What a weird wired world we live in. My brother just bought a Chevy Suburban over Ebay from a car dealer in Texas and got a great deal. I guess used Suburbans are much less expensive in Texas than in Massachusetts. He couldn’t get a traditional bank loan because it is an online transaction so he found this online loan company called E-Loan to do it. Everything was going fine—he was expecting it to be delivered next week—until E-Loan threw in a new wrinkle. They want him to actually see the car and sign the papers with the dealer.
So now my brother has to use his frequent flier miles to fly down to Texas and back tomorrow. It’s still well worth the $75 because the vehicle is so much cheaper than what he’d have to pay here. But it’s ironic and a bit silly that a completely Internet-based company like E-Loan wouldn’t take into account that the transactions it’s funding may be completely Internet-based too. As my brother asked, why can’t E-Loan use the same third-party companies used by Ebay to inspect cars being sold on its service? It’s an inconvenience, a small expense, and the loss of a rainy Saturday, but above all it’s just silly. Just goes to show that this Internet thing still needs some work.
