Technology
Online Used-Car Dealers Thrive in Market Upended by Pandemic
Customers are flocking to websites that will buy their cars and sell them replacements.
Carvana’s car vending-machine building in Tempe, Ariz.
Photographer: Cassidy Araiza for Bloomberg BusinessweekThis article is for subscribers only.
In December, David Tvaltchrelidze bought a 2016 Mazda Miata for $16,450 from Shift Technologies Inc., one of a crop of startups selling used cars and trucks exclusively online. Seven months later, Shift offered to buy it back for $20,800, which would net Tvaltchrelidze a sporty 26% return. “I wish I had bought 10 of them,” he says.
Despite the markup, Shift would be able to resell the car quickly and still pocket about $2,000 in profit. And Tvaltchrelidze hasn’t yet agreed, given the price he’d have to pay for another used car.