This year’s Los Angeles Auto Show will mark the debut of a new car-buying service developed by two Loyola Marymount University students that allows customers to place a Request for Sale (RFS) on the car they want and dealers to either accept or counter the terms of the deal. The service is called Nabthat.
Nabthat will have two signature events at the Auto Show. On Friday, Nov. 22, from 7-8 p.m., there will be a flash-mob event; and on Saturday, Nov. 23, there will be a car caravan starting at 1:45 pm.
Nabthat is the brainchild of Jason Silverberg, a junior in LMU’s College of Business Administration and a participant in the school’s Business Incubator program run by Professor David Choi.
The idea behind the service is that buyers can eliminate the hassle of going from dealer to dealer searching for the best price on a car. Instead, potential buyers can utilize Nabthat’s patent-pending RFS platform to pick out the make and model of the car they want, along with the terms, and have their credit score checked – all for free. Sales managers who have signed up to participate look over the deal to see if they want to accept or counter the RFS. If the dealer accepts it, then the buyer makes one trip to the showroom sign the papers and pick up their car.
The advantage for car buyers is obvious. “You are able to send your deal to a lot of dealerships, and you are going to get a lot of responses, and you get an excellent deal without spending a lot of time,” says Juan Jose Galvez, one of the Nabthat partners.
The advantage for dealers is that they get a motivated, pre-qualified buyer who is ready to sign a deal for the right price.
So far, more than 50 dealerships have signed up to participate in the venture, representing auto makers from around the world, including Volkswagen, Honda, Chevrolet, Infiniti, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Fiat, Porsche, Audi, and Mazda.
The student partners, Silverberg and Galvan, will be at the Auto Show’s Nabthat booth (Kentia Hall K28) all day.
