SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Car payments are one of the biggest monthly expenses for many Americans, and for some, finding ways to offset that cost takes real creativity.
An AI-powered car-buying service called CarEdge is gaining national attention for helping consumers get better deals — without ever having to face a dealership salesperson directly.
Delilah Wright, a student at San Diego State University, pays $800 a month for her Hyundai. For her, the car is not optional.
When asked why she indicated her car payment was her biggest and most important bill, Wright said, "Because it's just a necessity. Like, I need to get places. I live in Vegas. I need to drive back home so I need it but I had it so much."
To manage the cost, Wright has found her own ways to stretch her budget.
"I work hard over breaks. I'm a nanny, and so I do get paid a little bit more than most kids my age, then my parents help cover a little bit of it," Wright said.
She also keeps a close eye on everyday spending.
"I make sure I keep everything all my food within my meal plan so I don't spend any extra money on that. I always drive around with friends so they help me cover the cost of gas," Wright said.
Wright's situation is a familiar one for many car owners and it points to a broader challenge consumers face when trying to get the best deal on a vehicle in the first place.
That's where CarEdge comes in. The car-buying service was founded by Zach Shefska and his father, Ray, and is designed to make the car-buying process more transparent and less stressful for shoppers nationwide.
"CarEdge is a car buying service and helps car shoppers nationwide get a good deal on a new or used car. We just try and make buying a car a good, easy, transparent experience," Shefska said.
The service works by having users log onto the CarEdge website, fill out the type of car they want and the price range they are targeting. From there, an AI agent takes over the negotiation process. Access to the service costs $50 a month.
"They click negotiate this for me and next thing you know, behind the scenes, the agent's reaching out and then there's a dashboard for users where they can see the conversations. They can see the pricing and ultimately they can then choose to move forward if they want," Shefska said.
One of the key benefits is that customers do not have to deal with dealerships directly, removing the added pressure and stress that often comes with the car-buying experience.
"It finally levels the playing field for the customer. And the dealership salespeople and sales managers are selling 5, 10, 20 cars a day. As a customer you come in and you're buying a car maybe every 3-5 years. So you aren't nearly as experienced," Shefska said.
Shefska said the service has delivered real financial results for its users.
"It's a little over $1,500 in savings per transaction and we've had about 2,500 people use it," Shefska said.
Once the AI agent identifies a car and price that meets the shopper's criteria, it sends a notification to the user. The conversation then moves offline, with an appointment set up for paperwork between the dealership and the buyer.
A CarEdge study found that 1 in 4 car buyers in 2025 have used or plan to use AI to buy a car, with the goal of improving research, finding better financing, and assessing long-term costs.
Even for buyers like Wright, who said she purchased her car specifically for its safety features, services like CarEdge offer consumers another tool to secure the best possible deal.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
