Tred, the Seattle startup that’s looking to upend the car buying experience by allowing customers to conduct test drives from their homes, has raised $2.4 million in new funding, according to a SEC filing. Total funding in the startup — backed by Maveron, former General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner and angel investor Chris Sacca — now stands at $2.5 million.
CEO Grant Feek said the money will be used for hiring. Tred currently operates in King County, with nearly 1,000 test drives to date.
The company also is expanding beyond test drives, announcing new “Sell your Car” and “Trade-In” programs earlier this month.
In a blog post, Tred notes that the programs are part of an “unrelenting effort to improve car shopping forever.”
“Tred will provide you with an up to date and aggressive offer price for your car that is good at any Tred Certified dealership, and Tred will guarantee the offer price,” the company writes.
The trade-in program works much the same way, with customers able to receive a guaranteed trade-in value for a car that can be used as a dealership.
Feek — who spent high school and college summers working at BMW dealerships in sales, parts and servicing — founded Tred along with CTO John Wehr and designer Blake Perdue. The company was part of the TechStars Seattle class of 2012, with Feek saying at the time that the company’s mission is to “make new car shopping as fun as new car driving.”
Tred typically charges $39 per car for its 30-minute test drives, though it is currently offering a free test drive for new customers during the month of May. Customers can search for vehicles by category — coupes, minivans, electrics — or brand — Jeep, Mazda, Nissan.
