I'm writing this after a week of frustrating "customer service" trying to resolve Carvana's transferring my money for the purchase of a vehicle I rejected at pickup because the condition was not as advertised.
I'll paste a below the summary of the email I sent on a 20+ email thread with their customer advocates (6 random individuals, rather than a dedicated person). Hilariously, they went from acknowledging fault on Monday, and promising to expedite and work to get my money returned by Wednesday, to lying to me yesterday (Friday) and stating that the funds never cleared, despite the fact that my bank (USAA) confirmed that the funds cleared my account without issue over a week ago.
The take away here is that this company acts as cogs in a system. If they hit any snags, they don't know how to react - the one individual who expressed any regret over the matter (Charles) has been edged out of the matter since Monday. No one else seems to see a problem with me being out almost $28k for 2 weeks, on a vehicle I REJECTED at the test drive.
Email summary to Carvana below. (This was unsolicited by Carvana, and despite numerous emails to follow, they've addressed none of their staff's many failures in any if their replies.) As of this morning, they've told me that I shouldn't expect to have my money returned until 13 days after they took it without authorization. (And they're perfectly fine with that.)
- Vehicle selected online, due to its single imperfection identified (scratch on Driver side mirror) and condition surpassing other comparable listings for the price.
- 7/29 - Initial delivery was scheduled for 530- but I received a call at noon saying it failed inspection due to window tint in excess of allowable state limits. Your staff suggested that I take delivery anyway and find an inspector in "downtown" that might look the other way. Ultimately, the local staff passed the buck to the 800 number, who realized that that suggestion was unacceptable, and lined it up to have the front tint removed, inspected, and reschedule pickup. I specifically asked (you can check your recorded line for this) if they would be leaving a filmy residue on the windows from the removal of the tint, and was assured that they would have it professionally removed.
- 7/30 - Approximately 4:30 pm, I received a call that the tint was removed, and I could come any time to pick up my vehicle.
- 7/31 - AM, I called based on the voicemail I received, I attempted to schedule a pickup for that evening. Was informed that that would not work, and that I was already scheduled for 5:45 on Thursday. No idea why your team thought I could do 5:45 on Thursday 8/1...I couldn't. I asked to reschedule - but was informed that the only other option was at 4:45. Turns out they scheduled me for 4:15 - and never updated the website, or sent me any information to indicate the pickup time.
- 8/1 - Arrive 15 minutes late for the pickup, because I understood the scheduled time to actually be 4:45. Still had to wait 10 minutes for the associate to come out and help, at which time she proceeded to have me sign forms, despite the fact that I had not SEEN or test-driven the vehicle. I asked about this, because it was not how my first purchase worked, and she said that this just got it out of the way, and we wouldn't complete the sale until I had inspected and driven the vehicle and finish up the transaction. I reluctantly proceeded per the associate's direction. Upon completion of the forms, we got the vehicle from the machine and proceeded to inspect its condition. It was NOT as advertised online. There were approximately 12 blemishes of comparable size to the one noted on the drive window. The vehicle was in clear need of a wash (dirt/dust and bugs on the front hood/grill). All windows were rolled down, hiding the thick filmy residue of the inside of the driver and passenger windows. Most significant, however, was the evident paint repair on the rear hatch. There was an elliptical pattern of missing clear-coat on the bottom of the rear hatch, driver side, and along the top surface/spoiler, there was over-spray/sporadic clear coat. None of this had been noted in the vehicle's description online. Both my wife and I separately test drove the vehicle - taking turns, and returning between trips to the front of the office, and the other remaining on-site with our 4 children. Your staff had absolutely no reason to interpret that we had accepted delivery of the vehicle - and it was never directly expressed as such. Upon final discussion with my wife, we concluded that the vehicle was not in the advertised condition - and that while many of the blemishes were minor - should we take delivery in the condition as is, we would have reduced cause to return it citing these discrepancies but most significantly concerning were the paint repairs and the window film, which while removable, is unacceptable for Carvana to deliver a vehicle to us under the assumption that we would resolve it. I returned to the office and discussed the matter with you associate at the main desk. She agreed that we should not take delivery, and I left the file of papers with her, on her assurance that they would be shredded and the purchase would not proceed. Upon leaving, I checked online to see the status of the purchase, and it still showed pending pickup. I could not find a place to cancel the order there, so I sent an email clearly stating that I did not accept delivery, and expressing my reasons.
- At some point thereafter, Carvana processed the money transfer.
- My bank shows the draft was withdrawn from my account on Friday 8/2.
- On Monday morning, 8/5 - my wife discovered the money ($27,832.09) missing from our bank account. I immediately called the Dallas Carvana site, who directly divested themselves of any customer support role and redirected me to the 800 number, which I immediately called, and was placed on a 45-minute hold. In the meantime, I called my bank from another line and initiated a dispute of the charges, and attempted 4 chat threads on your website to reach someone who could help me. When I finally spoke to an Advocate on the phone, I was informed that a return of the vehicle would take 7-10 business days to process funds. I objected clearly stating that I never accepted the vehicle, and that you withdrew my funds without approval. I was passed on to a supervisor, Charles, who was very supportive and understanding. Expressed that the funds still showed as "pending" on your end, and that there was nothing he could do to process a refund until the funds cleared from your bank. He then proceeded, in my direction, to initiate this email thread so that I would have in writing the confirmation of the error on Carvana's part and assurances of resolution. I have maintained all communication on this matter through this thread, rather than through your phone system or chat, because quite frankly I have every reason to require my own written record of this matter.
Aside from "thanks" for reaching out, and an apology that "I am sincerely sorry that we dropped the ball and failed your expectations when it comes to working with Carvana," no one on your staff (with the exception of Charles) has attempted to resolve the matter with any sincere understanding that you have not only failed my expectations - but, as an organization, acted unethically in attempting to compel me to take delivery of a vehicle that failed to pass inspection, misrepresented the condition of the vehicle, and most significantly, TAKEN MY MONEY without completion of the sale!
Throughout this escalation of this issue - your staff (again with the exception of Charles) has treated this issue as though it was simply another vehicle return. I am repeatedly passed from one "Customer Advocate" to another - rather than providing a dedicated individual to see this through to resolution - and each of those Advocates seem to think that passing on your marketing information about how Carvana seeks to "put me in the driver seat" is somehow going to ease my concerns.
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
