Carvana Review

Hello all, after using Carvana I figure I'd give my impression of the service. This is my first time using it. Buckle in, it's going to get bumpy.

I found a 2018 Kia Stinger GT2 on their site, liked it, placed an order. At the same time I was trading in my 2015 Impreza that was getting a little rough.

Submitted all the paperwork online, waited for them to draft up a contract so I could send it to my bank for financing.

Getting the funds to then was a little annoying as they seemed to lose the check for a day delaying delivery but whatever.

Arrival day, the driver called and arrived a few minutes early, he'll yeah! Pulled the car off, took my car away and bam, were in our new ride. Took about an hour for the hell to set in...

Driving on the freeway we hear a loud bang and a dragging noise. This is the first time i had gotten on the gas so I'm freaking out. Finally find a spot to pull over and look under. The skidplate had fallen and was dragging. Call Carvana...

They have the thing towed to a dealership. The dealership hooks it up and reinstalls it for free with the bolts. Apparently it was just kinda pinched in before.

This is what starts getting my wheels spinning so I start going over the car with a fine tooth comb. What I find shocks me. I find lines of over spray toward the bottom of the vehicle, the headlights are misaligned and are maxed out on adjustment. There's masking tape with paint on it still under the passenger door. Keep in mind the carfax was clean, and their inspections noted two imperfections, neither of which was what I described.

Return time, I call them up and explain the situation, they say yup we'll take it back no problem. Awesome! They're taking my info and then hang up. Call back, different guy and says he can do it. He then tells me 10-20 days before they can take back the car. Keep in mind it now has a 600 mile limit, everything over that costs $1 per mile. Great, and if I crash it or I get hit, bummer no deal and they won't take it back.

So now I'm stuck with this car that has a bunch of issues for 10-20 days while they do their little internal review.

I can confidently say I will never use this service again, I've spent faaar more time dealing with them, talking to different employees making promises, conflicting policies, hanging up, ect. I highly recommend to not use their services.

TL;DR Don't use Carvana. Their cars are shoddy and they take forever to do anything to help you

 

Try not to blow a gasket!!!
Did you sell the ZX-10?

 

The guys at TFL got burned by VROOM. Perhaps there's something in here that will help you navigate your situation. Sorry this happened to you and wish you luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1RpW02htSg

 

I had a good experience with Vroom.

 

If there wasn't any issues with the car I would let it slide, but the fact that the car had so many problems kills it for me.

Their 150 point inspection doesn't mean anything to me as one of the points says "headlight function and alignment". The right headlight is clear as day about a foot above the left.

If they couldn't be bothered to either check, or fix simple stuff like that, or just blatantly lie, I can't do business with them.

I also don't mean this as a rant or bitchin' post. I just want people to know it's not as seemless as they make it out to be. Additionally all their employees are working from home so it seems like a mess when they pull your file.

 

You deserve to have it right. When you spend money you should get what you pay for.

 

I bought a car through Carvana. The first car that showed up, I got under it, and it had clearly been driven through tons and tons and tons of salt. The underside of the car was a corroded mess. Didn't even accept delivery.

The next one was better, got under it and found it had been in slight accident, rear bumper mount was shot, but the rest of it seemed ok. Took it for a test drive, clutch had a throwout bearing problem with only 17k miles. Didn't accept delivery on that one either.

The third one was fine. My initial inspection went ok, my mechanic agreed with me.

So, my take on this is: buying a used car is buying a used car. It sucks. You have to be careful, and even though Carvana offers possibly more selection that your local dealers, craigslist, etc, it's still a used car and they're still trying to make a buck. There is no perfect solution.

There's a reason I chose to buy a new 4R instead of a used Landcruiser with 50k miles. You just don't know.

 

Buying is easy.

They go MIA with any customer complaints after that.

Also CARFAX is shit.

 

CARFAX is indeed useless.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE31oCwM_5g

 

The problem is is Carvana makes it look like you’re just gonna be sitting in your bathrobe with your balls hanging out buying cars online, they deliver one to you through their touchless no contact Covid delivery process, and then if you don’t like it you return it.

When in reality, they have been known to lose your cashier’s check and the minute you take delivery of the car, will pretty much ignore or downplay any issues it might have and actually getting them to take the thing back is like pulling teeth.

Also, since it is an online transaction, you have no way of inspecting the vehicle yourself and they have been known to grossly misrepresent it.

 

Did you read my post that you quoted? The delivery guy will wait for you to do whatever you want - test drive, inspect it, etc - and if you don't like it, don't accept the vehicle.

Have you bought a car through Carvana?

 

Clickbait video. I find that guy has some great information, buried in a lot of idiotic yapping. Signal::noise is too low.

 

Gotta give it to the fellow whom purchased the Jeep and took advantage of the warranty/guarantee it came with. He scored big time.

 

when the city of Oakland totaled my daughters FJ cruiser we did try to buy an FJ cruiser through Carvana, yes.

They wouldn’t deliver to my neighborhood, they offered to meet me at a 7-Eleven down the street because they claimed they couldn’t fit the delivery vehicle into our neighborhood.

They had already unloaded the truck when I got there and the delivery driver said that he can’t wait around while I inspect the vehicle.

What I got was a rusty mess, not the truck with the clean undercarriage I saw on the Internet.

I then spent about 10 days arguing with them until they finally took it back and it took them over 30 days to refund my money.

 

Carvana is banned from selling cars in Raleigh, NC. https://getjerry.com/insights/carvana-banned-selling-cars-north-carolina-2022

 

When I was an auto insurance adjuster, I had access to the LexisNexis database that let me search for the history of insurance claims and owners of a particular vehicle.

I was shopping for a clean, used Suburban to buy when living in Arizona, and I found several at dealers that all claimed a clean CarFax report. I would run the VIN through LexisNexis and nearly every one came up with prior auto damage claims, or having come from the salty Midwest when the dealer claimed local trade-in, or multiple ownership history when dealer claimed a single previous owner.

I hate buying used cars for this reason. I ended up buying a very clean, low-mileage Suburban that met every criteria and I checked it out top to bottom. A month after I got it, the transmission went out.

I haven't bought a used vehicle since. Well, at least not for my daily driver. I bought a used Jeep Wrangler as a toy and knew it was a POS and needed work. It did not disappoint.

 

Yup she gone, insurance got to be almost $200 a month so I was over it.

I get that buying used cars can be a crapshoot but I feel like Carvana uses specifically deceptive tactics.

 

Right there, I would have said "you keep it" and refused delivery. Basically, if you're buying a car you need to be one foot out the door at all times.

 

I SOLD one to them last year. Pretty sure I got the better deal on that 2008 Buick from upstate NY.

 

Any updates on the return?

 

Today is day 8 into their 10-20 day "review" of my case. I called day 2 to ask for a supervisor and ask if there was anything they could do to expedite and they said no, that is the policy, period. I can't find that arbitrary policy in any of the paperwork I signed, on their website, anywhere.

So I'm stuck with the car for now. I keep having this dread that when they finally call me they're going to be like, "After further review we have denied your request for return for x, y or z".

 

Hope for your sake it's not past time to do some digging around.

"The only way to physically see, touch and drive a Carvana vehicle is to purchase it. After you receive the car, you have 7 days to return it – this 7-day period is essentially your “test drive,” and returns may not be accepted if the vehicle has been driven more than 400 miles."

Return Hassles
"In some instances, returning a car to Carvana can feel like pulling teeth. You must request a return, sign paperwork, meet the delivery driver, get a replacement car or refund the entire cost, and more. If you must return your second vehicle, you also lose the 7-day return policy on your next (third) vehicle."

https://www.roperhonda.com/blog/2020/august/25/carvanahttps://www.roperhonda.com/blog/2020/august/25/carvana-vs-car-dealership-comparing-pros-cons.htm?locale=en_US-vs-car-dealership-comparing-pros-cons.htm?locale=en_US

Search question: Carvana's waiting period to return a car

.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39ACSSRXMU0

 

While not a mechanic I feel confident I can evaluate a vehicle adequately. Given Carvana's advertising stating multiple point inspections, the ability to drive the car for seven days and privately inspected by a third party, and the return policy, I was comfortable with the transaction.

The issue lies in the fact that the car was blatantly misrepresented, and that their hidden policies cause additional headache.

I don't think used cars are to blame. Had the car been advertised as a respray, ect., ect., with a price that reflected such I just wouldn't of bought it. Carvana is deliberately scamming people. My girlfriend didn't think it was resprayed until I showed and explained my findings.

Used car purchasing can be a crap shoot, but it is apparent that Carvana is using deceptive tactics to fool the unobservant or those without patience to hassle with the return process.

 

Oh I was 0% offended! I just wanted to clarify my position and why I think they are so shitty.

I bought the 4Runner new, but I have a very hard time paying 55k for a car, no matter how cool I think it is haha

I think next go around I'm going to at least do Kia Certified to ensure their great warranty stays intact.

 

Update: My bank notified me today that the car loan has been satisfied and has been closed. Apparently this happened almost two weeks ago, Carvana did an "unwind" (finance speak for undo the deal) and nobody told me. So I don't owe any money which is nice. What is not so nice is that I still have the car and they still have my down payment. Carvana is still saying its going to be 20-40 business days before they can come pick up the vehicle.

 

It appears they don't want the vehicle (back) any more than you do...

 

It is certainly a weird situation. My bank confirmed with me that the loan they financed is gone. Carvana also affirmed that they returned and my bank received the finance payment.

So now I got this car with no car payment haha

 

Once you get it taken off your hands, what's next?