Amazon makes big move to fix broken retail experience | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

My wife and I had the recent experience of buying both a used car and a new car. In both cases, it was a horrible experience that seemed intentional by the dealer.

When we purchased a new car, we knew exactly what we wanted. We had very severe limitations based on the size of our garage, so we basically walked into the dealer knowing what we would buy, as long as we liked the test drive.

After we drove the car, we told the salesman what we wanted, the color and some other minor things and offered to start to the paperwork process. He said that wasn’t necessary and would call us when the car arrived.

He did, and again we offered to start doing any paperwork needed. We weren’t financing the car and, in theory, picking it up should have been easy.

It wasn’t. We spent over three hours at the dealer, even though there was nothing else they could sell us. It was like keeping people prisoner was just part of how they do business.

Buying a car at a car dealer is often an unpleasant experience.

Image source&colon; Serhii/Shutterstock

Amazon enters the used car space

We bought a used car from a different dealer under similar circumstances. I saw the car online, knew I wanted it, and essentially placed the order.

Picking it up was delayed multiple times by the dealer, and when I finally went to get it, they kept me sitting there for hours, even though I had a cashiers check.

They also turned over the car with a broken tire pressure sensor that they said they could fix at a later date. They couldn’t, which they almost certainly knew, and I was forced to go to an actual dealer.

This is the business Amazon has chosen to enter. It’s ripe for disruption because it’s structured in a way that’s designed to disorient the customer and make them uncomfortable.

More Retail:

That’s part of some broad plan to sell you more insurance, force you into buying things you don’t need, and otherwise confuse you.

This has been a very difficult business to disrupt, as companies like Carvana have seen, because it’s very intensive. Amazon has the money, and if their process isn’t designed to drive customers insane, there’s clearly space in the market.

Amazon has entered the used-car space as an extension of its deal with Hyundai.

Amazon is selling used cars

“Amazon Autos is expanding its service to include used and certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles. Dealers can now list their used vehicle inventory on Amazon, providing customers with more choices among popular cars and trucks at more price points. Used and CPO vehicles are now available to customers, starting in Los Angeles and expanding additional cities across the country in the coming months,” the online giant shared on its website.

Amazon Autos launched in 2024, selling only new vehicles. To date, it has had dealers participating in more than 130 cities across the United States.

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“This expansion offers dealers a sales channel that connects them with millions of Amazon customers to drive sales across their entire inventory. By streamlining the initial browsing and purchasing steps online, Amazon Autos enables dealers to focus on the most exciting part of the journey: the moment when customers pick up their new car at the dealership,” Amazon shared.

So, unlike Carvana, Amazon and its partner dealerships do not deliver the car to you. This in-person experience lays the foundation for deep customer loyalty and trusted, long-term relationships.

Key features of Amazon’s new auto sales:

Selection of quality pre-owned vehicles starting with Hyundai dealers, with more dealers being added in the coming months
Customer protection features include a 3-day/300-mile return policy and a minimum 30-day/1,000-mile limited warranty on all vehicles
Transparent pricing, where customers see the price they pay with no hidden fees and comprehensive vehicle information including Vehicle History Reports available for all listings
Seamless integration with participating dealerships for test drives

The used vehicle listings will appear alongside new vehicles across the Amazon Autos storefront. Customers will have the option to filter results to show New or Used vehicles. All vehicles must be available within a 75-mile sales radius of the customer.