Systems and methods of providing a guaranteed price for a used durable good

• US 20090063303A1
• Filed: 08/28/2008
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Subaru Of America Incorporated (Subaru Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Subaru Of America Incorporated (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: Doll, Thomas J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,392,264 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for periodically calculating a guaranteed price for a used durable good, such as an automobile. The current guaranteed price is continuously accessible by an owner of the used durable good for an extended period, and the owner can receive at least the value of the guaranteed price at the owner'"'"'s discretion. A guarantor of the calculated guaranteed price backs a transaction that ensures that the owner receives at least the value of the current guaranteed price in exchange for the used durable good. The transaction may include a trade-in of the used durable good.

Claims

1. A method for providing a guaranteed price for a durable good in a transaction, comprising:

establishing a set of durable goods eligible for the transaction, using a data processing system;

keeping a durable good in the set of durable goods until the durable good is at least two years old, using the data processing system;

periodically calculating a guaranteed price for each durable good in the set of durable goods, using the data processing system;

providing an owner-accessible interface for an owner of a durable good included in the set to learn the guaranteed price of the durable good, using the data processing system;

continually offering the transaction to the owner of the durable good, including a value equal to or greater than the guaranteed price offered in exchange for the durable good, while the durable good remains in the set of durable goods, using the data processing system; and

providing the value equal to or greater than the guaranteed price to the owner of the durable good in exchange for the durable good, when the owner enters into the transaction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the durable good is a vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the value equal to or greater than the guaranteed price is a trade-in allowance towards the purchase of a new durable good.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein periodically calculating further comprises:

periodically accessing an industry price estimate for each durable good in the set; and

calculating the guaranteed price for each durable good to be higher than the industry price estimate.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting the value provided to the owner of the durable good according to a condition of the durable good.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

paying a price equal to the value provided to the owner to purchase the durable good from an entity that entered into the transaction with the owner.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

incentivizing a customer to purchase a new durable good whose previous model year models are in the set of durable goods by informing the customer of the continual offering of the transaction.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the owner-accessible interface is a website interface.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selling the durable good obtained from -the owner in the transaction.

10. A method for selling or leasing a new vehicle comprising:

periodically calculating guaranteed prices for at least two previous model years of vehicles made by a manufacturer of the new vehicle, using a computing system;

making the guaranteed prices accessible to owners of the previous model years of vehicles, using the computing system;

continually offering an owner of a previous model year vehicle a trade-in allowance toward the purchase or lease of the new vehicle, the trade-in allowance being equal to a current guaranteed price calculated for the previous model year vehicle, using the computing system; and

selling or leasing the new vehicle to the owner of the previous model year vehicle for a new vehicle price discounted by the trade-in allowance for the current guaranteed price, when the previous model year vehicle is traded in.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the vehicle is an automobile.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein periodically calculating further comprises:

periodically accessing industry price estimates for the vehicles made by the manufacturer of the new vehicle; and

calculating the guaranteed prices to be higher than the industry price estimates.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

adjusting the allowance offered to the owner according to a condition of the previous model year vehicle traded in.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

paying a price equal to the trade-in allowance provided to the owner to purchase the previous model year vehicle from an entity that sold or leased the new vehicle to the owner.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

incentivizing a customer to purchase the new vehicle by informing the customer of the guaranteed prices for the at least two previous model years of vehicles made by a manufacturer of the new vehicle and the continually offered trade-in allowance.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein making the guaranteed prices accessible further comprises:

providing one of a group consisting of;

an owner-accessible website that displays the guaranteed prices and an interactive telephonic system that provides the guaranteed prices.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

selling the previous model year vehicle traded in by the owner.

18. A system for providing a guaranteed price used in a transaction for a vehicle, comprising:

a guarantor computing component controlled by a guarantor that performs operations including;

defining a set of used vehicles eligible to be used in the transaction,

removing a used vehicle from the set of used vehicles when the used vehicle exceeds an age threshold,

periodically calculating current guaranteed prices corresponding to the used vehicles in the set of used vehicles,

storing terms of the transaction, which uses the current guaranteed prices, and

providing access to the calculated current guaranteed prices and the terms of the transaction;

a web server, communicatively connected to the guarantor computing component via a network, the web server performing operations comprising;

accepting information identifying a used vehicle from an owner of the used vehicle,

retrieving the calculated current guaranteed price corresponding to the used vehicle and the terms of the transaction, which uses the calculated guaranteed price, via the guarantor computing component,

displaying an offer to enter into the transaction and the terms of the transaction to the owner of the used vehicle, and

displaying the calculated current guaranteed price corresponding to the used vehicle to be used in the transaction to the owner of the used vehicle; and

an affiliate computing component, communicatively connected to the guarantor computing component and the web server via the network, the affiliate computing component performing operations comprising;

displaying the calculated current guaranteed price for the used vehicle and the terms of the transaction to an affiliate that enters into the transaction with the owner of the used vehicle, wherein the affiliate takes ownership of the used vehicle in exchange for a value equivalent to the calculated current guaranteed price, and

facilitating sale of the used vehicle from the affiliate to the guarantor for the current guaranteed price.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the used vehicle is an automobile, the guarantor is an automobile manufacturer of the used vehicle, and the affiliate is a dealer associated with the automobile manufacturer.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the transaction includes trading in the used vehicle in exchange for a reduction of the price of a new vehicle that is based on the calculated current guaranteed price of the used vehicle.