of the largest used car retailers in California. By investing heavily into its online platform and sophisticated pricing algorithms, Shift continues to streamline the car buying and car selling experiences and make them much more user-friendly.

Lithia is the fourth largest auto retailer in the US, operating 160+ stores in 18 states. With this new partnership, Lithia will be able to provide greater vehicle storage capacity, reconditioning facilities, and access to capital to expedite Shift’s growth and expansion.

News roundup: Shift & Lithia’s new partnership

The recent $140 million Series D funding and partnership has been making the rounds. Learn more from a selection of news articles below.

Auto Portal Watch: Shift, a US-based online used car marketplace, raises $140 million

Auto Remarketing: Lithia leads $140 million financing round in Shift

Auto Remarketing: Lithia investment, partnership can drive Shift scalability

In an early meeting between the companies, the management at Lithia Motors posed this question to the co-CEOs of Shift, an online automotive marketplace: “Since all this stuff is so good and it works so well, what’s preventing you from scaling this thing quicker?”

The answer Lithia got back “really opened our eyes up to the potential synergies between the two companies,” Lithia chief executive Bryan DeBoer said in a conference call with investment analysts last week.

Automotive News (subscription required, but accessible for free if you search via Google): Lithia invests in alliance with used-car startup

Shift Technologies’ appraisal algorithms and consumer-controlled online platform helped it quickly become one of the largest used-car retailers around Silicon Valley. So Lithia Motors Inc. CEO Bryan DeBoer posed this question in a meeting with Shift’s senior leadership: Why haven’t you scaled up that model at a faster pace?

“They said they didn’t have the capacity of storage, reconditioning facilities and access to capital,” DeBoer told Automotive News. “Three items Lithia has easy access to.” …

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7 Tips to prepare your car for sale

Make your car beautiful (as possible)

Preparing your car for sale is super important if you want to maximize your sales price. A buyer is going to probably make up their minds about whether or not they want to buy your car as soon as they look at it. Whether looking at a picture of your car online or in person, you will only have a few moments to convince the person to take a closer look. So whether you choose to sell to a “private party” through a listing on craigslist, opt to trade-in to a traditional dealer, or use a full car selling service like Shift, it is very important to make sure your car looks clean and appealing.

Here are some tips to prepare your car for sale and increase it’s curb appeal!

1) Clean up your car

Let’s start with the most obvious: clean your car. Simple, yet you will be surprised how many cars are put up for sale without proper cleaning. This has to be more than just spraying the car with water. It’s the little things that could make your car look appealing and push people over the fence with hopefully a good offer. Consider the following:

  • Wash & vacuum your car.
  • Clean out your car of your belongings. Your entire car and trunk should be empty of all belongings.
  • Wipe down your wheels and hubcaps.
  • Wipe down your dashboard with car cleaning products so it looks new.
  • Wipe down your mirrors and windows inside and out.
  • Wipe down leather seats with a leather cleaner.

If you don’t have the time or are too lazy, you can always get it detailed or use a service that does it for you. Continue reading “7 Tips to prepare your car for sale”

Meet The Trailblazing Women Behind The Shift Team

Here at Shift, we’re committed to empowering the women in our team through opportunities in leadership and professional development. As disruptors in an industry that is predominantly full of men, we are committed to building a team where everyone can feel welcomed, connected, and engaged as equal partners.

In honor of International Women’s Day and the hashtag #PressForProgress, we asked some of the trailblazing women in our team to share their thoughts and insights about women in the workplace, and how their work impacts the lives of our customers and in shaping our company culture. Read on and get inspired!

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#IHeartShift: 5 Things People Love About Shift

When it comes to finding your perfect car, we at Shift love playing Cupid! During Valentine’s Day, we featured some of our very own happy customers who met their dream cars on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. In case you missed it, we rounded them all up for you here in one post.

Curious about what it’s like to buy or sell a car with us? Just read on and get the scoop straight from the folks who went through the easy-peasy experience!

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SHIFT-ing Perspectives: What I Learned From My First Startup Internship

By: Emily Nguyen

Should I intern at a startup or a large company? With so many companies to choose from, picking a place to intern at is a difficult decision. It may be tempting to choose a large tech company, because of its well-known brand and perks. I used to be hesitant about startups too. In the past, I’ve interned at some of the big tech giants…and it was a great experience. However, for my next internship, I wanted the opportunity to work at a small startup where I would be able to build software from scratch, learn how a company operates early on, and make a significant impact.

I ended up interning at Shift, with their Buyer Experience team. What attracted me to this startup was the people, mentorship opportunities, interesting engineering challenges, and the chance to make a huge impact at a high-momentum startup. In the 12 weeks of my time at Shift, I’ve learned more than I have in all my past internships.

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