Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

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WL2034
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Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by WL2034 »

Has anyone used this website to buy a used car? I heard about it on Clark Howard a few months back and now that I'm in the market for a used car have looked around the site. The prices on a 1-2 year-old used SUV/crossover ($25k-$30k range) are averaging about $1000-1500 cheaper than CarMax. Also easily better than local car dealerships (that's without negotiating with the dealerships, though).

Has anyone used this service? Experiences? Opinions?

They do have a 7-day money back guarantee, no questions asked.

Thanks.
ladders11
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by ladders11 »

I spent tons of time shopping there and cross checking prices - found their prices very good.

Shopping locally, found lots of crappy cars around with accident histories or either people with nice cars asking way too much. Wound up buying from a dealer here but the dealer experience sucked.

So that means Carvana next time for me, hopefully it doesn't get too popular to drive prices up.
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WL2034
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by WL2034 »

ladders11 wrote:I spent tons of time shopping there and cross checking prices - found their prices very good.

Shopping locally, found lots of crappy cars around with accident histories or either people with nice cars asking way too much. Wound up buying from a dealer here but the dealer experience sucked.

So that means Carvana next time for me, hopefully it doesn't get too popular to drive prices up.


Thanks for the input. Any other online resources you would recommend? It seems like a decent way to save some time and buy a car at a good price. I'm not much of a car person, so test driving the specific car prior to purchasing isn't too important to me (as there is a 7 day money back guarantee). I think this might be a good way to buy for me if the price is right.
livesoft
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by livesoft »

As I noted in other threads, if you can negotiate, you will get a better deal. Online prices are just asking prices and not the prices you will pay, so don't anchor on them.

I don't know about carvana, but I have read that carmax does not negotiate. I have seen their prices are higher than a negotiated car price.

So you should be able to buy a car from a dealer at a lower price than carmax and a lower price than carvana, but you will have to negotiate to a lower price. And you can even negotiate a 7-day money-back guarantee if you are capable.
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Topic Author
WL2034
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by WL2034 »

livesoft wrote:As I noted in other threads, if you can negotiate, you will get a better deal. Online prices are just asking prices and not the prices you will pay, so don't anchor on them.

I don't know about carvana, but I have read that carmax does not negotiate. I have seen their prices are higher than a negotiated car price.

So you should be able to buy a car from a dealer at a lower price than carmax and a lower price than carvana, but you will have to negotiate to a lower price. And you can even negotiate a 7-day money-back guarantee if you are capable.
I have considered this as well. I will probably call/email some local dealerships and ask them to beat the Carvana price out the door for a similar vehicle just to see what they will do. I think the Carvana idea is more about the opportunity costs. I can buy a car on my smart phone from anywhere and have it delivered within a week, instead of driving around to dealerships in a 50-mile radius for a day trying to make a better deal on the right car. I could even pick up an extra shift at work on the day I would have spent car shopping.
Grapevine ATL
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by Grapevine ATL »

I was a car salesman at a Honda dealership when I used Carvana to purchase a car. That should tell you something. I bought a $16,000 that I could have probably gotten for $15,000 with a little haggling at an actual dealership. But buying a car takes forever, is exhausting, is always shady, and generally feels like a waste of time. I gladly paid a premium to take all that away.
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WL2034
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by WL2034 »

Grapevine ATL wrote:I was a car salesman at a Honda dealership when I used Carvana to purchase a car. That should tell you something. I bought a $16,000 that I could have probably gotten for $15,000 with a little haggling at an actual dealership. But buying a car takes forever, is exhausting, is always shady, and generally feels like a waste of time. I gladly paid a premium to take all that away.

How was the overall experience? Any problems during the process?

The other issue making me consider Carvana is that I will have a limited amount of time to purchase the car so I will not be able to browse inventory and negotiate for a prolonged period.
Grapevine ATL
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by Grapevine ATL »

WL2034 wrote:
Grapevine ATL wrote:I was a car salesman at a Honda dealership when I used Carvana to purchase a car. That should tell you something. I bought a $16,000 that I could have probably gotten for $15,000 with a little haggling at an actual dealership. But buying a car takes forever, is exhausting, is always shady, and generally feels like a waste of time. I gladly paid a premium to take all that away.

How was the overall experience? Any problems during the process?

The other issue making me consider Carvana is that I will have a limited amount of time to purchase the car so I will not be able to browse inventory and negotiate for a prolonged period.
The time crunch was one of the main reasons for using them. They were awesome. They come and drop off whatever car you're interested, you basically fill out all the paperwork you'd need to buy the car, you've already forked over your down payment. Then you get a 7 day trial period, at the end of which they'll consummate all your paperwork.

They also haul off your trade for you if you accept their offer. My car was a piece of junk, so I was happy to have someone just remove it for me (although, they gave me a whopping $600 for it).

I used them when they'd *just* opened. I "ordered" a car that had apparently just been sold and was mistakenly still on the site. My 2nd choice was about $1,000 than I had budgeted. They discounted me the full $1,000.

Overall, I was super happy with the experience.
ugakbk
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by ugakbk »

I purchased a vehicle from Carvana in 2014. Like the above posters mentioned, time and effort at an actual dealership will most likely net you a lower overall cost, but it will take time and effort. The service was good, but not great. We financed through our local credit union, and it took several revisions of paperwork to have everything completed for that correctly. I am sure that if we would have paid all cash or financed through them, that this process would have been much simpler. Also, our ~2 year old car came with only one key/remote. While obviously not a deal breaker, I expected two, and they did not offer any discount when I complained. Overall, I would use them again. Good luck with your new vehicle!
ladders11
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by ladders11 »

WL2034 wrote:Thanks for the input. Any other online resources you would recommend? It seems like a decent way to save some time and buy a car at a good price. I'm not much of a car person, so test driving the specific car prior to purchasing isn't too important to me (as there is a 7 day money back guarantee). I think this might be a good way to buy for me if the price is right.
Actually, if you are still deciding, a few youtube channels: alex on autos, everyman driver, the fast lane, redline reviews.

Carvana and CarMax both look to provide a set price, but they drop prices when inventory doesn't sell for a while. Sometimes listings go quick, as well, which I suppose means they listed for a great price.

I consider my dealer purchase fairly similar to carvana price... I paid $600 more but mine was a better color, panorama roof and better service history. I didn't negotiate that much, they had dropped the price over $1200 two days before and they took another $300 off. Probably bought $2-3k less than KBB. Big difference is the dealer wasted my time, over 5 hours there and again price was agreed upon quickly, I was totally rejecting warranties, trades, service packages, etc, still waiting and waiting more for printing the docs to be signed. Makes me mad just thinking about it.
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Bustoff
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by Bustoff »

WL2034 wrote: ... Any other online resources you would recommend?
Last week I stumbled across a company for purchasing cars online called Vroom.
I never heard of Vroom and did not know about Carvana until seeing this thread.
Anyway, thanks for posting this as I am also looking for a vehicle.

Here is a detailed review of Carvana.
http://luke1428.com/my-carvana-review-t ... used-cars/
saxyman
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by saxyman »

I purchased a car in November. I paid cash. The purchasing process was painless. However, I received my car on November 14, 2016. The temporary tag expired on December 29, 2016. I did not receive my title in order to get the title put in my name or get tags for my car. I called Carvana yesterday and their original response was they would have to check into it and give my a call back. I did not receive a call back so I called again. This time I told them that I wanted them to overnight me another temporary tag and again asked about my title. They are going to overnight another temporary tag. They do not know where my title is and they are going to have to investigate the situation. They have over $15,000 of my money and I don't have the title. They have two weeks to get this cleared up or I am going to have to take legal action.
objectivefunction
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by objectivefunction »

saxyman wrote:I purchased a car in November. I paid cash. The purchasing process was painless. However, I received my car on November 14, 2016. The temporary tag expired on December 29, 2016. I did not receive my title in order to get the title put in my name or get tags for my car. I called Carvana yesterday and their original response was they would have to check into it and give my a call back. I did not receive a call back so I called again. This time I told them that I wanted them to overnight me another temporary tag and again asked about my title. They are going to overnight another temporary tag. They do not know where my title is and they are going to have to investigate the situation. They have over $15,000 of my money and I don't have the title. They have two weeks to get this cleared up or I am going to have to take legal action.
I'm considering buying through Carvana. How did this end up?
ThisTimeItsDifferent
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by ThisTimeItsDifferent »

+1 on carvana being a convenient painless way to buy a good used car. The 7 day full return policy is nice too, especially if you are buying a different type of vehicle than you've had before.
objectivefunction
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by objectivefunction »

ThisTimeItsDifferent wrote:+1 on carvana being a convenient painless way to buy a good used car. The 7 day full return policy is nice too, especially if you are buying a different type of vehicle than you've had before.
I'm looking at a 2013 Nissan Leaf. I checked CarMax (I've bought and sold with them several times), but they just don't have a great selection, and the ones they have, I'd have to pay $149 to have transferred to my local CarMax.

Given the limited range of the Leaf I can't "make a trip of it" and buy it regionally or out-of-state or anything.

Carvana has a much better selection, and they'll ship it to me, so it seems like a great solution in this case.
DomDangelina
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by DomDangelina »

I bought a car from Carvana in September 2016. All cash, $1500 extra to ship it from Georgia to California. Once they got the cash, the communication from them was horrible. Having never bought a car in this manner before, I needed reassurance that the car was on its way. Yet they didn't give me regular updates. I had to hound them. I'd buy from Carvana again only if I couldn't find the exact car I wanted elsewhere.

On the bright side, the car was at my door within two weeks of ordering it. Its condition was precisely as advertised. And so far it runs flawlessly.

I'd consider https://www.beepi.com as well.
objectivefunction
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by objectivefunction »

http://www.autonews.com/article/2016121 ... r-startups

beepi.com now redirects to vroom.com.

Vroom does not have any Leafs.
Masterblaster
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by Masterblaster »

I took a look at a few used cars on Carvana and Vroom.

If you absolutely hate haggling with "Guido the closer" then these websites (or CarMax) are for you. Be informed though that you'll pay a couple thousand more than you need to for the service. Those prices struck me as ridiculously high.

Perhaps a better option is to go through one of many auto brokers. You'll get the same quality car at a wholesale price plus maybe $500 to the broker. Talk to one near you you'll get a better deal. Tell the broker to find you a late model car that's never ben in an accident that doesn't have any issues. They get em' from new car dealers often as lease trade-ins.
hookemhorns
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by hookemhorns »

I just bought a Chevy Volt from them which will be delivered next week. I'll post an update when I get it. I found their prices to be very reasonable. I went to a local dealer first and hated their hustle and constant upselling, so Carvana was quite appealing to me.
headedwest
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by headedwest »

I was thinking of buying a Subaru from them, but decided against it after calling and finding out delivery would have been another $1500.
DomDangelina
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by DomDangelina »

hookemhorns wrote:I just bought a Chevy Volt from them which will be delivered next week. I'll post an update when I get it. I found their prices to be very reasonable. I went to a local dealer first and hated their hustle and constant upselling, so Carvana was quite appealing to me.
I had to pay Carvana an extra ~$1,500 to ship from Georgia to Cal. Did you have to pay such a fee?
"Often the remedy causes the disease. It is by no means the least of life's rules: to let things alone." | Baltasar Gracián, S.J., The Art of Worldly Wisdom, Maxim 121
Got_Milk2015
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by Got_Milk2015 »

DomDangelina wrote:
I'd consider https://www.beepi.com as well.
These guys declared bankruptcy earlier this year....fyi...
hookemhorns
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by hookemhorns »

DomDangelina wrote:
hookemhorns wrote:
I had to pay Carvana an extra ~$1,500 to ship from Georgia to Cal. Did you have to pay such a fee?
No shipping fee for me. Car is being shipped from NJ to Texas.
denovo
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by denovo »

WL2034 wrote:Has anyone used this website to buy a used car? I heard about it on Clark Howard a few months back and now that I'm in the market for a used car have looked around the site. The prices on a 1-2 year-old used SUV/crossover ($25k-$30k range) are averaging about $1000-1500 cheaper than CarMax. Also easily better than local car dealerships (that's without negotiating with the dealerships, though).

Has anyone used this service? Experiences? Opinions?

They do have a 7-day money back guarantee, no questions asked.

Thanks.

I've always thought the best way to get a deal on used cars without high-stakes negotiations is to deal with people selling their own cars via CL or other classifieds. They're not pros like car dealers, just a regular person like you who wants to get rid of a car and move on with their life. I would consider getting a car report and having the car checked out by an independent mechanic to be mandatory when going this route though.
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln
objectivefunction
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by objectivefunction »

denovo wrote:I've always thought the best way to get a deal on used cars without high-stakes negotiations is to deal with people selling their own cars via CL or other classifieds. They're not pros like car dealers, just a regular person like you who wants to get rid of a car and move on with their life. I would consider getting a car report and having the car checked out by an independent mechanic to be mandatory when going this route though.
I think one's approach depends on many factors. I agree that going through classifieds is the best way to get the best deal, if you are competent at negotiating, researching, and vetting a car yourself.

If you are just looking for "a car" or if you are looking for a very common car that you can find on any used lot anywhere in the country, then a private party is a great way to get a great deal (or a dealer if you're confident and adventurous).

If you are looking for a gas car that you could drive 100, 200, 400+ miles, you could find a good deal regionally or across the country.

I'm looking for a mass produced all electric vehicle, and though it is mass produced there are still far fewer out there than Civics. It has a range of 85 miles on a new, un-degraded battery, so unless I'm buying locally I'd have to find a way to get the car shipped, something for which I have no expertise or equipment. I don't see how it would make any sense for me to buy and ship a car sight unseen from somewhere. I also don't see myself traveling to see the car in person, finding a reputable mechanic at my destination to check it out, paying to ship it back...that would eat into most of the savings you'd get, and it would take considerably more time.
abstractionjackson
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by abstractionjackson »

Since this thread is still going, I'll add my $.02. I agree with posters above who mentioned the element of "time." That's definitely where Carvana is the winner in my opinion. When you get into the business of buying AND selling a car to an individual through CL, etc. you are making a pretty serious time investment. Carvana takes away half of that equation (but I still recommend selling your old car independently--if that's the scenario you're in)--Carvana's trade in option is unfavorable.

If you're not in a hurry to buy, but are just starting to think about it--you might hold out for Carvana's Black Friday sale. For three consecutive years they have had a sale of $1,000 off every car in stock. I was watching prices like a hawk last year, and didn't see any indication that they were inflating prices to then take off $1,000. You'd think that would be happening in some capacity, but it didn't seem to be for the models I was considering.

I wrote a detailed review of my experience with Carvana, if anyone wants to know more. Main points: if you take out a loan with them, it's very easy to pay off with a CC for points, they are a company with integrity (noticed a cosmetic issue that hadn't been photo'd and they paid to fix it), in addition to BF sale try to get a referral code if you can, no dealer fee.

I'd push back on the notion that you are "paying a premium" with these guys. Maybe there's a premium vs. an individual on CL, but there wasn't a premium in my experience vs. a dealership (especially a big traditional dealer).

My full review is here in case the elaboration is helpful: http://www.richmondsavers.com/how-i-lan ... m-carvana/
objectivefunction
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by objectivefunction »

I ended up buying a 2013 Nissan Leaf from Carvana. The process was pretty smooth except for having to have the title and registration corrected because it indicated the Leaf had a gas engine instead of an electric. I received the title in a timely manner, it was just incorrect. Carvana claimed that their titling contractor coded it correctly, but that the DMV made a mistake entering it.

I looked up the forms on the DMV website and the only title correction form they had was for correcting a name or address, nothing for oops-the-type-of-engine-is-incorrect. I had horrifying visions of taking several days off work to go to the DMV and try to convince them to correct my title even though there wasn't a form to get it done.

I contacted Carvana and asked them if they could take care of it. I suppose they could have argued that it was the DMV's fault and I'd have to take care of it, but I'm glad they did the right thing and handled it for me. However, it took a while and I had to keep prodding them until I finally received the corrected title and registration a month and a half later.

I don't know whether to chalk it up to the fact that I was buying an EV or the fact that I bought through Carvana. I think I'd give Carvana a go again if I was in the market for a car. If I wasn't buying an EV I'd also check out CarMax and private parties.
DomDangelina
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by DomDangelina »

objectivefunction wrote: Tue Aug 29, 2017 3:42 pm I ended up buying a 2013 Nissan Leaf from Carvana. The process was pretty smooth except for having to have the title and registration corrected because it indicated the Leaf had a gas engine instead of an electric. I received the title in a timely manner, it was just incorrect. Carvana claimed that their titling contractor coded it correctly, but that the DMV made a mistake entering it.

I looked up the forms on the DMV website and the only title correction form they had was for correcting a name or address, nothing for oops-the-type-of-engine-is-incorrect. I had horrifying visions of taking several days off work to go to the DMV and try to convince them to correct my title even though there wasn't a form to get it done.

I contacted Carvana and asked them if they could take care of it. I suppose they could have argued that it was the DMV's fault and I'd have to take care of it, but I'm glad they did the right thing and handled it for me. However, it took a while and I had to keep prodding them until I finally received the corrected title and registration a month and a half later.

I don't know whether to chalk it up to the fact that I was buying an EV or the fact that I bought through Carvana. I think I'd give Carvana a go again if I was in the market for a car. If I wasn't buying an EV I'd also check out CarMax and private parties.
Did you experience a distressing lack of communication from Carvana after you bought? This was my experience. However, it's now a year later and the car continues to run flawlessly.
"Often the remedy causes the disease. It is by no means the least of life's rules: to let things alone." | Baltasar Gracián, S.J., The Art of Worldly Wisdom, Maxim 121
objectivefunction
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by objectivefunction »

DomDangelina wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2017 4:01 pm Did you experience a distressing lack of communication from Carvana after you bought? This was my experience. However, it's now a year later and the car continues to run flawlessly.
I would have preferred that I didn't have to keep pushing them to get things done, and it slightly biases me to not want to use them again. I think part of it was that I was buying an EV, and I just chalk up some of the experience to that still being a new thing.
DomDangelina
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Re: Has anyone purchased a car from Carvana.com?

Post by DomDangelina »

objectivefunction wrote: Tue Sep 05, 2017 9:08 am
I would have preferred that I didn't have to keep pushing them to get things done,
I had to do the same.
"Often the remedy causes the disease. It is by no means the least of life's rules: to let things alone." | Baltasar Gracián, S.J., The Art of Worldly Wisdom, Maxim 121
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