You Can Buy a Car on Amazon Now
Shopping for a new Hyundai? You can now complete the entire checkout process and arrange financing through Amazon as part of a "beta" launch of the tech giant's new platform for car buying, Amazon Autos.
Hyundai is running commercials promoting how easy it now is to buy a car just by adding it to your Amazon shopping cart. One even shows a customer picking up a new vehicle from a local dealership the next day.
In another ad, a teenage girl teases her dad at breakfast that his pancakes are "pretty mid." The narrator remarks that you can buy a Hyundai on Amazon in the time it would take to learn Gen Z slang.
Buying a car the old fashioned way (in person) can be painfully time-consuming. It's such a process that many dealerships have lounges and snack bars to try to keep shoppers patient as they're filling out what can feel like an endless amount of paperwork and waiting for their financing to be approved before getting the keys to their new set of wheels.
Amazon's new car-buying platform caters to shoppers who don't want to spend half a day or more on the transaction.
"This collaboration allows customers to conveniently discover, learn about and purchase their preferred Hyundai model from their local dealer through one of the world's most trusted shopping experiences," José Muñoz, Hyundai's president and CEO, said in a release. "It represents the future of automotive retail."
Car-buying moves online
In recent years, the auto industry has seen the rise of pre-ordering, which lets shoppers customize vehicles online to their preferred specifications. The drawback is that you have to wait weeks or even months before you can actually get behind the wheel.
Since many car buyers want to shop online but also want to be able to get into their next vehicle immediately, automakers — and third-party companies like Amazon — are now trying to innovate to meet that demand.
There's evidence that these efforts are paying off. According to a new Cox Automotive study, new-car buyer satisfaction reached a record high in 2024. The company said the surge can be attributed to "digital tools, pricing transparency and a balance between online and in-person dealership experiences."
Amazon is marketing its new initiative as the quickest way to buy a car. According to the company, it's an "end-to-end" purchase experience, meaning you can browse available Hyundai vehicles in your area, get a quote for the value of your trade-in, check out and schedule your pick-up — all without leaving the Amazon platform.
While the ease of buying a car with a couple of clicks has clear appeal, there are some potential trade-offs that you should have on your radar. For one thing, in the current version of Amazon Autos, only select Hyundai dealerships are participating, which means vehicles and trim options are limited. You also can't shop for other brands, although an Amazon spokesperson told Money the company plans to add more automakers later this year.
Another thing you can't do on Amazon Autos is haggle. The price you see — which includes taxes and fees — is the price you pay. This means you might end up paying more for the car, since upfront pricing means you can't use your negotiating skills to score a deal. You can get approved for financing during the checkout process and complete the necessary paperwork on Amazon's site or app.
Again, while convenient, this is a potential drawback in terms of cost. If you buy a Hyundai on Amazon, your current options for financing are limited. Not being able to use the lender of your choice means you might not get the best rate, although Amazon said leasing and more financing options are coming to Amazon Autos later this year.
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