Taking Shift for a Test Drive in DC

A couple months ago, our beloved old Subaru kicked the bucket and we needed to get a new car pronto. We went to several dealerships, dealt with shady salespeople, haggling, and leaving wondering if we got the best deal. After we got our new car I heard about Shift and wish I had heard about them sooner.

Shift is a revolutionary way to buy used cars. Kind of like a realtor for cars, Shift is the middle person between those who want to sell their quality used cars and those who wish to purchase one. They carefully inspect the cars so there isn’t a lemon in the bunch. No major damage, no high mileage, just the cream of the crop of used cars in your area.

On the Shift.com site you can peruse cars available in your area. You can narrow down by price, mileage, body style, make and transmission. If you don’t see what you like, you can sign up for email notifications once a vehicle is made available. Each car has several high-resolution photos plus a magnifier to see up close and photos of any wear and tear so you can see clearly before making a decision. When you find a car you’d like to test drive, one of Shift’s Car Enthusiasts will drive it to your home or workplace.

Shift offered me an opportunity to try out their program from the cars they have for sale in the DC area. I saw many cars that we considered when replacing our Subaru; this would have been so much easier than how it was when we got our car. But since I already have a car I decided to try a car I would never own… a Porsche. Go hard or go home, right?

I chose a 2012 Porsche Cayenne and on the Shift.com scheduled my test drive while on my lunch break. I received a confirmation email and they called as well to confirm. I don’t get the best cell reception at my office and missed the call; they texted to follow up and I informed them of that and they continued any coordination by text, which I thought was great. Love a company that will adjust for their customers' situations!

My Car Enthusiast, Jacques called to let me know his ETA and arrived at the expected time. He gave a tour of the car, answered any questions, then took a picture of my license with his tablet to get the test drive started. Jacques sat in the back seat and he answered questions and provided detail about the car when we asked. Shift’s Car Enthusiasts don’t work on commission you don’t have to deal with a hard sell. However, they are truly car enthusiasts. Jacques, my Car Enthusiast called himself a Petrol Head. He decided to be a Car Enthusiast with Shift after retiring; he has three cars of his own and loves being able to talk about his passion with customers. A quick view of the Car Enthusiasts on the Shift.com website will show that across the country, the company has a crew of “petrol heads” who are perfect for their jobs.

If you decide to buy a car, Shift does all the work for you. They provide financing you so desire, take care of the paperwork, the tags, and when the car is ready will drive it to you tags already on and hand over the keys.

Do you ever see businesses and think, “I wish I thought of that!”? This is how Karl and I felt after trying Shift. Buying a used car sucks. You wonder if you’re being screwed over, you lose a whole weekend at a dealership, you have to deal with commission-hungry sales reps who care more about money than the right car for you. How sweet to be able to hand pick the car you wish to check out, have it delivered to your front door with an individual fully educated on your car and cars in general, who will get paid no matter what so only cares about you being happy.

This may not be a car blog, but it’s a blog about choosing quality over quantity. And Shift offers just that. We’re busy people, and we deserve respect, quality, and good service. Shift offers all this without paying an arm and a leg which is why I agreed to try out their program.

Shift started two years ago in California and has expanded to DC just this year. Stay tuned as they plan to expand to other metro areas in the future. Shift covers the whole DC metro area, about 35-40 miles from DC proper into Maryland and Virginia. Click here and use my personal referral link to schedule your free test drive!