Test Drive the 2017 Hyundai Elantra at Home Using Amazon’s Drive Now
We’re used to Amazon being on the cutting edge of literally everything ever, so it was no surprise to us when we heard that the company is experimenting with a new program to bring vehicles to your door.
Amazon’s same-day delivery service, Prime Now, has been available for a while now in more than a couple dozen US metro cities. They’ve had great success so far delivering traditional purchases lickity-split so why not try offering consumers the ability to test drive cars? Amazon is partnering with Hyundai to offer test drives of the 2017 Hyundai Elantra through a program called “Prime Now. Drive Now.”
Alas, the program doesn’t let you order a car on-demand (though we hope those days will soon be upon us)–it’s only providing consumers a more convenient way to test drive cars. Instead of having to come to the dealership, Prime Now customers in select markets can just go online, choose from a variety of test drive windows between 9am to 7pm, and schedule a 45 to 60-minute test drive with the click of a button.
Once you’re set up, a Hyundai expert will bring the car to your location and you’ll go for a drive. If you have a great time and decide you’re ready to buy, the concierge will help you find the nearest Hyundai dealership. No pressure, though!
For the time being, test drives are only being held in Los Angeles and Orange County, CA and only for the new 2017 Hyundai Elantra. The program ran August 20-21 and August 27-28. We expect it will run again soon despite being a “limited time” promotion, though possibly for a different car in the future. Oh, did we mention it’s all free?
This isn’t the first time Amazon has offered non-traditional deliveries through Prime Now. Though Prime Now does bring people in metro areas tens of thousands of daily essentials, Amazon has also expanded the program in select markets to include things like groceries, restaurant orders, and even alcohol deliveries. The partnership with Hyundai is, however, the first time they’ve offered something you can’t buy and keep.
If you’re interested in a more permanent solution, a startup called Tred offers a mobile car dealership including test drives from your home; Beepi lets you buy, sell and lease from an app, and gives you 10 days to test drive the car; Carlypso brings the used car you purchase from their marketplace directly to your door.
At Rosen Hyundai we value the face-to-face, personal customer service experience to the impersonal (if convenient) experience of digital solutions. After all, helping our customers is the best part of our day. Come find out what the promise of excellent customer service means to us.
