Buying a new car is always exciting. Spending hours at the dealership, negotiating your heart out and signing a tree's worth of papers... not so exciting. There is a way around the showrooms and bargaining that is quickly gaining traction: online car dealerships like Vroom, Carvana, and True Car.

As a matter of fact, at least one car recently seen around Waitsburg was delivered earlier this year from the online car dealership Vroom. Albert Diaz and his wife, Brigid, of Waitsburg, recently purchased an electric BMW i3.

Diaz decided to shop online for a vehicle after he learned that his credit union offered special loan rates for vehicles purchased online. Once the couple was pre-approved for a car loan, they began the shopping process from the comfort of their home.

"We have purchased vehicles a number of ways, both private parties and dealers," Diaz said. "Online was a very different process." Each online car dealer varies a little, but Vroom offers a 'priced as marked' sales model. The upside to that; no haggling or negotiating. The price is as advertised. Diaz said he found the lack of negotiating to be a nice break in the car buying process.

"If you know what your budget is and what you want, and if you can find it...the rest is pretty straightforward." Once the paperwork was signed and finalized, Diaz said his new car was loaded on a truck travelling from California to Spokane and dropped off at his Main Street address.

Diaz said they knew they wanted to go with an electric car and were able to narrow down the search results based on what they wanted.

Like other on-line shopping Vroom and Carvana have search filters for body style, car color, trim, and add-on packages. Carvana has over 27,000 cars listed on its site, so it's recommended to have an idea in mind when you begin browsing.

Many online car dealerships offer a trial period. Vroom offers a seven-day trial for buyers to make sure the car is right for them. If within the trial period the buyer decides the car is not a good fit, they have the option to arrange for free pickup and keep shopping.

Not sure what to do about your old car or is it simply not selling on Craigslist? It may be worth checking out the selling/trade-in programs online dealerships offer. Carvana is able to make you an offer within two minutes, and Vroom doesn't take much longer.

The online dealerships are even adopting a 'touchless delivery' system to keep the public safe during the car buying process. Carvana is able to complete the delivery process over the phone while the delivery driver unloads and parks your new car for you.

As we learn to live through a pandemic, 2020 has become the year of the 'new normal'. Online car dealerships offer a safe, convenient solution to handle the old normal in a new way.