Carvana Reviews - How It Works, Warranty, Financing, Returns

My fourth car was delivered today and contained two very noticeable dents on the passenger side that were not notated on the photos of the car, so now I have to wait 48 hours for someone to contact me so those dents can be fixed.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

At first I though Carvana was the answer to all my problems. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I love my car, but if I use the A/C or heat, my car smells like cigarettes, something I was very specific about not wanting. The windshield broke the first week, which they fixed, but I already need to replace my breaks at 30k miles. What bothers me most is I found rotted food under the upholstery of the front seats of my car. I bought a Jeep Wrangler and the bolts to keep the top on weren’t even there. I will probably sell the car in a year or two, unfortunately.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Good afternoon.

My car was delivered from Carvana on 4/20/2018. I was told by the delivery guy that I will have until today, 4/27, to decide if I want to keep the car and I would receive a call. NO CALL WAS MADE TO ME. But, in Carvana's system, it shows them calling me.

I advised the rep that I NEVER received a call and there's nothing wrong with my voicemail. The rep then stated there was an email sent to me 4/17/2018. Which I did not read? Because, NO one told me they were sending over an email, until today. I wanted to return the car, and now I'm being told nothing can be done. The rep stated that it was told to me several times by previous reps that I had seven with the car. Yes! It was told me, but, the delivery guy told me someone will call me on Thursday to see if I still want the car. If not, it will be picked up on Friday. He said I have until Friday, but now the rules have changed.

I should have NEVER purchased this car with you guys. I've had issues from the beginning. But I decided to give you a chance anyone. Look who gets screwed, ME!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

My Carvana experience has been lukewarm at best.

While the "viewing" and buying experience was okay, the economical claim of being a good buy, etc. are in a word "stretched."

I purchased a vehicle and based upon the quality claim did three things I will never repeat.

1. The vehicle came with one set of electronic keys - "the local dealership will provide a set and bill us" I was told.

DIDN'T happen. I traveled an hour each way to be told no way. If I wanted to buy a set the Carvana would have to reimburse me. The hassle became too much for someone who bought on convenience.

2. The vehicle had TWO types of tires. Again, VERY disappointing, given Carvana's attention to detail. I had to replace the entire set less than a year later because the tires didn't play well together.

3. Financing? Well, expect a second rate experience. If paying more than the monthly amount, I have to call the company to explain HOW to apply funds and to ensure it's been done. What a horrible company (GO Financial now known as BRIDGEPORT).

So, Carvana, while one CAN buy online, I will never ever recommend to anyone that they purchase from your organization. EVER.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Other than the delay in delivery due to some cosmetic repairs, the purchase and delivery of the car went smoothly. Unfortunately, since then, this 2013 Chevy Malibu that I purchased in October 2016 has been a nightmare since then.

The first week it was brought to the dealership because none of the back lighting was working (break lights nor lights for license plate). Approximately one week after that, the tire blew out on the interstate, and there was no spare tire or even a little fix a flat kit in the car for repair. Move forward about two months after that the battery as well as the starter had to be replaced (battery, fine, that is normal).

Now for the last two months the car every few days has to be boosted. I've taken it to the dealership twice, both times I'm told that there is nothing wrong with the car, but I am still standing outside in the heat using jumper cables in the parking lot. The last time was tonight, and it began making clicking noises as well. The dealership replaced the battery two days ago, so it is not the battery. I've only had the car approximately a year and a half; I should not have had this many issues. And now I'm stuck paying for this lemon that I bought from Carvana and am constantly wondering what will happen next with this car.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I had recently purchased a 2016 Chevy Silverado Ext. Cab. I was extremely excited to receive the vehicle as it was Hot Red (my favorite color!). All prior communication had been going great until the vehicle was delivered.

After test driving and pre-inspection, I was a bit concerned with the condition the vehicle was delivered in. The Carvana advocate, Hunter, was upfront and honest and stated he attempted to detail interior, but the inside and truck bed were in pretty bad shape, 6 out of 10. He then took pictures to contact his repair team and said that they would work something out to have the car professionally detailed. Ok, I thought no big deal if they can get that done.

My fiance' and I proceeded to test drive the vehicle and noticed a slight rumble or vibration in the cabin when idling at low RPMs and braking. She then pointed out a crack in the front glass windshield. I'm now in the process of doing a swap for a 2017 Dodge Ram, and hoping this vehicle will be in much better condition. Every Carvana advocate I have spoken with has been magnificent none the less, BUT this does me no good as a first time customer if the quality of the vehicle is not up to par.

I now have two days left for the new vehicle to arrive. I still have to drive back and forth to work and drop my daughter off at daycare. I'm now being told that since I exceeded the 400-mile mark, I will have to pay $1 extra per mile over. Which will come out to about ($200). I think this is unfair as the first vehicle they sent me was a waste of my time, and now money. This is all very disheartening as a first-time buyer with Carvana. I'm now questioning the integrity of these 150-point inspections. Especially since we noticed all the things wrong with the vehicle in less than 30 minutes. I like the idea, but not sure yet if I will recommend or use them in the future.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

The car itself is fine. The people I've dealt with were pleasant, and overall the experience [until now] has been convenient and pleasant. I was even going to recommend this service. However, according to a Carvana rep, Carvana is "required to complete the registration" because I used their financing.

My temporary tags are dated 6/9/18 (TOMORROW), and when I called to check on my tags, their "third party" hasn't submitted the paperwork yet, and it could be at least two more weeks after that before I get my tags. Their representative tried to blame me for getting them the property tax receipt late, but I send it to them 25 hours after the first time asked for it.

Now I have a car I can't drive legally! For me, the convenience and stress-free experience of buying online is completely overshadowed by this.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

5/31/2018 Update:

On day one, I emailed pictures of the body scratches and other faults to Cheri. I emailed some additional ones since then as well. There are a lot of scratches. She doesn't generally respond, but I assume they are reviewing the pictures.

Chris, a "Customer Care Advocate," called me fairly quickly after my e-mail to Cheri, and I've talked to him on the phone twice, and also briefly in email. I informed him the 75th Anniversary package is a nearly $5,000 package that includes a steel bumper, a 6.5" touchscreen with UConnect, and leather-trimmed, heated seats (and several other options). The Jeep they brought me has none of those. I spoke to another gentleman as well, but he was talking in circles, and I did not receive any useful information, other than "the price is correct." Chris did admit the text description was changed after I bought the vehicle, but cannot explain why. It was something close to, "We get information from the VIN and other sources."

What I'm hearing so far is not encouraging. They are supposed to have complete information for me tomorrow about how to settle this. They extended my 7-day review period until 5:00 PM tomorrow (Friday 6/1), so they have time to try to address these issues.

6/9/2018 Update:

So Carvana offered me $600 back total to buff the scratches out of the vehicle (some are buffable, some are not) and also for the cleaning. They offered to order floormats but only after my 7-day "trial" period, which I did. They haven't arrived yet, and my carpet is getting very dirty. I also ran into a new wrinkle. Carvana keeps the vehicle registered under THEIR name the entire time you are making payments. This complicates vehicle registration if you have a personalized plate, like I do. It's possible to keep your personalized plate by sending them some information, but it does make the entire process more complicated than simply going down to your county clerk and transferring tags.

Would I do it again? Under most circumstances, I would say no. However, the vehicle I bought is a Jeep Wrangler, and getting a good deal on these is very difficult. They are wildly popular and hold their value so much that late models go for nearly new price. This gives Carvana an advantage over most dealers and individuals selling these, which is why I kept the Jeep I bought. In my particular case, because it was a Wrangler, I simply couldn't find a significantly better deal. I did find a much better deal on eBay, but it was in New York. I'd be buying long distance. I'm not a fan of that.

So bottom line, don't think Carvana is "no hassle," because it can be a great hassle. Also don't expect a vehicle that has only the scratches/damage that they identify on the web site. There will almost certainly be more, based on my experience. I've rated them up to 2-stars, due to the fact that the price was unintentionally more competitive and I have to acknowledge it wasn't a bad deal (or I wouldn't have kept it obviously).

Overall, though, the process was and still is a hassle, and I was slammed with disappointment when I first got the vehicle, due to the listing "error" and the additional scratches and dirty interior/exterior. I also really dislike that I don't receive a title and they keep it in their name. Why is that? Is it because it's easier to repo a car if it's in their name? Who knows. They didn't explain it, and I didn't see it in their FAQ, but I don't like it.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

They sold me a luxury lemon, and they did fix it all until my short term warranty was over. I went back to trade, and my credit score is much higher, and they are giving me unfair terms now with a much higher interest rate and a higher down payment. Why am I being punished?

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I canceled my purchase with this company.

It's a good concept that could be better. I hate buying cars and will negotiate down to the last dollar. Carvana's prices are good when you compare the cost/benefit of spending hours negotiating prices. I didn't want to spend the time negotiating this time around and felt the price was fair.

The purchase got held up because their contract had the first line or two of each page obstructed by the DocuSign ID. I asked them via email to fix it and was told it would take weeks. I called and said that's dumb, your contract is in MS word, it should take five seconds to change fix it, here's how you do it. That took two days.

My loan officer also had paperwork wrong which took a day and a half to fix, not Carvana's fault.

At this point, I was getting threatening emails that the delivery would be delayed if the loan wasn't funded by 3 pm. Our delivery date was pretty time sensitive, so this was an issue. The delivery date was 11 days from the time I clicked purchase, so it's not like I wanted a car to magically show up in a day or so. At the time of cancellation, it was still five days and four hours from the delivery date/time.

At 2:55 pm I received an email saying the delivery had to be rescheduled (even though cutoff was 3 pm). I called and spoke to Ambrosia who could not have cared less. Purchase canceled. The conversation was less than a minute, apparently, customer retention isn't their thing.

My loan officer told me that he funded the loan before their cutoff and even had to call in to tell them. The account was supposedly notated, but Carvana didn't care. He even called Carvana and tried to get the situation fixed to no avail.

So. If you will blindly sign your contract or don't care about delivery times, go for it. For me, it just didn't work out.

And really, it was disappointing because I wanted it to work. But it does seem like their "click, click, click, done" model wasn't accurate. For me, it was a weeklong headache that required a lot of followup on my end instead of four hours in a dealership and driving away with a car.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

After purchasing at least ten new and used cars over my lifetime, I was thrilled to be able to purchase a vehicle online to avoid the hassle of going to a dealer. To that end, I ordered a 2014 VW Tiguan from the Carvana website. This vehicle had the options I wanted, the mileage I was what looking for, and the price was in the range of dealers close to where I live without the $500 dealer conveyance fee. The purchase process was easy enough, including my trade and the customer service was first rate. I spoke to four different customer service reps over a matter of several days, and all four were professional, courteous, knowledgeable about the Carvana process. They were all were pleasant to speak with. A+ on the customer service front.

As far as the vehicle was concerned, that's a different story. It had multiple glaring cosmetic issues not annotated in the photos, on their website, and on the exterior. (I didn't even bother to look inside the car, so I can't comment on the interior.) It was disappointing, to say the least. The delivery person was very kind when I told her not to bother taking off the truck noting that she wanted me to be 100% happy with my purchase. I really wanted to purchase a vehicle from them but I wound up purchasing a vehicle I was able to see from a local dealer. Again, A+ on the customer service and D- on the vehicle presentation. Maybe next time.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend