Carvana

[mickeyd]

Has anyone purchased a vehicle from Carvana before? It seems too darn easy and does not appear to have any regular salesmen. I have noted a local location that has cars stacked up like CDs. Sounds a bit like getting a vehicle from a vending machine.

Review your contracts and sign them electronically. Feel free to take as much time as you'd like, or complete the process in as little as 10 minutes. Once you get the paperwork out of the way, simply select a delivery or pick up time, submit your down payment information, and you are all set. The internet, your car-expert friends, and our customer advocates are all at your disposal. No pressure. No fast talking. No managers or back rooms. You are in complete control.

https://www.carvana.com/how-it-works

 

[aja8888]

No personal experience, but have seen their ads on Craigslist. Before I would give them a dime, I would ask to take the car to a shop and have it inspected for damage, etc. These guys are like Carmax without a lot of overhead. No telling where they get there inventory from, but I will bet it's sales from rental car agencies or other fleet owners.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

That is exactly where they get most of their cars. They do purchase trade-ins just as car-max does, so some will be from that source. My CU advertises Carvana on their web page, as alas the CU long since terminated their own purchasing service., which was great as 15 yrs ago i used that. My two choices were brought to the CU parking lot from local dealers. I picked one, but ordered a different car with a few more options. dealer delivered that one to my house a few weeks later. No haggling, and the CU pre negotiated price was a bargain back then.

You might get a better price and a better car going direct to the rental co for purchase, as they probably keep the cars that are in better shape to sell themselves before unloading the rest on Carvana

 

[jazz4cash]

I looked into it. Mostly they deliver vehicles to your driveway so you are buying without actually seeing the car. I question where you'd go for service. I think they are affiliated with Drive Time, the subprime credit retailer. The cars available in my area come from a few locations that are within 300 miles. I saw the CEO on CNBC once and the used car vending machine is what he promoted. I thought it was a virtual description.
https://www.carvana.com/vendingmachine

 

[Red Badger]

If they ever have a new car service, I'll consider.

 

[IMATERP]

About six moths ago my neighbor purchased a Honda Fit from Carvana. I asked him how he liked the process ?

He said "it didn't suck." I think its their catch phrase.

Furthermore, he told me that he had 1 week to get the inspected and could return the car if he didn't want it. Not a bad deal, but I wouldn't want something off of a rental fleet in that the cars are driven very hard.

 

[Beldar]

Furthermore, he told me that he had 1 week to get the inspected and could return the car if he didn't want it. Not a bad deal, but I wouldn't want something off of a rental fleet in that the cars are driven very hard.

We had the same experience at Enterprise car sales, only the vehicle we purchased was a trade in and not a fleet retiree. One week money back deal, fixed price, they even replaced some missing tools from the local dealership. Fresh oil change & full tank of gas (not that does really matter).

Buying sight unseen though would be a show stopper for me, considering the amount of money involved.


_B

 

[nvestysly]

Our neighbor purchased a vehicle via Carvana and is happy. We spoke at length about the transaction and were told after choosing a vehicle it's delivered and they had an opportunity to say "no" and they take the car back. After that, there was a period of several days in which they could have said "no" and returned the vehicle. Our neighbor identified several items that needed repair or otherwise required attention and that was handled at a local dealer (OEM) for the make of vehicle they purchased.

I suspect our neighbor would be a notch or two above "it didn't suck" but even with Carvana nothing is perfect.