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

I started a purchase of a minivan that Carvana stated had a power liftgate - a critical minivan feature that is either part of an expensive options package, or it's only available on an upgraded trim that costs thousands more than the base trim. But after I looked more closely at information from Carfax, it appeared to me that the minivan actually did not have a power liftgate. So I asked Carvana about this, and after a couple of hours their "markup" team confirmed via email that contrary to the Carvana description on the website, there was actually no power liftgate on the car.

So I asked for a price adjustment via email; no response to my email. Then I phoned customer service. The agent said she would "ask" someone else (who? I don't know) and put me on hold for 7-8 minutes. When she got back on the line she said there would be no price adjustment. So I said, "then please cancel the sale." She replied, "Wait a minute, I'm getting a signal to try a couple of things that might help you, let me put you back on hold." So I was put on hold a second time for 7-8 minutes. When she got back, she said, "There will be no price adjustment." So I canceled the sale.

So, what was the point of putting me on hold the second time? Was this agent actually talking to a higher authority when I was on hold, or was she just "icing the customer," a tried-and-true hard sell tactic?

And do you think that it was a mistake that Carvana advertised the non-existent power liftgate? Well, when I canceled the order I told the agent that Carvana must change the car description before offering the car for sale again, to avoid deceiving customers, and the agent promised she would do that. But guess what? When the minivan was listed back on Carvana's website it still showed that it had a power liftgate.

Finally, don't believe the responses by the Carvana rep on this website that they will work with customers when they make a mistake. They have done nothing for me. I endured a credit pull for no reason, so my FICO will fall. I gave them a copy of my license and trade-in title for no reason. And they are not decent enough to even send an apology email. Don't be deceived; there is no "Carvana Family;" it's a marketing ploy.

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

I just want to give another update to be fair to Carvana. Charles Priano took responsibility for fixing this situation and offered me a check to cover one monthly payment for the three weeks I was without my car. I really appreciated the effort.

Although it was not in a timely manner, I did receive my license plates at long last and am happy being able to drive my car!

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

I ordered a Mercedes C300 on Carvana about a month or so ago. The initial application and delivery were great. The issues started when the car arrived. I noticed the paint was rough and so was the windshield. Almost like a sand parade texture. I took it to a body shop where I was informed the car had overspray all over it and looked like it had cheaply been fixed after an accident. The repairs were over $1,000, which Carvana was willing to fix.

After driving around a few more days I noticed a rattle under the car and took it to Mercedes. They also noticed it and recommended I bring it in for repair. At this point, I was looking at a car I just bought being in the shop for two weeks and decided to just exchange it for another one. I’m concerned how no one at Carvana mentioned the paint issues nor were they initially disclosed. Thankfully I caught it within the first 7 days.

Now moving on to the exchange vehicle. It has been 9-10 days since it left Carvana for delivery. The delivery is past the expected time frame so I have been without a car since this whole thing started. When I call or chat Carvana, no one seems to know exactly where the car is or when I will get it. I am told to just wait by the phone. Meanwhile, I’m spending a lot of money on taxis to get to and from work every day. Now I am sitting here hoping to get a call that I will have a car this week.

Overall I am disappointed in this whole experience and at this point would not recommend this route to anyone unless they live right near a Carvana location.

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

Bright and shiny on a white truck, the car was unloaded as promised. Week one, no problems. I took the car on a highway trip and noticed a vibration when I reached 70 MPH, so I took it to my mechanic. The report came back that the car was out of alignment and the transmission was slipping, so I called Carvana and initiated a claim. I was told that since the car was still on the manufacturer's warranty, I had to take it to a dealership. After having to wait over 50 days for an appointment to have the transmission checked, I learned that it needed a new automatic clutch and, by the way, there had been a recall on the vehicle to replace the gas tank; five days in the shop without a car. A week or so later, I was having to tend to a tire pressure warning about low pressure. I filled the tires with air, and a week later the same warning appeared. I took the car to a tire repair facility and was told one of the tires had been patched and couldn't be patched again, so a new tire had to be purchased. Oh yes, the car only came with one key (as noted in the advertisement) but what wasn't disclosed is that a new key cost almost $200.

Carvana's business model seems to be to buy a car with little to no body damage, give it the best detail job ever so that it looks good, charge top dollar and do a cursory mechanical inspection and bet that nobody will return it within the seven-day guarantee period. And if I had read the critical reviews before buying the car, I probably never would had dealt with them.

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

I bought a car a few weeks ago now. It was supposed to get here on 12/29, but it got delayed until the 4th. Then today I get another call saying it's delayed yet again! I'm getting pretty upset, and I feel like crying. Now I'm not even sure I want this car and am kind of worried it might not be in good shape. I was really excited about this car too. I'm debating if I should cancel this order now or not.

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

The only reason I gave it a two, which is being nice by the way, is because their prices are decent, in my opinion. Screw what they said about it NOT being a hassle. The agents keep saying that the "instructions" on how they work were on the website. NO, they weren't. In fact, if they were, I wouldn't be on the second WEEK trying to buy this darn car! Seriously, two weeks?!

When I first did this, I was using a referral code to take $500 off of my amount. I was interested in getting a different car, and I saw the car I want. Now, since the car I want is technically what they call an "on-demand" car, I had to place a $100 refundable amount to reserve the car for just VIEWING. It took a few days to just get this accomplished.

In the meantime, I was planning on trading in my car, so I went through the process to set up the trade to see what I could get for the car. However, after speaking the first person, I had literally NO idea the submitted appraisal of my car would only last seven days. So do the math, you submit an appraisal, and it is only good for seven days and it takes until day three to see the car. That means you have four days left to make the car yours because of something as "secretive" as photos.

Financing: So, when I first made an account, it linked to my account with a different credit union. I figured that was fine, as I can change it later. They advertised they were partners with them, but my car loan wasn't with them. I was trying to stay with my other credit union account where my car loan is with. So after scheduling with the person on a chat that I will be picking up the car, they say all I need is my license and a picture of the front and back of the check from my credit union for the car. Ok. I call my credit union to start the process, but she doesn't give me a check nor picture as I'm trying to pick up the car the next day. This is day five, mind you.

Day six, my credit union send me the tracking number of the check she is overnighting to them so I can get the car the next day as scheduled. They get the tracking number, and I thought we were good. It's Friday evening, and they tell me "oh, we need a 10-day payoff." WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I tell them someone from their camp told me I only needed to bring a check or its picture and my license. They offer to call me the next day to three-way my bank, and I'm like ok, but it is Saturday tomorrow and limited time. They call me on Saturday, 1 HOUR after my credit union is closed. This is day seven, by the way.

They put the car on hold for me and told me they would schedule me to pick up the car on Monday at 7 PM. This was already bad as traffic is worse around that time here. I say ok, and they go ahead and schedule it...SO I THOUGHT. Here comes Monday and I call to be sure as I drive there about to be late. They say, "oh we never got your 10-day payoff." When were you going to tell me?! They never called.

Then they tell me I need to resubmit my appraisal because it's seven days old. WHAT?! I do, and my value goes down by $200! So, my bank already put the car in my account for the loan and I'm just trying to get the darn thing! I resubmit and then I three-way my bank on Tuesday or Wednesday with Carvana. My loan officer was telling them they already paid themselves and she sent the check for the car. She told them they didn't need a 10-day payoff. Then Carvana tells us that, "oh, actually, then we need lien holder release form and you need to mail the title to us." EXCUSE ME?!

So they harass me for a 10-day payoff to then say actually we need something else from you. So I think we settled this as today, Friday, they were now going to deliver the car to me. I call to be sure, again, as I got off early to go receive this car at my place. They say they tried calling me on Wednesday and Thursday but they never did and there was zero VOICEMAIL! The others had left one. They tried emailing me, and I had no time to check it due to my job, and they SAID they'd call me this week! So now I'm playing the 24 hours game on if I get the car I worked so hard to get or someone else get the car! I still don't know if or when I will be getting this car! Forget them!

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

The process was a NIGHTMARE. The delivery man was lovely, even went out of the way to get a gift for my daughter as it was a Christmas present. Super sweet! The car was ok. HOWEVER, the process was full of miscommunication, and false information. I was told that I needed to create another account in my daughter's name if I wanted it to be in her name, so I did. Then they would not allow me access to "her" account. It all went downhill from there.

I was told there was no delivery fee, then was charged a delivery fee. Because I had proof, they had told me there was no fee, they did remove it, but I had to go through the process of several phone calls to get it done. I was promised return calls, which never happened. After countless calls and speaking to countless people and getting so frustrated it literally made me sick, I finally got the MULTIPLE situations resolved through a manager, or so I thought. Because of their mistake, I had to put the car in both of our names. They sent a new tag, which was supposed to be transferred. This cost me an additional $355. I had an email confirming that this would be reimbursed, but they said that applied to the "other" account.

Everyone I spoke with was very nice, but one mistake after the other and I was continually given conflicting information. Apologies and acknowledgments for mistakes, but it was completely unnecessarily stressful and cost me an additional $355. Plus another $90 to transfer, which they said they will refund the $90. However, after this review, that remains to be seen.

Someday, when they have been in business for a long period of time and have a system to train their staff so that they know what they are doing, it may be a great way to buy a car, but at this time it is not worth the stress. So much easier to just buy a car in person. Very, very disappointed. I would not recommend.

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

Yeah, the convienance is great, but that’s it. I searched long and hard for weeks to find "the car," and upon finally reserving it, I was rushed the car in like two days. Odd? Especially when the ETA was like 3-10 days. It was 20 degrees, I walked quickly around the car, signed, and went back to bed. Upon waking up, I noticed it had two new tires on it and they were the wrong size as the others and a different break. I walked some more - the bumper was cracked, exhaust hanging, I looked further and this thing had rear body damage (structure issue). So I say I’m going to give it a day to see if anything else is wrong with it. I take it out for a cruise, and not even a few minutes later I noticed it vibrating, which is normally a baring, then I brake it and that does it worse (rotor). Why is a 2016 vehicle with 30k miles on it having wear and tear items going out already? The day goes on and the driver's seatbelt never retracted back after driving. Ok, another safety issue, this car has been so ragged out and mistreated on the interior, a dog or some sort has scratched every panel. And seat.

I was so disgusting that a company would sell a product like this, I told them to come get it, and I wouldn’t be purchasing another. I understand they’re used cars. But this is just outright wrong. And you know good and well they will just turn around and resell it.

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

Very simple and easy to know your rate and to find a car. They do a soft inquiry on your credit so you know what you qualify for and down payment required. Steps were easy, and the website was easy to use. Uploading docs was a breeze. The agent who brought my car was very friendly and informative.

The day it was brought in it was raining so I didn't test drive it too much. The next day I could smell a burning smell with smoke coming off the turbo. So I called SilveRock because that shouldn't happen when I just got the car. They said to take it to a shop for inspection. I took it to the Hyundai auto shop. They verified there was a leak in the turbo, but since it was under warranty, they would just take care of it.

I called Carvana to see if I can get some sort of credit because since the bad turbo was missed the price should reflect that. The price on the website did not indicate any problem with the turbo. The agent said he would not be able to give me any sort of credit because I didn't have to pay out of pocket for repairs. My time to me is of value. I was without for a couple of days even though I just bought the car. I wanted the car, so I accepted it and got it repaired when other customers probably wouldn't even hesitate to send it back for another one.

The whole experience was great before broken turbo ordeal. I would recommend Carvana but only when they are able to adjust the price or give credit to cars that have issues not stated in the online car viewer.

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

I got my car on the 22nd of March and here it is the 30th of March the check engine light is on, and the car won't accelerate. And when I called in, the rep laughed and said to call roadside, and also sorry, it's past your 7 days. Carvana is some BULL CRAP, they don't care about the customer at all just money.

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

I am pleased with the car and the politeness of all with whom I dealt. Whenever the vehicle was delivered the representative had a lot of information and one item was that I was to receive a check in the mail for a refund of some overpayment. Not only did I not get a refund, they debited my checking with no prior notification for doc stamps. This, I was told, was included in the finance charges. After speaking to numerous representatives who told me there was nothing they could do, I spoke with Charles, a manager in Tempe, Arizona who promised to refund my money, which had been earmarked for my rent, putting me in a precarious position. Although they debited my account they had many nebulous excuses as to why they could not credit the money back. "The check is in the mail." Charles said it would be mailed that very day, 04/23/2019. Now on 5/02, I still have not received it. Seems, they say, it was rejected for some reason, and resent on the 30th, a Sunday, so it still didn't go out till yesterday. And I keep telling my landlord I'll probably have the rest of the rent money tomorrow. Somebody needs to get their stories straight, then I can get mine straight.

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