What Happens When Amazon’s Convenience Meets the Dealership with Carlos Mojica

Amazon has trained consumers to expect convenience, transparency, and fulfillment. But when it comes to selling cars, Carlos Mojica sees one important difference: Amazon still needs the dealer. Carlos, Senior Manager of Retail Development at LaFontaine Automotive Group, joins Paul Daly and Michael Cirillo to explain why a group with 43 stores across Michigan decided to lean into Amazon Autos instead of treating it like a threat. He walks through the customer experience—from syndicated inventory and financing to deposits, vehicle holds, and delivery—and explains why LaFontaine views Amazon as an addition to its marketing ecosystem rather than a replacement for existing channels. The conversation also gets into the comparison with Carvana, why Carlos believes Amazon’s model is fundamentally dealer-driven, and what LaFontaine learned from its first Amazon transaction. That customer arrived to find the vehicle actually there, with the transaction matching what they had completed online down to the penny. And Carlos isn’t expecting Amazon to suddenly become LaFontaine’s biggest source of traffic. He sees something potentially broader: Amazon can put dealer inventory in front of shoppers on a marketplace they already trust—and give the dealership another way to meet customers wherever they’re comfortable buying. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 00:55 How Carlos found his way into automotive retail 03:03 Learning internet sales before it became the norm 04:23 Growing with LaFontaine from 10 stores to 43 05:35 What has—and hasn’t—changed about internet leads 06:52 Why LaFontaine leaned into Amazon Autos 09:53 How an Amazon Autos transaction actually works 12:29 Why Amazon is an addition, not a replacement 13:11 Is Amazon a threat to dealerships? 16:34 What happens when the Amazon brand meets the dealer brand 19:38 What LaFontaine learned from its first Amazon transaction 20:13 Why Amazon traffic isn't the whole point 21:19 Turning Amazon presence into a dealership trust signal LINKS Carlos Mojica: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlitomojicajr/ LaFontaine Automotive Group: https://www.familydeal.com/ Amazon Autos: https://www.autos.amazon/ More Auto Collabs: https://daily.asotu.com/auto-collabs Subscribe to the Automotive State of the Union Daily Email: https://daily.asotu.com/ Carlos Mojica's appearance on Auto Collabs is sponsored by Amazon Autos.