I’m on Amazon.com. I’m buying dog food, paper towels and a new iPad. Before I go to my cart to pay, I decide to get myself a little something. It’s the holidays after all. I add a new Hyundai to my cart.
Yup, starting today, in select areas, we can buy a new Hyundai from Amazon.
Here’s mine.
Why is This Exciting?
Car buying is typically a horrible experience. I wrote a post on car-buying here. My sister-in-law was buying a vehicle so I put together some tips. If you’re considering car shopping, it’s worth a read.
Most people I know dread car shopping. The whole experience is horrible. We’re generally treated poorly by the sales people and we always feel like we’re getting screwed. Even if we got them to lower the price, we leave asking ourselves if we could have gotten more. It’s stressful.
I think the most stressful part of the process is that we are sitting across the desk from someone who is typing into a computer. The sales-person or finance-person peppers us with questions and asks us to choose/add options, features, warranties, and we’re deciding on the fly while trying to assess the financial impact in our head.
Wheel and tire protection is only $34.99 per month. How can you go wrong? Do you know what it costs to replace one of these custom rims? You’d be a fool not to protect yourself.
Here’s why this is exciting: I’m the car buyer, and I’m the guy on the other side of the desk entering the info and seeing all the secrets that the computer is showing to the dealer. I’m both. Nothing is hidden. No tricks.
Transparency
First off, I’m filling this out at 9:17 in the morning. I’m in my bathrobe, I have a nice cup of coffee, and I’m comfortable. There isn’t a car sales-person for miles around.
Things like dealer adjustments and rebates are right there. They aren’t a negotiating point.
I can change the values myself – what if I did a 24 month loan, how about 36? How does that impact my monthly payment? What if I put more down? What if I wait until I improve my credit score? How much would I save if I went from Fair to Good?
Extras
This is where my head spins. I’ve negotiated the car and the price and I’m feeling like the hard part is over. Then I’m sent to the finance-person. New person, new computer, more questions and on-the-fly decisions. I’m asked to “protect my investment.” Now this drives me crazy, it’s not an investment. It loses 20% of its value as soon as I sign my name. If it’s an investment, it’s a bad one.
But wording aside, I have to decide whether to insure myself against catastrophic losses. If I can’t afford $3,000 to fix the infotainment system when it dies (while I’m paying $1,000 per month for my auto loan) maybe I need this?
Still a tough decision, but when buying at Amazon, I can add/remove options and coverages and see the impact on my payment immediately.
I also see the vehicle warranty below so I know what coverage I get with the vehicle purchase. It’s got the little green check mark and says included – how cool.
Trade-In
Considering a trade? Enter your VIN, answer a couple of questions and get an immediate offer. No negotiation. Don’t like the offer, delete the trade.
Wrap-Up
I won’t go screen by screen, but I am very impressed.
I can go through this alone at home in my robe and slippies, and play with different options, stop and do a google search on questions I may have, check what consumer reports or what Clark Howard may have to say, phone a friend, or pause and think.
And then if I decide to go ahead, I complete the paperwork online, and then go to my local dealer and pick up the vehicle.
Oh yeah, I also get a $2,300 amazon gift card. Nice little promotion, for a limited time.
I didn’t go through with my purchase. We have 3 vehicles in the driveway and no room for one more, even though the red is pretty.
So, I can’t opine on the pick-up process, but I’m guessing Amazon nailed that as well. Delivery and logistics is kinda their thing.
In my case, pick-up is at a local Hyundai dealership.
I worked for a while at Carmax after I retired. I think Carmax has done a great job with transparency. There is no negotiation, but there is still some pressure.
Putting the customer in front of the computer with all the information that the dealer would typically have, is a game-changer.
Amazon offers new Hyundais today in select markets, but it won’t be long before you can add a used Bentley in Toledo to your cart.
And as an Amazon shareholder, I couldn’t be more thrilled.
Update:
And of course Amazon thinks of everything that will make our shopping lives easier. How about insurance. We’ll need to call our agent, get a new policy….but wait. Amazon has…
