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

Everything seemed OK until I checked around and realized their offer on my trade was $1300 below local dealers. Then they did not complete registration correctly and delayed the delivery date, even though it was their fault. I had to run around and do the job normally covered by the dealership. Stay away from this the prices are high, the trade value abysmal and they do not work with you. A real take it or leave it attitude. Far worse than any dealer I have encountered.

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

This was probably the most epic fail of any major transaction I have had the displeasure of being subjected to. Ordered a Toyota on the weekend, scheduled the delivery on Tuesday. Great. I sign everything and purchase an insurance policy, receive emails confirming as much. Monday I receive an EMAIL explaining that I need to call THEM to reschedule due to an error on their end. I sit on hold for about an hour at work, reschedule for the following Saturday, go back online and sign everything a second time, and then proceed to wait 6 days for my car to arrive. Well, it turns out their system interpreted my signing everything again as an indication the entire order should be canceled. That is correct. Without even emailing me or calling me to let me know, they axed the whole deal for no reason I can properly discern.

Come Saturday afternoon whilst waiting for the Carvana truck to pull up, I noticed that it wasn't. No calls or emails alerting me of anything, so once again I had to call THEM and wait another HOUR to talk to a representative (or "advocate" as they like to call it). They said the vehicle was not ready, nor was it in my name or my city. After waiting another hour, I was informed that their system indicated that I had logged in and canceled the transaction myself, at which point another customer had purchased the vehicle. Nothing could have been further from the truth, of course, and yet Carvana stood by their own flawed, bug-ridden system's logs and refused to return the car to my name. Telling the new owner about the mistake and making them upset was off the table. I called and begged them to reconsider, but they stonewalled me for about 40 minutes with empty apologies. I would never even consider using this hideously broken system again. The dealer would have been so much easier. I'd give a negative number of stars if I could.

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

I attempted to buy a car from Carvana. Went through all of the steps, did all the legwork. Got my insurance changed, financing taking care of, downpayment authorized, etc. Even after the car was advertised as free delivery but then they said they had to charge me $199 and there was no way they could remove that charge. And "what's the big deal, it'll be rolled into the financing." One manager even had the nerve to tell me that it wasn't a delivery charge, it was a transport charge. Really?!

Well, they agreed to and promised me 2-day delivery but once they received the check from the bank, that changed. They said the car had a dead battery and they couldn't deliver it for over a week. Again, really?! A week to replace a battery? I don't think so! Once they realized I was not happy, all of a sudden, there was nobody available to speak to me! They would reach out to me in 24 to 48 hours. Ya, I don't think so! What, just long enough to cash the check? I canceled the check and the order! Too many lies! Do yourself a favor, go spend a couple of hours at a dealership for your next car purchase, way easier!

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

First, I tried out a fully electric vehicle. They only charged it to 20%, and I realized that the car did not have a public port to charge it faster than the home port, nor was the cord long enough to reach the outlet in my apartment. I tried to drive it to a friend’s house in order to charge it; however, it did not make it and died on the road. Unable to get it out of the way, I called roadside assistance. They did not know anything about electric vehicles. So, I called a different roadside assistance number to tow the car to a dealership to charge it. At the dealership, the sales rep who helped me did not plug the car in correctly. I waited 3 hours at the dealership for the vehicle to charge, not knowing it was not correctly charging. Once another sales rep who fixed the issue. A friend picked me up and I had to get the car the next day.

So, I called Carvana thinking it was entirely my fault that I had not researched the electric vehicle enough and wanted another vehicle (as I traded in mine, which needed thousands of dollars of work) and had to borrow a car from a friend.

I then purchased another vehicle, a 2013 Subaru. It seemed fine during the 7-day trial period, and needing a vehicle badly to get to and from work, I let the 7 days expire.

A few weeks later, I’m driving home on a Monday evening, and the transmission goes out. I leave the car in a parking lot overnight and have it towed to my private mechanic in the morning. I have no way to work, so I take a personal day.

SilverRock will not approve a car rental or Uber until a claim has been started on the vehicle. My mechanic indicated the diagnostic said it was transmission failure, and since the car had a factory warranty, I would need to have it towed to a dealership.

However, SilverRock would not approve of the tow since I was at work and did not have the VIN number. I called AAA as well, and they would it tow it since I could not meet the driver. Finally, I found a company who would tow the car and take my debit card over the phone (so, at this point, I’ve paid almost $70 for a diagnostic and $80 for a tow - both out of pocket).

At this point, it was Thursday, and I’d been without a vehicle since Monday night. The dealership then calls me to say that the transmission has been worked on recently and parts were improperly placed on the transmission.

Note: There was nothing about this in the CarFax, and apparently not all repairs are reported either. Carvana denied making these repairs as well.

There is nothing in place if this happens to you. My life has been seriously disrupted in multiple ways because of my decision to go with this company.

I’ve talked to several people at Carvana as well as SilverRock, and it looks like, despite what they initially told me, they will now reimburse me for the $150 I incurred last week; however, because I did not have a vehicle, I missed work and crucial appointments.

Not everyone has disposable income to pay for Ubers or car rentals on their own. Not everyone lives in a place where they have friends or family that can lend them rides or a car.

Because the dealership did not create a claim until Saturday, I was told by SilverRock that I could not be reimbursed for a car rental.

Extremely disappointed and frustrated with Carvana and SilverRock. Still waiting for my car to be fixed at the dealership. People depend on their vehicles to maintain their livelihoods; without reliable transportation, many of us cannot make it to our work, doctor, and other appointments.

This decision has impacted my life for the worse. I’d strongly caution against using this company for your next car. It may sound more convenient to but online, and it is a good idea in theory, but knowing what I know now, I’d go with a salesperson at a dealership - hands down.

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

This has been an awful, stressful experience. We received our first vehicle and it had SO much damage that was not disclosed on the site. Torn seats, keyed dashboard, body damage, and it was filthy inside and out. I wanted to cry. They said to pick out another you have seven days. We did and again damage that was undisclosed. They tried to talk us into keeping the vehicles by offering us $500! There is easily two thousand dollars worth of damage, probably much more, what a joke. Now we had waited for these vehicles so our car has been sold and we are in a terrible situation forced to make an expensive purchase as quickly as possible. Never would I suggest this or do it ever again.

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

Such games! We had the original title in hand. They came out and asked us to sign a DMV form saying it was "LOST" when it was in front of them. That would be false and it's under penalty of perjury that we would be signing. They didn't even want us to fill in the dollar amount on the DMV form (presumably so they can list whatever they want for what they paid and not pay taxes on the purchase). So shady. I can't believe it. I've sold lots of cars and can't believe how dishonest they are. She didn't even have a business card or anything with her name on it.

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

After being approved for my car and scheduling a delivery date, as a small business owner I was asked for documentation. I sent for 4 days documentation proving I owned the business from the federal government and also from the state if Ohio. Some documentation sent but not limited to included my EIN assignment, correspondence from the federal govt, my filing extension for taxes, bank documentation, 941 for quarterly taxes, yet after receiving all listed plus more, they kept saying they couldn’t prove I was a business. Then I was told they need a copy of a business license so I told him I was applying now for that and he said that wouldn’t be good enough. After having my heart set on a vehicle they continually gave me the runaround and in the end, said none of my documentation would be good enough, even though it’s what they requested.

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

Worst experience ever! Bought this 2016 Lincoln MKS, on the day of delivery, there I was waiting for the car at 1 pm, but unfortunately, it did not happen, I end up getting it a week later after long phone calls and lots of waiting, and the only thing that they told me was that they had problems in the system. A week later finally got the car, so now I’ll have to wait for the permanent plates which I'm still waiting to happen. I’m really disappointed because I called them to see what was going on and they said that there was nothing they could do, that I would have to just wait for DMV to get my permanent plates. The problem is that the temp plates have already expired and I won't be able to drive the car anymore and that is a big negative hit on my business. Worst ever. Buy some place else. Not worth the headache...Looking for my legal rights.

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

I purchased a car through Carvana a Range Rover Evoque. After a few weeks, I started experiencing problems with the car. The car had hesitation issues which meant it would stop moving and go into neutral mode while making a very loud noise for a minute or 2 then start moving again. This issue happened 5 times over the first 3 months of me owning the car. I took the car to Land Rover garage 3 times and they changed sensors but it did not help. As I write this the car has been at the dealership for the past two weeks. The dealership is saying they cannot fix the car till they experience the problem but they do not have the manpower to drive the car for a long period of time. The car has stopped moving on the highway a few times and it could have ended with me and my children losing my life. Carvana has refused to swap the car for me saying it's a Land Rover problem. Land Rover has refused to take responsibility and asked me to take it back to Carvana. I am now terrified of driving the vehicle. Carvana has refused for me to return a vehicle that has serious safety issues. I will now be seeking legal help. This $30000 purchase has brought me so much pain. Do not use Carvana.

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

I decided to purchase my first vehicle from Carvana and against my better judgment after reading all the bad reviews everywhere except on their site, I still proceeded. My "quoted" approval price was easy to obtain, that was the only good part of my experience. The computer system had glitches in uploading my documents so I had to continuously resubmit them, my bank did not support the ACH system that they use so I had to obtain a cashier's check and send pictures to verify while I work all day mind you and with the constant threat of this "time frame" that they give you before you lose either the car or your delivery slot.

Once I got everything uploaded I was to now sign my documents online. As I read thru them I notice that the car online is a different color than what is stated on my contract. I wanted a black car but the one in my contract is red? So I call in from work and get the customized "we are sorry" speech that I am convinced they have a training class specifically for that, and the advocate tries to convince me to ignore this legal and binding document that I am signing because the car really is black, not red as it states?! With some back and forth I advise him I will not be signing and I chose a different car, which he swapped out causing my delivery timer to "reset".

All of these things were frustrating but not enough to make me back out on the deal so I move forward, get my delivery date set to pick the car up in Atlanta at the vending machine. I take a half a day off of work because it’s a 2-hour drive and I get a call with a voicemail stating that one of the trucks broke down and they can’t get the car to the vending machine in time! An hour before my pick up you just figure that out?!

So again I’m given the standard "I’m sorry we pride ourselves on good service to our customer service" lie and my date is then rescheduled to Saturday. Now I am angry as my sister graduates and her party was Saturday but now I have to go to Atlanta and pick up a car. Well, lo and behold, 2 hours before the Saturday pick up I again get left a voicemail that the car is not ready this time it’s because a new battery was put in that caused the computer to reset and wipe out the readings needed to perform the emissions test required here in Georgia. So the car has to be driven around adding miles until it can be read! At this point, I’m over Carvana and the advocate obviously was not prepared to handle someone who knew facts and how things work. I work in car insurance and you can’t pull the wool over my eyes. After 30 minutes she put me on the phone with a Supervisor who was no more helpful than her but did talk to me as if I was a preschool child she could calm down with a sweet voice.

None of the new delivery options they had worked for me. I already missed work, I wasn’t doing so again, and there was no way I was driving to Atlanta in the evening after work. So her solution was they will deliver the car on Monday morning. I am writing this review on Sunday and I will be back to update because I told her if it is not delivered they can keep the car and I will go to a dealer!

This change in dates yet again requires you to go back and re-sign your documents and upon doing so what do I find they have added an extra $500 to the sale price of the car. Carvana is worse than the shadiest of car dealers and they should be ashamed of the practices and tactics they use to scam people!

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

Carvana has been a nightmare to deal with when it came to being reimbursed for transportation costs. Long story short, I originally purchased a vehicle and wanted to exchange as soon as I received the vehicle. They were helpful with that but due to something happening with their delivery from Georgia, so I had to wait an additional 7 days, which totaled 14 days. I picked up the vehicle on 4/13/19 and asked to exchange it the same day. Had to wait for my vehicle to be delivered as well as exchange the paperwork which took no time. My new vehicle exchange was going to be done on 4/19/19 but due to delivery delay, I had to wait until 4/27/19 to pick up my new vehicle. Now the problem is, when you exchange, you cannot go over a certain amount of miles. So because on 4/23/19 I was scheduled to go to SC, I needed my vehicle. I alerted them about this after calling and speaking to 3 different reps to finally have a rep who was helpful. He stated they will put me into a rental car for my travel days but due to some unforeseen circumstances, I was not able to receive the rental. I let them know and they explained I could use Uber/Lyft. I asked for the allowed amount and they stated $150. So on 4/23/19, I used the ride share service 3 times that day and again on 4/27/19. My total cost was $135.40 and I received a confirmation on 4/30/19 from them stating they received my receipts and sending out a check for $160.

I have not received the check yet so I called them up on 5/28/19, spoke to a Justine or Joseline and asked to speak with a manager named Ryan. He was very rude and not sympathetic at all. He explained they sent out a $55 check which I still have not gotten and they rule is $40 a day. I was never explained that over the phone and was told I would receive a $160 check. It's very upsetting and disturbing that do not stand by there customer's as I have given them great reviews as far as getting my vehicle but they must work on better training on their customer advocates. I am out $85.40 because of miscommunication and never went on my trip. I really dislike dealing with UN-empathetic customer service reps and warn anyone who has to deal with them.

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