CarsDirect announced today that it has purchased BestRate.com and LoanApp.com.  CarsDirect, best known for its automotive sites, CarsDirect.com and Autos.com, launched an online brokerage service last year called Loanstore.com.  Another of its sites, CheckInterestRates.com displays the lowest rates from a host of lenders that pay to be on the site.  CarsDirect collects a fee from lenders for the referrals.

Bob Brisco, chief executive of CarsDirect said the two new sites, which were purchased from Myers Internet Inc. of San Jose, supported the company's strategy of buying ecommerce sites that involve "large ticket" transactions.

"We find the mortgage business to be very complementary with our auto business," said Brisco.  "An increasing number of consumers are looking to the equity in their homes as a less expensive way to finance their auto purchases, and there is an overlap in lending institutions" (here we go again!).

Privately held CarsDirect, located in El Segundo, CA, with 300 employees, is venture capital driven having received $280 million in 1988 from Amazon, Idealab, Kleiner Perkins, Oracle and others.

This is sort of a poor man's InterActive Corp., but does appear to be up and coming.  The BestRate web site includes rate lists for lenders to post their rates on and LoanApp generates mortgage application leads for lenders.  I know of a number of lenders that have had good success with both. 

And it looks like Warren Myers' perseverance has paid off - well done Warren!