Amazon and Hertz partnership

[Kurtatron]

Amazon is attempting to put some skin in the automotive sales world. They’re teaming up with Hertz to sell used cars via Amazon. Think it’ll work?

The advantage seems to be lower prices due to rental company discount prices. Hertz gets cars from OEM at discount prices due to high volumes. That means they can sell them on Amazon cheaper than dealerships.

I have no idea how successful it will be. But I will definitely be watching.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Amazon is attempting to put some skin in the automotive sales world. They’re teaming up with Hertz to sell used cars via Amazon. Think it’ll work?

The advantage seems to be lower prices due to rental company discount prices. Hertz gets cars from OEM at discount prices due to high volumes. That means they can sell them on Amazon cheaper than dealerships.

I have no idea how successful it will be. But I will definitely be watching.

Hertz sells cars for what the market will bear. An Amazon store front is cheaper than sales personnell and a brick and mortar dealership.
Seems like a no-brainer to me. Internet car sales is the future. Who is bigger than Amazon?

 

[Kira]

This has come up.
How would warranty work be performed and by whom?

Anybody have any data on the [diminishing] number of salesmen employed at dealerships?

 

[Quattro Pete]

This has come up.
How would warranty work be performed and by whom?

Apparently they come with Hertz 1-year/12K mile warranty, and Hertz will happily sell you an extended protection plan, too:

https://www.hertzcarsales.com/vehicle-protection-plans.htm

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You'll have access to 6,000 authorized service centers in the U.S. or Canada4 for repairs for covered mechanical breakdowns without an upfront payment5 and dedicated customer support to guide you through the claims process.

 

[dippschtick]

Two day shipping with free returns?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Two day shipping with free returns?

Just pack it and drop it off at your nearest UPS store.

 

[mrsilv04]

Apparently they come with Hertz 1-year/12K mile warranty, and Hertz will happily sell you an extended protection plan, too:

https://www.hertzcarsales.com/vehicle-protection-plans.htm

Vehicles should also come with the remainder of the factory warranties as well.

 

[Kurtatron]

Apparently they come with Hertz 1-year/12K mile warranty, and Hertz will happily sell you an extended protection plan, too:

https://www.hertzcarsales.com/vehicle-protection-plans.htm

Who will service the vehicle I wonder.

 

[JeffKeryk]

This has come up.
How would warranty work be performed and by whom?

Anybody have any data on the [diminishing] number of salesmen employed at dealerships?

Dealership sales and dealership service are 2 separate things.

 

[PandaBear]

Not sure how will this be different than auto trader or any other car sales website. I think Amazon did a program back then selling new Nissan and it didn't make a huge difference, not sure where it went now.

If anything used car is the hardest to compare apple to apple and Amazon will have the least advantage there.

 

[Dave Hess]

It should work if they are selling quality cars and priced reasonably.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I dislike Hertz now because of their AI rental car scanning resulting in lots of controversial and possibly incorrect prior damage charges.

I mean, who loves rental car companies but I don't want anything to do with Hertz.

 

[rijndael]

I think Amazon did a program back then selling new Nissan and it didn't make a huge difference, not sure where it went now.

You can buy a Hyundai on Amazon.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Not sure how will this be different than auto trader or any other car sales website. I think Amazon did a program back then selling new Nissan and it didn't make a huge difference, not sure where it went now.

If anything used car is the hardest to compare apple to apple and Amazon will have the least advantage there.

My guess is, Hertz will learn from past experiences, both theirs and others.
Otherwise that will be screw up again. I wish them luck, because it could be good for us, the consumers.

 

[97prizm]

Hertz sells cars for what the market will bear. An Amazon store front is cheaper than sales personnell and a brick and mortar dealership.
Seems like a no-brainer to me. Internet car sales is the future. Who is bigger than Amazon?

Some people will alway want to look in person. Internet sales has major drawbacks vs test driving and looking in person.

 

[The_Jeff]

I looked at Hertz during the Covid "fire sale" and they still didn't have any good bargains.

They will probably make a deal somehow, somewhere, with somebody. There have been stranger partnerships.

Back when they were captive under Ford, they stuffed Taurii through the rental program so they could sell them again as "used" but with 6000 miles. This allowed them to not undercut their new models but serve a different market segment. They could also brag that they sold more Taurii than Honda sold Accords.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Some people will alway want to look in person. Internet sales has major drawbacks vs test driving and looking in person.

I believe Hertz says you can return it within 7 days/250 miles (whichever comes first) for a full refund of the purchase price.

Will the Hertz Amazon sales model work? Like you say, it is not for everyone. And we don't know all the particulars; perhaps test drives are a possibility is some cases. We will just have to see.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Buying a used rental sounds like a bad idea irrelevant from where. But in the end its no different than Carvana.

Buying a new car from Amazon I thought was a good idea. I thought they were going to do that with Kia - but it never materialized?

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Would never buy a rental. They get the crap beat out of them most of the time. Now, if they were selling Hertz/Amazon new vehicles, that would cut out the middleman ( dealership), and be a home run for buyers. I mean the car has to come with a factory warranty, I would imagine. I guess we'll wait and see how this plays out. Amazon has deep pockets.

 

[97prizm]

Would never buy a rental. They get the crap beat out of them most of the time. Now, if they were selling Hertz/Amazon new vehicles, that would cut out the middleman ( dealership), and be a home run for buyers. I mean the car has to come with a factory warranty, I would imagine. I guess we'll wait and see how this plays out. Amazon has deep pockets.

I wonder if this will stretch Amazon thin? You can't possibly sell, service and repair everything. If Amazon takes on sales of Hertz vehicles, they'll need people who understand sales/service/warranties, have auction experience and so on. Is this something that Amazon would want to take on?