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Westar Originates First Ever 100 Percent Online Auto Lease

12 October 1999

Westar Originates First Ever 100 Percent Online Auto Lease

    OLYMPIA, Wash., Oct. 12 -- Westar Financial Services
Incorporated (OTC Bulletin Board: WEST) announced today that it originated the
first-ever 100 percent online consumer automobile lease.  Kyle Boschen, a
lawyer in Denver, logged on to DriveOff.com and became the first consumer to
complete an entire vehicle lease transaction online.
    Westar is the exclusive financial administrator and lessor for
DriveOff.com, the world's first true automotive e-commerce Web site.  The site
recently began offering service to consumers in the Rocky Mountain Region and
expects to operate nationwide in the first quarter of 2000.
    Boschen logged on to DriveOff.com from his office, picked the options on
his vehicle and selected a down payment and mileage allowance that produced
his binding lease payment.  After confirming his order with a $250 deposit,
Boschen completed an online credit application that Westar processed and
approved in under a minute.
    "I was amazed that within a minute of my application, I received an e-mail
approving the exact vehicle, terms and lease rate that I specified online,"
said Boschen.  "DriveOff.com's pricing and ease of use made this the best
experience I've had in getting a new vehicle.  We'll definitely go online for
our next car too."
    After locating a vehicle exactly matching Boschen's request, DriveOff.com
sent him an e-mail directing Boschen to his Personal Auto Center.  He logged
on to the site, approved the vehicle and scheduled a delivery appointment.
After completing the entire process online, the Boschens showed up for their
delivery appointment, inspected the vehicle, signed the closing paperwork
contained in their DriveOff Deal Kit and drove home in their new 1999 Isuzu
VehiCROSS.
    "Our strategic partnership with Westar Financial helps DriveOff.com
provide consumers, like the Boschens, with unparalleled customer service as
well as finance approval times that are at the forefront of the industry,"
said Michael Kranitz, president of DriveOff.com Inc.
    "We're delighted that Westar's first-ever lease in Colorado was a
completely Internet-based transaction," said R. W. Christensen, Jr., Westar's
President and CEO.  "This transaction highlights the capability of both the
company and our technology to bring superior service to consumers and dealers
faster and more efficiently than ever before.  While Westar is equally
prepared to handle lease, loan or cash transactions for DriveOff.com, it's
gratifying that the very first transaction was a lease, our core competency,
and that Westar was ahead of all the name-brand institutions in signing the
first 100 percent online vehicle lease."
    DriveOff.com Inc. is an automotive e-commerce company that provides
world-class automotive Web sites including DriveOff.com, CarWizard.com and
LeaseSource.com.  The company's flagship Web site, DriveOff.com, is the
world's first true automotive e-commerce Web site -- allowing consumers to
complete their entire vehicle transaction online. DriveOff.com Inc., based in
Englewood, Colorado, is a subsidiary of e-business solutions and services
provider, Navidec Inc. .
    Westar Financial Services Incorporated is an innovative, fast-growing,
Washington-based automobile financing company.  WEST is the only publicly
traded automobile lease finance company focused solely on the prime-credit
segment of the $112 billion auto-lease finance market.  Westar, which recently
launched operations in California, also operates in the Pacific Northwest, the
Southwest, and Northcentral U.S.