Amazon launches car comparison site as auto buying moves online
Amazon.com, which has reshaped commerce in many categories, has taken a further step into one of the most dreaded consumer experiences: car shopping.
The Seattle-based internet shopping giant has long sold auto parts and accessories. But Wednesday聽saw the introduction of聽, which includes a search tool for researching new and used cars and trucks.
Amazon鈥檚 new research features put it into territory occupied by聽聽already available in different forms on many automotive sites.聽However, the move could be what one company insider described as 鈥渁 trial balloon鈥� to eventually establish a deeper foray into online car shopping.
What it could mean
Edmunds.com, TrueCars and Kelley Blue Book are among the main resources consumers currently use to research cars and get pricing quotes from dealers. If Amazon were to establish links to local dealers, which may聽be a logical next step, it could become聽a formidable competitor. By more aggressively trying to sell auto parts and accessories, it could聽cut into a market dominated by eBayMotors.
鈥淚 see this as a way for Amazon to put their foot in the door of the car market and maybe in the future become a lead generator for dealers,鈥� said Oren Weintraub, president of Los Angeles-based car buying service AuthorityAuto.com, and himself a former car dealer. 鈥淭here are many facets to a good car deal, including negotiating a good price for the car and trade-in, leasing and financing rates, and all the back-end products dealers sell.鈥�
Amazon鈥檚 new site displays owner star ratings and reviews. Additionally, it allows car shoppers to pose questions to car owners, a successful feature the company has used in selling other products.聽While the information is helpful to car buyers, a couple of things are聽noticeably absent: pricing information and access to聽. Amazon displays the manufacturer鈥檚 suggested retail price, but the actual sales price found on dealership lots is not provided.
Evolution of car buying online
The internet has vastly changed the shopping process for most products 鈥� but not聽automobiles. Car dealerships do have聽聽through which聽pricing and negotiating can be handled via phone, email or text, but many consumers are unprepared for the聽聽needed to get the best price for a new or used car. And upstarts such as CarGurus, Beepi and Vroom are trying to disrupt the auto-buying process by moving the entire transaction online.
Amazon鈥檚 new product offering is more modest for now. 鈥淔inding cars on Amazon Vehicles is simple 鈥斅爅ust search like you would any other product,鈥� reads the company鈥檚 press聽release. Amazon鈥檚 tool allows shoppers to filter their search based on needs such as features, options, size and fuel economy. Results are displayed in the familiar format the site uses for selling other products.
Another sign that Amazon is moving into the auto market is its announcement this month of a very limited pilot program that provides聽聽compact sedan. An appointment can be scheduled through the Amazon Prime shopping service.
Amazon couldn鈥檛 immediately be reached for comment about its long-term plans for its聽new vehicles site.
Philip Reed is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:preed@nerdwallet.com.
The article聽聽originally appeared on聽.
