Reviews (1)

OK. Here's the deal with Carvana.

I work at a collision repair facility, so I look at vehicles day in and day out. I'm going to know if something's been wrecked and I have a certified mechanic that is going to know if a vehicle has any mechanical defects.

I purchased a 2013 Toyota Rav 4 a couple of months ago. On the site, it listed a scratch on the hood and a few chips. I called about a million times prior to delivery to make sure everything was in order. Everyone was very helpful and friendly on the phone, and there was zero wait time. I even got a quote for trade in on my 2008 Toyota Avalon, and I am still wondering why they gave me so much money for it.

The vehicle arrived on time, and the delivery driver was awesome. She pulled it right off the truck and told me to take it for a test drive. While I was test driving it, she looked at my trade in. She even let me take my new delivery to my mechanic and put it on a lift right away. The oil was clean, new brakes on the front, new tires and under the hood was clean with no issues.

Now here's the part where people are knocking Carvana. The undercarriage rust. Yes, this vehicle did come from up north. It had more rust than the average vehicle in my area (Virginia). However, it is surface rust. It is on the bolts to the suspension and exhaust and a little on the exhaust pipe. Yes, the vehicle will continue to rust but it will no longer be exacerbated by northern driving conditions.

Was it a dealbreaker? Not for me. Nowhere bad enough to be an issue. When I got the vehicle off the lift, there were a few more scratches than noted in the online photos. A few light ones on the door (buffed out), deep one in liftgate and a couple deep ones on the front bumper. Interior was very clean except for front floor around mats which could have been detailed a little better. Also, the bumper had been replaced before, but all the other body lines on the car looked good (usually indicative of no prior body damage).

The VIN report on the vehicle listed no accidents (that doesn't mean there weren't any, just means none were reported) The delivery driver offered to waive the 100-day insurance deductible to get the scratches fixed that weren't noted online. Anywhere I wanted. They also paid my shop within a day of the claim, so Silverrock (the insurance claim company) was on top of things. Paperwork was easily taken care of at delivery. There were no hidden fees and it was so easy! The plates arrived earlier than expected in the mail. The car was about $900 less than cargurus.com (excellent deals) and about $1,000 less than NADA value.

So overall, the experience was great. If you are super picky and things like a little surface rust underneath and maybe a few extra scratches/dings bother you, maybe this isn't the place for you. If you do, just make sure you check out the vehicle thoroughly, because they probably do get their vehicles from auctions up north. For me, the high trade in value, zero hassle, and automatic paperwork was worth the less-than-perfect condition on the vehicle.