LaFontaine Automotive Group runs 43 stores across Michigan, and this summer it joined Amazon Autos instead of treating the platform like a threat. Carlos Mojica, the group's senior manager of retail development, joined Auto Collabs to explain why.
🎙️ Watch the full conversation with Carlos Mojica on Auto Collabs.
Mojica's Case for Amazon Starts With a Simple Observation
Customers already trust the platform for everything else they buy. He put it plainly:
"When you think about Amazon, I believe you're thinking about convenience. The expectation is if I order it, it's going to be fulfilled. The difference is that this is dealer driven. Amazon can't do anything with autos without our inventory."
That distinction is the entire argument. Amazon isn't warehousing cars, financing them, or reconditioning trade-ins. It's a marketplace, the same role it plays for every third-party seller on the platform, and dealers are the only ones who can actually fulfill a vehicle sale.
Here's How the Transaction Actually Works
LaFontaine syndicates its inventory to the marketplace, and Amazon's A-to-Z Sync handles the guest through financing and deposit. By the time a customer shows up at the store, the deal isn't a lead. It's a completed transaction: financing agreed to, protection products selected, deposit collected. The dealership holds the vehicle for 24 hours and arranges delivery.
Numbers to know:
LaFontaine grew from 10 stores to 43 since 2009
The group spends roughly $21 million a year on advertising
Its first Amazon transaction closed in May 2026
On that first deal, the final numbers matched the online transaction "down to the penny"
The Comparison Everyone Makes Is the Wrong One
Dealers hear "Amazon" and think "Carvana." Mojica sees a completely different model underneath the surface-level comparison:
"Why tie up all the capital? Why deal with all that? They're certainly not experts in the industry. What I love about Amazon, they're out-of-box thinkers. If you look at their entire platform, it is nothing but seller marketplaces. We all we are is the auto portion of it as dealers, and it's really up to us to deliver the experience."
Carvana owns the inventory, the reconditioning, and the risk. Amazon owns none of that in this model. It owns the shopper's trust and hands the fulfillment back to the dealer.
Amazon Traffic Isn't the Point, Brand Reinforcement Is
Mojica is upfront that Amazon hasn't become a major traffic source, and he doesn't expect that to change. What it's done instead is put LaFontaine's inventory in front of shoppers who've already told the dealership, unprompted, "I saw your car on Amazon," even when they ultimately transact through the website or a different channel entirely. The platform functions less like a new lead source and more like a trust signal layered on top of a brand LaFontaine was already building.
What This Means for Dealers Weighing Their Own Amazon Decision
The mechanics here matter more than the headline. This isn't a story about a new lead source outperforming old ones. It's a story about a dealer group treating a third-party marketplace the same way it treats any other advertising channel, as one more place to meet a shopper who's already decided how they want to buy.
