Subscribe
Sign in
Canvas — A simple alternative to car ownership
An online platform that offers month-to-month car subscriptions. Get a car without committing to a multiyear financing. All cars come with insurance, maintenance, warranty coverage, and roadside assistance.
32
Replies
Would suggest a split screen comparison of cost of ownership vs you guys. Like other commenters, thought pricing was high but now think it's justified. Came to that conclusion not on the site but from the comment section in PH. Might be a good idea to display that info in a hero image on product page.
I really like the idea of hassle-free car purchasing. I purchased a car from Beepi a year ago before they shut down and the difference between these online ones and purchasing in a dealership is night and day (literally, Beepi delivered our car when we were available which was after work when the sun was down). This seems to be fitting in with that hassle-free mindset but for leases on preowned cars.
I initially thought their pricing was really high but since we're talking about no down-payment and included maintenance/warranty, I think on the surface it looks to be a decent deal. I've always been skeptical of car manufacturer warranties/maintenance plans, so I'm curious how it would play out since "You are responsible for any damage to the car that is in excess of normal wear and tear."
Now, like Zach said, just waiting for them to have more than Fords!
But there are only Ford Focus' on there. What would make this interesting is if I can say rent a car for a month I can't typically afford to own or maybe don't think is practical to own. Who wants to spend $400+ on a Ford Focus...? You could lease it for 2 years and pay less. I'm not bashing I love the idea, I have wanted it for a while but the execution is weak.
When I rent cars I want something I can't already easily get or have. I have been dying to try out a Jaguar F-Type for a while now...
Also your name makes no sense what-so-ever.
@thejeremycarson What's not to get? J. E. Rhoads & Sons in 1702, started producing canvas for conveyor belts and flat belts for use in factories. Henry Ford is widely known as the father of the modern assembly line. Assembly lines commonly use conveyer belts back in the olden days, made of Canvas. Canvas->Assembly Line->Ford->Ford Focus->DriveCanvas.com.
Duh.
@katnguyen @thejeremycarson Ha. Well, we chose “Canvas” because we wanted folks to be able create the form of car ownership that works for them. We also wanted to give ourselves some latitude to create different products as the space evolves.
@ryan_wilbanks we’re much more flexible than a lease because there’s no long-term commitment - Canvas can be cancelled at the end of any month. Also, our prices include insurance, warranty, and maintenance coverage. Plus, the price drops each additional month you stay in the car.
@zduboss guessing Ford funded them to get into new alt vehicle ownership like GM has and made that part of the requirement to close the round. Think it's interesting but not sure what the target customer and use case/geography is vs like Zipcar. Is it just the convenience of the delivery?
@josef_moser that's what I was thinking. However, even at crappy Sixt it's going to be more than $450/month and won't include insurance
@mwtbrowser @zduboss our target customer is one that doesn’t want to or can’t commit to a multi-year financing but wants a car 24/7. Using a Zipcar daily (or even just for the weekends) becomes prohibitively expensive. We see ourselves much more as a substitute for car ownership than a Zipcar/Getaround/etc.
@gavid_dold, thank you for the hunt!
We just launched Canvas on Friday and are now live in the Bay Area. Canvas offers a month-to-month subscription to a car that includes insurance, maintenance, and warranty coverage.
Our goal is to create a simple alternative to the car ownership that everyone is used to today. The transportation landscape is changing dramatically (and talked about constantly), but we don’t think anyone has been able to tackle the longstanding problems associated with owning a car. We think the process of buying, owning and selling is overly complicated, and we want to make it seamless and simple.
We’ve launched with a small initial batch of cars (Focuses and Fusions), but we’ll constantly be adding more inventory. Check back in the future if you don’t see something you like right now.
Please feel free to ask questions or provide feedback! I put together some thoughts on the problem we're trying to tackle - check it out (http://bit.ly/2pRlvHq)
Robomart