Wyoming Shoppers Not Racing to Buy Cars on Amazon

You can already order cat litter, dog food, and kitchen sinks on Amazon. Now, add cars to the list. But in Wyoming, at least for now, buyers don’t seem ready to click add to cart on a new ride.

Last week, Keri McClanahan and James Chacon were browsing hail-damaged Hyundais in Cheyenne when they learned the dealership’s entire inventory was now also listed on Amazon Autos, a new car-buying platform that rolled out quietly. The program lets shoppers scroll through Hyundai dealerships within 75 miles, compare features, check fees, and even set up test drives before heading to the lot. Hertz is also using it to unload used rentals, starting in big cities like Dallas and LA.

Sounds futuristic, but McClanahan wasn’t sold.

“We’re waiting for the right car, the one in our budget,” she said.

She admitted the idea was “kind of cool,” but her real draw that day was hail discounts, not shopping online.

Chacon was even more skeptical.

“I want to test-drive it, I want to see it, I want to feel it,” he said. “And I want to negotiate the best deal.”

Local dealers are also taking a wait-and-see approach. Dallas Tyrrell of Tyrrell Chevrolet doesn’t see much that sets Amazon Autos apart from Cars.com, CarGurus, or Autotrader.

“You can’t sell cars in Wyoming without a brick-and-mortar store and a service department,” he said. “And when you buy used cars especially, you’ve gotta go kick the tires. You can’t do that over a computer.”

He pointed to Carvana’s troubled record with online used car sales, which led to lawsuits and even bans in some states.

At Ken Garff Hyundai in Cheyenne, sales manager Brandie Bryant said no customers had used Amazon Autos yet.

“It’s just another option,” she said.

Buyers can still test drive and even haggle if they want, but the idea is to keep as much of the process online as possible. Even trade-ins can be handled with a video walk-around and Amazon’s appraisal team.

Bryant admitted she’s curious but cautious.

“It’s kind of hard to wrap my mind around. I’m so used to in-person and the personal touch,” she said.

Still, she thinks Hertz’s well-maintained rentals could give the platform some credibility in the used car space.

For now, though, Wyoming buyers seem more motivated by storm damage discounts than online platforms. McClanahan put it bluntly while eyeing a battered Hyundai:

“We’re just hail hunting right now.”

The original story by Renée Jean for Cowboy State Daily.