Carvana

[HotRod140]

Hey Friends, anyone use this service to buy a used car. If so, has was your experience?

[lazydavid]

A friend used it to buy an Infiniti Q50 Hybrid, and was very pleased with the process. Got a fair price, quick delivery, the car was pristine. He did not trade his old car, sold it privately instead.

[HotRod140]

Thanks for the quick response. Good to hear, I may try them out

[jwhitaker]

I actually bought a car with them and decided not to keep it within the 7 day trial period. They honored the promise to take it back and promptly returned the money. No hassle at all or even attempt to talk me into keeping it. Everything was fine with the car, just decided it wasn't a wise financial move. I would feel very comfortable buying a car from them again.

It is very interesting to watch their inventory. They move Porsche 911's very easily, even at $70k. I thought they are a little high on price, depends on the car obviously, but honestly removing so much of the hassle from used car shopping is worth it.

Also I believe it is Carvana with a single n.

[HotRod140]

Yep, just saw that spell mistake. My first post in years and I screwed up. Can never put one past a Boglehead, ha ha

[Jimmie]

I hate Carvana. I tried to buy a car using the car vending machine. My car got stuck in that screw thingy and the guy behind me got TWO cars. I tried shaking the whole machine, but I wasn't strong enough.

[GreatLaker]

I hate Carvana. I tried to buy a car using the car vending machine. My car got stuck in that screw thingy and the guy behind me got TWO cars. I tried shaking the whole machine, but I wasn't strong enough.

Lucky you did not reach in to pull your car out and get your arm stuck. Or have the entire machine fall on you. That would hurt!

[HotRod140]

Your going to need a crap load of quarters to do it that way

[Chris K Jones]

My family has bought 5 cars from Carvana. Each process went smoothly. Will use them next time if we can.

[HotRod140]

The whole process looks very easy. I no longer have the paitence or desire to engage with a salesman. Alot of the vehicles that I was looking at also had free shipping. They may have hit on something with this angle

[jwhitaker]

I hate Carvana. I tried to buy a car using the car vending machine. My car got stuck in that screw thingy and the guy behind me got TWO cars. I tried shaking the whole machine, but I wasn't strong enough.

This was actually the first time something on bogleheads made me laugh, good job.

[Broken Man 1999]

My family has bought 5 cars from Carvana. Each process went smoothly. Will use them next time if we can.

I was surprised at the figures they have posted sales-wise. I had no idea they have sold so many vehicles.

Seems a good business plan.

Broken Man 1999

[michaeljc70]

I wonder how the prices compare to other fixed price used car places like CarMax. I guess if I was really interested, I'd take the time to compare some similar vehicles.

[rh00p]

I actually bought a car with them and decided not to keep it within the 7 day trial period.

Is it true the 7 day period includes the delivery? And if you paid for shipping was that refunded?

Did anyone receive a car that had defects / blemishes not shown in the photos?

[DaftInvestor]

I hate Carvana. I tried to buy a car using the car vending machine. My car got stuck in that screw thingy and the guy behind me got TWO cars. I tried shaking the whole machine, but I wasn't strong enough.

LOL! Best joke I've heard all week.

[yette1]

I purchased a 2015 Genesis G80 from Carvana in December. My experience so far:

1. Purchase price was similar to Cars.com list price for the same car.
2. Carvana gave me more than KBB value for my trade-in.
3. The on-line purchase process and paperwork was very easy, straight forward. No pressure to use either their financing or extended warranty.
4. Carvana missed the original delivery date (made excuse about truck breakdown)
5. The car did have more cosmetic damage (paint chips) than described on their site. (I'm kind of a car nut).
6. On the 2nd attempt, they brought the car to my house, towed away my trade.
7. Total time at my home was 45 minutes.
8. Total time spent beginning to end (all paperwork) was 2 hours.
9. Folks I spoke to on the phone were knowledgeable and very pleasant.
10. The car is running great and I really enjoy it. The OEM warranty still has 15 months remaining.

I would use Carvana again. I hate the dealership run around and the on-line technics sometimes posted to Bogleheads have not worked for me.

[darkhorse]

Friend bought BMW last month and traded in his old car.
Flawless process, he was very happy

[GuyInFL]

I was happy with my purchase. Get a referral. And you can get $250 off your purchase.

[cheese_breath]

I hate Carvana. I tried to buy a car using the car vending machine. My car got stuck in that screw thingy and the guy behind me got TWO cars. I tried shaking the whole machine, but I wasn't strong enough.

Lucky you did not reach in to pull your car out and get your arm stuck. Or have the entire machine fall on you. That would hurt!

You should have bought the one behind before someone else did. Then you would have two cars and could return the one you didn't like.

[pjshen]

I am a satisfied customer who purchased a Hyundai Elantra through Carvana last year. Like others have already posted, the process was straightforward, no-hassle, and it was a whole lot faster than buying at the dealer lot. I, too, felt that I got a good price, the staff was pleasant to deal with, the delivery and paperwork was quick & easy, the car was in pristine condition, and we're still quite happy about with it. Odds are good that I'll be a repeat customer. Oh, the thought of never having to haggle with user car salesmen again . . . .

[OnTrack]

For those that have used Carvana, how did you choose the make/model? I don't think I would be comfortable buying a car "completely online" as the commercial says. That would seem to exclude test driving various models, evaluating the seat comfort, etc.

[michaeljc70]

For those that have used Carvana, how did you choose the make/model? I don't think I would be comfortable buying a car "completely online" as the commercial says. That would seem to exclude test driving various models, evaluating the seat comfort, etc.

That is what it is. Of course, you can go test whatever you want locally. This would be the equivalent of going to Best Buy to get look at/get input on products and then buying it online. Some people have a problem with it and some don't.

My issue would be more of making sure the condition matched what it was advertised as. Sometimes you cannot see minor imperfections in online photos.

[Starfish]

I know nothing about Carvana but I used truecar or carsdirect two times (once as a beginning quote for dealers). Massively overpriced, by about 10-12% of the car price and one of them did not even have the car I wanted although they pretended they had it. I sent at most 10 emails to negotiate between dealers during work meetings and there ... >10% less.

[Darwin]

I hate Carvana. I tried to buy a car using the car vending machine. My car got stuck in that screw thingy and the guy behind me got TWO cars. I tried shaking the whole machine, but I wasn't strong enough.

This was actually the first time something on bogleheads made me laugh, good job.

+1

[malabargold]

Much better deals to be had shopping on line by oneself,

[tydas]

IMO, if you are looking for convenience when buying a new or used car, you will pay a hefty premium for that experience.

[bgf]

I think we will buy our next car through carvana, and this thread has really helped me. i understand that I can probably save a couple thousand by buying privately, but the selection is not comparable. you could look for months and months and never find what you want locally. all the while, you are wasting your own time when you could have just bought the car through carvana/carmax and had it delivered months prior. convenience and selection are both worth it and many instances.

[MDfive21]

we bought my wife's last car from them and it was just like they advertise. you should still take the car to a mechanic during the 7day trial. we found out there had been some minor repair to the front quarter. not enough to send the car back but good to know. i tried to negotiate them down based on the repair, but true to their ads they said take it or leave it, the price is the price.

over all i would do it again.

[Chris K Jones]

For those that have used Carvana, how did you choose the make/model? I don't think I would be comfortable buying a car "completely online" as the commercial says. That would seem to exclude test driving various models, evaluating the seat comfort, etc.

For two of the cars we bought, we had test driven similar models at local dealers. For three of the cars, we just bought them. These were a Camry and 2 Accords. They don't change much from year to year and we are very familiar with them. Good luck!

[BogleFanGal]

I used Carvana and was satisfied. Wouldn't recommend them if you want the best rock-bottom deal. They are higher priced than what I could likely find via local dealers, but no dealer fee. Depending upon your region, that could be a huge or negligible benefit.

I find their inventory is cleaner overall than what I've seen locally and since I hate dealing with car dealerships more than I hate overpaying, it was worth it to me. Very unboglelike, I know.

One big benefit I didn't see mentioned upthread: if you live in flooding or hurricane territory, you can easily find a car driven elsewhere, which is NOT the case when you shop locally. Anyone in disaster-prone areas knows that newer cars with hidden damage end up on the market 6 to 18 months after an event - even in reputable dealer lots.

We got the low end of KBB trade in. Our car was in a couple of accidents, so that likely hurt our value. Certainly could have sold privately for more. I have zero desire to deal with strangers, calls, test drives, etc. Carvana did all paperwork right at my house, left me the temp tag with car delivery and mailed perm one a couple of weeks later.

I sure wish they'd offer a rebate or special incentive to repeat customers vs just their one promo on thanksgiving weekend.

[Starfish]

There is no dealing with dealerships nowadays.
You copy paste several emails, 3 lines,mostly copy pasted. 3-4 emails a day for several days. Decide on the best offer, show up at dealership, sign the papers. In 1-2h you are out with the car.
Of course, no trade in, that is another way of losing money.

[northtexan]

I purchased one of my current vehicles (2017 Accord) from them last July. The car was in good condition, but they say that they detail it and wax it on their website. That was not done. They also list all the flaws on the car and there were a few that were not mentioned. Since I noticed these the day I picked up the car I gave the customer service a call and was able to get a few hundred dollars back to cover the cost of detailing the car and to fix the flaws on the car. I decided to not fix the flaws since it was on the front bumper. I would just give the car a look around when you get it and if there are things that were not disclosed, mention it to them and they will "adjust" the price. Later on I did notice that the rear bumper was most likely replaced, it was not mentioned on the Carfax. But that is a not really their fault.

The 7 day return policy is great to get the car inspected and resolve any undisclosed issues.

[northtexan]

There is no dealing with dealerships nowadays.
You copy paste several emails, 3 lines,mostly copy pasted. 3-4 emails a day for several days. Decide on the best offer, show up at dealership, sign the papers. In 1-2h you are out with the car.
Of course, no trade in, that is another way of losing money.

In my experience last summer no dealerships wanted to talk price over email. They said I needed to come in to the showroom before they would talk prices other then that advertised on the website.

[Starfish]

There is no dealing with dealerships nowadays.
You copy paste several emails, 3 lines,mostly copy pasted. 3-4 emails a day for several days. Decide on the best offer, show up at dealership, sign the papers. In 1-2h you are out with the car.
Of course, no trade in, that is another way of losing money.

In my experience last summer no dealerships wanted to talk price over email. They said I needed to come in to the showroom before they would talk prices other then that advertised on the website.

Did you have a first offer?
You have to start with something, like I have a X$ for Y car, can you do better? For first offer you can use an online service like carsdierct.
I assume is harder for easier to sell cars.

[Blueskies123]

I wonder where they are getting their cars from? Are they just listing used cars at local dealers with markup or do they really have their own inventory in every city?

[BogleFanGal]

There is no dealing with dealerships nowadays.
You copy paste several emails, 3 lines,mostly copy pasted. 3-4 emails a day for several days. Decide on the best offer, show up at dealership, sign the papers. In 1-2h you are out with the car.
Of course, no trade in, that is another way of losing money.

We're talking about used cars here...not new ones. It's rare to find two used cars w/exact same trim/features/condition to bargain between dealers.

[Starfish]

There is no dealing with dealerships nowadays.
You copy paste several emails, 3 lines,mostly copy pasted. 3-4 emails a day for several days. Decide on the best offer, show up at dealership, sign the papers. In 1-2h you are out with the car.
Of course, no trade in, that is another way of losing money.

We're talking about used cars here...not new ones. It's rare to find two used cars w/exact same trim/features/condition to bargain between dealers.

Sorry, I missed that. Scratch everything I wrote.

[bgf]

I wonder where they are getting their cars from? Are they just listing used cars at local dealers with markup or do they really have their own inventory in every city?

its my understanding that they buy cars at auction and then put them up for sale. if they don't sell pretty quickly, maybe after a price drop, they go back to auction... so i think carvana isn't holding onto inventory for very long. trade ins probably go straight to auction

[gasdoc]

I wonder where they are getting their cars from? Are they just listing used cars at local dealers with markup or do they really have their own inventory in every city?

Don't they take trade-ins?

gasdoc

[bob60014]

I wonder where they are getting their cars from? Are they just listing used cars at local dealers with markup or do they really have their own inventory in every city?

Don't they take trade-ins?

gasdoc

Yes, they buy cars too, similar to CARMAX.
https://www.carvana.com/trades

[Davinci]

I hate Carvana. I tried to buy a car using the car vending machine. My car got stuck in that screw thingy and the guy behind me got TWO cars. I tried shaking the whole machine, but I wasn't strong enough.

Too bad there are no Carvana vending machines where I live, I am very lucky and usually always get 2 candy bars at work.

Recently having purchased a car, I did price comparison and frankly Carvana seems overpriced for used cars. I found in many cases you can get a new car cheaper than Carvana. Their cars definitely are nice and look pristine, and it is also very convenient to get it at your house but you are paying for this service which seems to be to be $2-3K as compared if you were buying it.

I definitely can see why so many people would like Carvana, after all the games dealerships played on me the last 2 weeks, I was so fed up I was willing to do Carvana but was lucky that Costco Auto was able to do all the work for me to get a great deal.

[tenkuky]

How does the Carvana "certification" program compare with the usual certified pre-owned (CPO) that I've been used to from the dealer?
Same general warranties?

[Watty]

Recently having purchased a car, I did price comparison and frankly Carvana seems overpriced for used cars. I found in many cases you can get a new car cheaper than Carvana.

I bought a new 2018 Corolla just over a year ago.

Out of curiosity I just looked at their website to see what they are selling for and they had a number of cars that were identical except for the color and the ones that have about 16k miles that were selling for the same price that I paid +/- $100.