Everything you need to know about buying a car on Amazon

If you’ve been dreaming of adding a mid-sized SUV to your cart alongside a bulk pack of granola bars and a new air fryer—well, we’re not quite there yet. But that day is getting closer: Amazon has officially rolled out its car-buying program.

But before you prepare your driveway to make room for a two-ton Prime delivery, you should know that buying a car on Amazon isn’t exactly like buying a Kindle. Here’s the lowdown on how it works, who it’s for, and why you definitely can’t return a Hyundai to Whole Foods.

What’s for sale

Right now, your options are limited. The main partner for new vehicles is Hyundai. If you’re in the market for a Santa Fe, a Tucson, or an Ioniq, you’re in luck. But if you’re looking for a brand new Toyota or Ford, you’re still gonna have to do things the old-fashioned way for now.

For used cars, the selection’s a bit wider. Amazon’s opened the doors to certified pre-owned inventory from other brands and even some fleet vehicles.

How it actually works

Amazon’s essentially built a very slick, very familiar skin over the traditional dealership inventory system.

Here’s the process:

• Search: You go to the Amazon Autos section and filter by model, trim, color, and your zip code.
• Inventory: You’re looking at real cars sitting on real local dealer lots.
• Purchasing: This is the cool part. You can see the actual price, run a credit check, apply for financing, and put down a deposit directly through Amazon. No sitting in a glass office for three hours while a salesperson repeatedly “checks with the manager.”
• Handover: Once the digital paperwork’s done, you schedule a pickup or delivery.
• Returns: If your dealership participates in Hyundai’s “Shopper Assurance” program, you’ll have three days or up to 300 miles to decide if you want to keep the car or not. You can check if your dealership participates here.

The catch(es)

This isn’t “Prime” Delivery. Don’t expect a navy-blue van to drop off your Elantra.

You’re actually buying this car from a local dealership, not Amazon. Amazon’s just the matchmaker. You’ll either drive to the dealership to pick it up or, if you’re lucky, the dealer will drive it to you. The closest one to me only offers pickup and the car wouldn’t be ready for a few days. 

And the paperwork isn’t 100% digital yet. Depending on your state’s laws, you might still have to sign a “wet” signature (real ink, real paper) when you take possession of the car. We’re living in the future, but the DMV’s still living in the 20th century.

You might not have a ton of dealerships participating in your area, either. Where I live, near Boston, the closest dealership is 17 miles away which, given the absolutely atrocious traffic around here during normal business hours, might as well be on the other side of the planet.

The bottom line

Is this the revolution we were promised? Yes and no.

If you hate negotiating and want to see transparent pricing without leaving your couch, buying a car through Amazon is a massive upgrade. It forces dealers to display real prices and cuts out the haggling.

However, if you were hoping to bypass the dealership model entirely, we’re not there yet. You’re still buying from a dealer; you’re just using Amazon as a buffer to keep the sales pressure at bay.

For now, it’s a pretty good way to buy a Hyundai without spending your entire Saturday at the dealership.