Ask HN: Shouldn't there be a better way to buy a car?

I was sitting in Finance class today and my professor was explaining how he decided on buying a new Mazda Miata. But instead of paying the asking price or going to our local dealer and negotiating, he called and submitted the price he'd be willing to pay to every Mazda dealership in our area, even some up to 500 miles away. He figured even with flying out somewhere and driving it back he still ends up saving money.

This got me thinking. Why isn't there a disruptive startup that helps prospective buyers submit bids to dealerships? A buyer would determine what type of car/features he would want and submit it to the service. Then the startup would automatically send the information/bid to however many dealerships of that brand was in the selected mileage he was willing to travel to. This would make car dealerships of the same brand compete with each other which would result in a lower price for the consumer.

This startup could monetize from either angle. I'm guessing car buyers would be willing to spend a small fee ($25-$50) if it meant saving them hundreds or thousands. Meanwhile, dealers might even pay for the "leads."

Is there already something like this? Is this viable?