USAA iPhone apps to help buyers of homes, cars
Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Aug 4, 2010 by WAYNE HEILMAN
Want to buy a car or home? Just go to your iPhone.
Financial services giant USAA launched iPhone applications Wednesday that will provide its 7.7 million members one-stop shopping to research, find and get discounted prices on cars and homes, as well as to finance and insure them.
The apps, called Auto Circle and Home Circle, are the latest additions to USAA’s Mobile application that allows members to check account balances, transfer funds, deposit checks, pay bills, and even find ATMs and rental car locations. The apps are designed to allow USAA’s members, including many who are active-duty military personnel, to complete financial and other transactions from far- flung locations that include war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Auto Circle and Home Circle help us facilitate the financial security of our members by giving them a one-stop resource for their cars and homes, which are two of the largest financial decisions they make,” Wayne Peacock, USAA’s executive vice president of member experience, said in a press release. “Since our membership is highly mobile, we made these services mobile too, so members are empowered even while at the dealership.”
The programs also are available on the Web and are offered through networks of auto dealers and real estate agents, including 55 dealers and 89 agents in the Colorado Springs area, that have agreed to discounts from the manufacturer’s suggested retail price for cars or to give rebates on home purchases or sales.
The no-haggle discounts on cars average about $4,500 on new vehicles and include manufacturer incentives; members can get rebates of $350 to $1,550 for buying or selling homes through the program.
The Auto Circle program also includes a list of 62 vehicles USAA has rated as “best overall value” based on reliability, insurance costs, fuel economy, safety ratings and other factors, and gives immediate loan approval or denial for members and an estimate of insurance costs.
The vehicle discounts also have a 72-hour lowest-price guarantee. USAA plans to add ways to service and sell vehicles through the program by March.
The Home Circle program allows members to search characteristics of neighborhoods as well as homes to buy or rent and connect with a real estate agent through USAA’s MoversAdvantage program. Early next year, it will add the ability to get mortgages and insurance through the program.
USAA has nearly 100,000 members in the Springs area, and up to 200,000 additional area residents are eligible to join as current or former military personnel and their families.
The San Antonio-based organization employs 1,000 at a regional office here that is adding 200 employees by year’s end to handle calls from USAA members on banking services and financial advice
car insurance discount