‘Great for shoppers, bad for salesmen,’ ex-dealership manager warns after Amazon teased bold move into online car sales

A CAR buying expert says that car buying online will be a much more refined experience for shoppers, but may spell doom for salesmen.

Amazon recently announced a partnership with Hyundai to sell brand-new cars through the e-commerce giants' online platform.

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This year, a pilot program has been initiated to sell cars to employees before beginning sales to the public, and it's causing quite the stir in the industry.

There are online sales platforms for used cars, like Carvana, CarMax, or AutoTrader - though there haven't been large platforms for brand new cars - until CarEdge came along.

Zach and Ray Shefska, the father-son duo that make up CarEdge, spoke to the U.S. Sun in an exclusive interview to discuss how their completely free online resource has been selling brand-new cars to customers.

"We directly compete with Amazon," said Zach.

"Right now we're the only other [website] selling brand new cars to people... We've already sold 30 cars through our website since December and January, and expect to sell 40 through February."

CarEdge doesn't just sell cars - there are webpages upon webpages with helpful tips on how to negotiate pricing, best cars for the price, how to buy a used car, and so much more.

No subscription is necessary, and no paywalls - that's just how the Shefskas intended it - free car buying advice for everyone.

Their YouTube is full of videos that answer every possible question that could come up during the process, and every Monday and Friday both Ray and Zach host a live Q&A session for viewers to ask questions.

While the Shefksas are enthusiastic about changing the car buying experience for customers, Zach worries that the switch to buying a car online could mean the eradication of jobs.

"I think it'll get rid of salespeople one day," said Zach.

"Because there's no, 'Let me ask my manager,' or anything like that, there's no human element to buying a car, and while the online purchasing is great for customers, it could be bad for salesmen."

Their website is set up to prioritize customer service, and shoppers can call at any point during the process and ask questions or receive help from an expert, but for larger companies, it could be complicated for curious shoppers.

"If people are going to be spending $40,000 to $50,000 on a new car, they're naturally going to have questions," Zach continued.

Amazon's partnership with Hyundai presents a large step forward into moving car sales online, after many Americans expressed their distaste in buying a vehicle in-person.

Many cited that haggling over price was the worst part, as well as how long it took - the average time for someone to buy a new car was four hours.

"[Dealerships] purposefully draw out the buying process to take longer than it needs to be," said Zach.

When Ray was a sales manager for dealerships, he sometimes would be gone for most of the day.

"My dad would be gone for 12 hours sometimes, and it made me build up a lot of resentment towards the industry."

If the pilot program is successful, it would mean that haggling would no longer be a part of the process - prices would be fixed, warranties can be chosen from a drop-down menu, and applying for financing can be done online.

The only time someone would need to go into a dealership would be to pick up the keys, finalize a trade-in if applicable, and sign the final papers.

There's no shortage of people wanting to buy a new car - but there is a shortage of people who are willing to deal with a salesman who many not have their best interest in mind.