Car buying online isn't a new concept: According to J.D. Power and Associates, 68 percent of new vehicle purchases in the United States are preceded by shopping and research online. But an innovative technology platform is poised to make the experience much easier and more transparent for the potential buyer. It's called Zag, and its CEO is Scott Painter, the founder and former CEO of CarsDirect.com.

Zag is a B2B service provider, building car-buying services for affinity and membership organizations such as Capital One and the AAA. The way most current car-buying sites work is that you check prices for car models in your area through the site. The next step is to wait for a dealer to contact you with a quote; everything else happens off line.

Where Zag's platform differs is that everything you need to buy a car—researching, configuring, selecting, pricing, searching inventory, accessorizing, and financing—is done online. Once you've decided on the car you want, complete with any aftermarket accessories you'd like to have installed, you instantly get a price quote from one of the many dealers that have signed up with Zag. If you like the price, you can accept it right then and there, with no haggling or pressure from a salesperson

Zag takes special precautions to ensure a fair upfront price for consumers. It requires the dealers in its network to set a definite price. The technology filters out overpriced cars, so cars priced above their true market value won't even show up in searches. Dealers also are required to give Zag their DMS keys, which let the service keep track of their entire inventory. Zag also requires dealers to deliver your chosen car in 90 minutes, and it expedites the administrative process by letting you handle insurance, title, and financing online.

Right now Zag is active in just a few markets, including Los Angeles and Atlanta. According to Painter, as Zag brings more and more dealers on board, the service will move into most major metropolitan areas within the next 6 months or so.

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