On Monday, Ford and Amazon quietly did something that will have loud consequences for the rest of the retail auto industry: certified pre-owned Ford vehicles are now available for purchase on Amazon Autos, with customers completing most of the transaction online and taking delivery at their local Ford store.
At DecisioningIT, we don’t see this as “just a Ford story.” It’s another clear signal that the used-vehicle and F&I experience is moving online faster than many dealerships are prepared for. Let’s unpack what’s happening and what it means for you—whether you’re a Ford dealer or not.
What exactly did Amazon and Ford launch?
Here’s the core of the new program:
- Certified pre-owned Fords on Amazon Autos
Customers can now browse, finance and purchase Ford certified pre-owned (CPO) units through Amazon’s site, then pick up the vehicle at a participating Ford dealership in markets like Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston and Dallas, with more cities to follow. - Three tiers of CPO certification
Ford is bringing its CPO structure into Amazon Autos with:- Gold Certified – 172-point inspection, 12-month/12,000-mile limited warranty
- EV Certified – 127-point inspection tailored to electric vehicles, 12-month/12,000-mile limited warranty
- Blue Certified – broader eligibility (including some non-Ford brands), 90-day/4,000-mile limited warranty
- Strong consumer protections
Vehicles sold via participating Ford dealers on Amazon Autos include:- A 14-day / 1,000-mile money-back guarantee through Ford Blue Advantage
- Visibility into service history and condition reports directly on the Amazon listing
- Dealers still finalize the sale
Customers can:- Browse CPO inventory within 75 miles
- Arrange financing, start paperwork and secure the deal online
- Then pick up the vehicle and complete any remaining steps at the dealership, where pricing, delivery, service and long-term relationship remain controlled by the dealer.
In Amazon’s own words, this is about streamlining the initial shopping and financing steps so the in-store visit focuses on the high-value, in-person experience.
What this really means for dealerships (not just Ford)
Even if you never plan to list a unit on Amazon, this move changes your customers’ expectations. Here’s how.
1. The “Amazon standard” is now the benchmark for used and CPO
Your customers can now:
- Shop CPO units from their couch
- See transparent pricing, vehicle history and inspection info
- Get a money-back guarantee
- Secure financing and start paperwork online
All before they ever set foot in a store.
That means when they arrive at your dealership—Ford, Hyundai, domestic, import or independent—they’re bringing that experience with them. If your process still starts with “Let’s see what the bank says” and 45 minutes in a F&I office, you’re already behind.
2. Marketplaces are becoming the new top-of-funnel
Amazon isn’t trying to become a dealer. It’s becoming a discovery and transaction layer that sits between consumers and local retailers—just like it did in so many other industries.
For dealers, that means:
- More shoppers may start their journey on Amazon, not on your website
- The marketplace will shape the first impression of automotive retail
- Your in-store experience is judged against what they just experienced online
Whether you love that or hate it, it’s happening.
3. The store is no longer where the deal starts—it’s where the deal is finished
In the Amazon/Ford model:
- Vehicle selection
- Price discovery
- Basic financing
- Document initiation
…are all handled online.
By the time the customer arrives at the dealership, they’re expecting:
- Confirmation, not discovery
- Reassurance, not negotiation theatre
- Personalized protection options, not a generic “menu dump”
If your internal workflows aren’t designed for that kind of “finish the deal, don’t start the deal” reality, friction will show up quickly—especially in F&I.
4. CPO is getting a tech-driven upgrade
Ford’s layered certification plus warranty/money-back guarantees, all visible on one of the world’s most trusted marketplaces, will:
- Raise the bar for CPO transparency
- Put pressure on competing OEM and dealer CPO programs to match the clarity and confidence customers see online
- Make independent or loosely defined “certified” programs look weaker if they’re not backed by clear inspection, warranty and digital disclosure
For dealers, CPO can no longer just be “a nicer used car with a label.” It needs to be structured, documented and digitally communicated.
What smart dealers should do next
You don’t need to be on Amazon Autos to compete in an Amazon world. But you do need to adapt your process.
Here are practical moves your store can start on now:
- Tighten your online-to-in-store handoff
- Ensure your CRM, desking and F&I tools can pick up where the online lead left off—no “start from scratch” when they arrive.
- Train sales and F&I managers to honour online quotes and approvals and move the customer forward, not backward.
- Make your F&I experience digitally ready
- Offer pre-presentation of F&I options online or on a tablet in-store.
- Use data (vehicle, credit tier, usage, mileage) to tailor the menu instead of scrolling through every product on the shelf.
- Track F&I performance on digital or partially-digital deals separately—you’ll learn fast where friction lives.
- Treat CPO like a product, not just inventory
- Standardize your inspection, warranty and reconditioning story.
- Make that story visible on your website VDPs, emails and digital retailing tools, not just in a printed booklet in the showroom.
- Consider your own money-back or exchange policy, even if it’s more modest than Ford’s.
- Design the in-person visit around value, not paperwork
- If the customer already decided on the car and has a payment range in mind, don’t drag them through your traditional 4-square process.
- Focus on:
- Confirming needs
- Validating vehicle choice
- Presenting relevant F&I protections
- Delivering an efficient, confident delivery experience
Where DecisioningIT fits in
At DecisioningIT, we’ve been building tools specifically for this shift—long before Ford’s CPO units appeared on Amazon.
Here’s how our approach lines up with what this announcement confirms about the future:
- Digital-first F&I & protection selling
Your customers are getting used to making big decisions online. Our solutions are designed to help your team present, explain and document F&I products in a clear, structured, compliant way, whether the journey starts on your website or in your showroom. - Faster, cleaner decisions at the desk
When a customer arrives with pricing and payments already in mind, your desking and F&I processes need to keep up. DecisioningIT is focused on helping dealers move from “let’s see what the bank says” to data-driven, fast approvals and recommendations that fit the customer’s profile and the lender’s appetite. - A better experience for rural and lower-volume dealers
Amazon’s move will raise expectations everywhere, not just in big metros. Our tools are built to help smaller or rural rooftops deliver a modern, confident F&I and protection experience without needing a huge in-house tech team.
The bottom line
Amazon and Ford didn’t just launch a CPO program. They launched a new reference point for how used and certified pre-owned vehicles—and the financing that goes with them—can be bought.
Dealers remain at the centre of the transaction. But the bar for speed, transparency and digital convenience just jumped again.
If you’d like to talk about how DecisioningIT can help your dealership modernize its F&I and digital-to-physical experience in this new landscape, we’re ready when you are.
