“I love spending a Saturday in a car dealership”, said no one ever.
It’s awful, we all know it. I wonder if dealership sales people suffer from depression much like dentists. (Apparently, having a career in which people dread seeing you is bad for your self esteem and mental health.)
Let me share with you my last 3 auto purchase experiences. I spent approximately 12 total minutes in the dealership, the rest was handled via email. I knew what I wanted, so there was little to discuss. I don’t need a crappy cup of coffee, nor do I want to make small talk while they run back and forth between me and their manager bringing me a new lower price each time. It’s a hassle and a time waste. No wonder we all hate it.
Enter Carvana, it makes we WANT to buy a used car. How weird is that? Not only is there buying process human free, and not bound by time constraints, but who doesn’t want to get a car out of their eye-catching car vending machines?
I think it’s very interesting that on their homepage they ask you to shop for cars according to lifestyle. For the non car savvy, this is brilliant. It leaves little to figure out. In short, what are you going to do with the car? Commute? Drive your family around? Do you want a luxury vehicle? Plus, there are easy to understand categories like Fast & Furious, Cargo Roomy, Zero Emissions. That’s it. Pick one and you’re off to the races. Zero brain calories spent.
Carvana has removed all the friction from used car buying.
Want to shop from your bed while watching Broad City and eating ice cream? Check. Want to trade in your old car? Check. Want to avoid the smarmy used car salesman? Double check!
The lesson from Carvana: When you give the customer what they need and want, you will win. Every time.