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

I am retired from the auto industry with over 24 years experience. That being said, I believe I know how a vehicle should be sold and what condition it should be in when received. The buying process was really painless and I liked the fact that I had a good choice of vehicles to choose from. But that is where it also stops! After the purchase, I get a phone call on the delivery day asking me if it is okay for them to drive my newly purchased vehicle to me because it was raining and the "delivery truck is slippery and not safe when the floor of the bed is wet!" Okay, I am an easy guy, and I said of course not a problem.

My vehicle shows up and the rep, Eddie, is a really nice guy. Remind you, it's raining, and to be honest I should have asked them to deliver my vehicle the following day but I needed to replace my current vehicle and I had a doctors appointment, so I really needed my vehicle. So I look at the outside of the vehicle and I am thinking that I really cannot see much, but I did notice heavy brake dust on the wheels that should not be there! I open the doors and begin to notice that it is not that clean, but Eddie assures me it has been detailed! Guys/ladies, I do not like saying this, but that was a blatant lie! But Eddie says that I can get it detailed and they would reimburse me when I submit the invoice.

I say okay and begin to look through the car and notice that what is stated on the website is not in the vehicle. Eddie steps in and says no worries, I will order the items. Remind you, this is after he checks the website. Actually no, he could not find it, so I had to pull it up on my laptop. So he says no problem, done! He calls Uber, I offer to run him back, but Uber was already at my home by that time.

So the following day I am excited and I am getting in my car to head out of town when I notice a loud noise when I roll the windows down! For some reason, the rear defrosters are not working! The noise, when I roll the windows down, is because when Carvana removed the window tint, they left the adhesive on the glass! Now that is also why the rear defrosters are not working! Carvana damaged the defrosters on all three windows! So if they inspect the vehicles, why is all of this going on?

There is more...one of the rear vent register does not work, the wiper blades are torn, so this vehicle would not even pass state inspection! How can someone sell a car that would not pass state inspection? So now I am wondering what else has been overlooked or not check? I begin to look, and I pull the air filter and it's filthy!

So here is what I have concluded, if it was really detailed then someone has children and allowed them to color on the headliner and allowed the passenger to spill hot sauce or soda as well without a care in the world! I figured I better check the spare tire and sure enough, it is totally deflated! I considered trading it back in but would the next be the same? Their seven-day return is not truly seven days, by the way! The delivery day, no matter what time it is, is considered one full and is your first day!

Carvana has offered a allowance reimbursement for detail and to remove the adhesive of $250.00. But as of this morning, they lowered it to only $150.00 and that will not cover it! Carvana Repair Team has told me to take my vehicle to a repair facility to have the filter and wipers taken care of but they did not mention the defrosters or the removal of the window tint adhesive, and they are the ones that lowered the allowance by $100.00! It seems to me as if this car just came from the auction and they are leaving it up to me to look it over!

The buying process was great, and everyone is really nice, but that does not make up for lying to me to my face and thinking I must be some kind of idiot! And delivering a vehicle to me that is filthy and unsafe! The first gentleman I spoke to said that they only check safety items and the defroster is not part of that "but he said should tell the owner!" Really! Guys/ladies, I will say this, "shame on me for accepting this vehicle," and if you decide to purchase a vehicle from Carvana, expect to pay money out of your pocket and spend time at a repair facility. I am disabled and that is one of the reason why I chose Carvana. Thinking that I would not have to get out and try to walk the lot of a dealership and haggle. To have a safe reliable clean car delivered to me at my home was going to be a true blessing and I was so excited to the point that I was telling my family how easy it was and how kind everyone is that I spoke with. My true blessing turned into a broken halo!

Deceiving people is not a cool thing. I feel as if I have been taken advantage of and now they are wanting me to do the leg work in making this automobile safe for my family and self. You know, I began to wonder if they coach the employees to be so kind and cheerful on the phone? By the looks of my automobile, it seems as if they are all smoking gonga or something? LOL, trying to find humor in it all.

Last thing...the not perfect four. Whatever it says on their website must just be advertising because there is no possible way it can be true! I have worked hard all my life and I am now disabled and I really thought that Carvana was the great way to go and would be a great option for someone in my shoes, but instead, Carvana is going to make my life a bit harder. I truly pray that this vehicle lasts me. I will repost if they make things right! Guys/ladies, safe travels and Godspeed!

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

I didn't want to do this, but I'm angry. I bought a car through Carvana a couple of months back. The Carfax was clean. They said it was clean. But, when I put it up on the lift at my friend's body shop? It had been wrecked at least twice, maybe three times. It pulled the left while driving. An attempt had been made to cover up at least two accidents. It pulled to the left. They have a seven-day money back guarantee. They offered me to find another car. But, my trust had been broken. I returned it. My bank charged me $208 to cancel my loan.

Carvana lied to me, and they won't give me the $208. I had touted this company when I first found the car. But, I feel I must set the record straight.

Spread the word, if you like. I don't recommend them.

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

In the beginning, they sound sincere and appear to offer relatively good deals. But, buyer beware! This company will ask for UNREDACTED bank records. No reputable car dealer ever does this. We dropped them quickly and refused to fall for their scam. If you opt to give them complete access to your banking records, don't be surprised when money starts vanishing from your account. They will try to claim the information is kept securely (remember Facebook saying the same) and that no one will see it. Simply then ask them why they need it if no one else will see it! DO NOT purchase from Carvana!

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

Carvana is a disaster! Not hassle free. Don't ever do it!

Would you like tbuy a car through a company that operates like a startup that doesn't know what it's doing? You should totally check out Carvana.

Back in November, I purchased a Ford Fusion Energi through Carvana and boy I'd like to hit the undo button.

First, and amazingly smallest, issue: The car came heavily detailed and wreaking of armor all to the point of a fault. It took ten days (three days longer than the seven day return period, convenient) to figure out why. On the tenth day the smell of cigarettes revealed itself. Now I'm stuck with an ashtray for a car. Lovely.

Second issue (prepare for major hassles): I ordered the car in November and it came with temporary paper plates that expire 1/17/19. However, before I ever bought the car, I had confirmed with the phone representatives at Carvana several times that the regular plates would arrive before January tenth. I had a trip to Europe planned from 1/10 until an indefinite return date - if I left the car parked on my street beyond the 17th with those paper plates, it would get impounded for expired registration.

Over the months leading up to my trip, I visited my mailbox each time to find a concerning lack of license plates. I called Carvana's registration team dozens of times over the course to make sure the hard plates would still arrive by the time I left for Europe.

I was told on several occasions the plates would arrive around Christmas. When that didn't happen, several days after the holiday I called in and was told that they would arrive shortly after the new year.

When 1/5 came and went, and I was still without plates. I called in to find out the registration hadn't even been processed yet. Turns out Carvana's acquisition team had entered the mileage incorrectly on a registration form, which in turn delayed the process for weeks.

Needless to say, I had to cancel a large portion of my long planned Euro trip because if the plates didn't arrive in time, I would have to be present to figure out a way to hide the car from Johnny Law.

Fast forward to 1/16: I've been informed that the plates are still several weeks away from being delivered. Which means I'll have to pay my own money to have the Fusion stored to avoid it being impounded.

Carvana's registration team's proposed solution is to pay me for up to five days of storage fees (five!) when the car will need to be stored for a likely twenty-one. They're basically handing me a substantial bill, not only in missed Euro travels but now hundreds of dollars in money and hours of stress, for doing business with them. And to make it more infuriating, Jenna, the customer service rep (if you can call her that) acts like she's doing me a favor by paying me a pathetic portion of the costs in the form of a check that will take up to fifteen business days (fifteen!) to even reach me. So I'll have to pay out of pocket for all of it up front, and the majority of it in the long run. I'm so sorry Paris!

Unless I've missed something and we're living in a world where good is bad, up is down, and left is right, none of this is hassle free.

Additionally, I'll have to continue paying car insurance for a car I won't be able to drive. But what's a couple hundred more wasted dollars in return for the miracle that is buying a car through Carvana.

Their solutions to problems they created fall embarrassingly short of satisfying. Yet the people working there seem to think very highly of their efforts to resolve the issue, like they're doing you a favor by paying a tiny fraction of the assumed costs that have been handed down to you by way of their own mistakes. (See: unskilled and unaware of it).

Carvana claims to aim at providing a hassle-free buying experience, which is what sold me in the first place. However, they function like a startup that doesn't know what they're doing. And to go along with an evident lack of business acumen is an undeserved self-instituted sense of ability.

While touting themselves as a hassle free alternative that revolutionizes buying a car, Carvana has managed to take something that has worked for decades (in buying a car at a dealership), and made it much, much worse.

Carvana has successfully turned this car buyer into a lifelong supporter of buying cars through dealerships.

I would highly distrust the high ratings by customers through the Carvana site. I can't even find a way to add a review myself onto their site. And any third party review platform I've seen has Carvana well below three stars. They are deplorable.

Leave the car business to the pros, Carvana. You suck.

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

The Good: Customer service, before I got the car and during the 7-day trial was great and friendly, gladly answering any questions. It was to easy to finance the car, see rates, find a car I love and get it delivered to my front door. After the hassle of looking and dealing with dodgy salespeople at local dealerships, I found this all a great relief.

The Bad: The system seems kind of glitchy. I had to sign the papers online about six times, including once after I got the car, which I signed before delivery online and in person so that could use a little tweaking. I took the car to a certified mechanic and found the oil was dirty and low (hadn't been changed in a long time) and there was evidence of small fender benders none of which was pointed out. However, the car was super clean and had no structural damage. I expected there would probably be something of the like with mileage as it seemed a dealership car and they often just fix rather than report. It was a good price and had no structural damage, so I was fine with that. My only concern was possibly something they should have pointed out. However, that is why you should take a car to a mechanic for a PPI.

The Ugly: The registration and plates are where things get ugly. On 12/9/2018 my 7-day guarantee ended. On 1/4/19 I received an email stating they needed more info from my insurance. I missed the email so they called me 1/07/19, so I replied right away giving them more info and requesting estimated date I could expect the plate and registration as I am just a bit worried as temp expires soon (expiration 01/17/19). I was told:

"At the moment we do not have an estimated time that your registration will be completed...If you have not received your registration on the date that your temporary tag expires, please give us a call at 800-333-4554 and our team will look into it for you!"

So I waited for a bit and on 01/14/19 I get a bit nervous and contact them again and I am told it's being worked on. I was advised after explaining my worries this by Danielle (1/14/2019, 11:34:50 AM):

"I completely understand, at this point, we are at the mercy of DMV timelines, however, we certainly do not want you to be without transportation. Try and see if the DMV is able to issue you a new temporary plate and if they are not, please contact us and we will work with you to find the best solution, we want to ensure you are taken care of."

So I contact the DMV and explain only to be told my car is not in the system and it's all up to the dealership, sorry. So about 28 minutes later I am back chatting with Carvana. I am then told by Savannah (1/14/2019, 12:14:03 PM):

"The registration has arrived at the DMV for completion and is typically completed in 4 days. It is possible it will get there the day of/after your temporary plates expire."

And then again by Savannah (1/14/2019, 12:14:33 PM):

"I would recommend chatting in day they expire if you have no received them and we can check the status and address the situation from there!"

So the day they expire comes and I am very concerned being my only vehicle. So I stop in chat again, they will check and email me later, and this is what I get:

"I did hear back from our registration team. As of right now the DMV has provided us with an Estimated Completion Date of 1/25/19.

Once completed they will send your permanent plates overnight via FedEx. We apologize for any inconvenience, they stated there was a delay due to proof of insurance missing the required info needed to begin registration process."

So even though I had only delayed them three days I wouldn't be getting my registration until about nine days after my plates expired. And if I don't get them before work, that's me having to drive a car with no plates and no registration, not even a pink slip. So I called, briefed the gentleman on the other end, who told me to try the DMV, though it's up to their discretion on whether they will help me or not. Explained further...He didn't offer any other solutions or ideas. So I said, "So you are pretty much telling me I am on my own right?" He replied "Yeah, sorry pretty much." That was it.

So yeah, I am so happy I paid them to take care of this and this is the help I get. Needless to say, if I get a ticket I do whatever I can legally do to address this issue. So thanks, Carvana.

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

I tried to get my automobiles value and was constantly kicked off the site after I gave them my info. I never did get my value, but they got all of my information. What a mistake. Buyer beware!

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

I purchased a 2017 Toyota 4 Runner. I received a call 30 minutes before delivery to inform me that they just noticed (while detailing the vehicle) that the back bumper/rear door was damaged in transport. When I asked who handles their quality control, they couldn't give me an answer. The customer service rep told me that they would take it to the Toyota dealership that was right next door to their facility, and that customer service rep would contact me the following Monday to let me know the status of the vehicle. No one ever called me. I called Carvana four times the following week to try to find out what the extent of the damages were to the car. I also wanted to see pictures of the damages. We made a new delivery date for the following Friday.

On the morning of the 2nd delivery, I received another call from Carvana 30 minutes before the delivery time to let me know that the car was going to be late due to a clip on the front bumper that was not attached. The customer service rep said he would have to go to the Toyota dealership to have the clip attached correctly...I called Carvana and spoke to another customer service rep about this, and also to inquire about the damage that was done during transport. He told me he would inquire about it and get back to me...he never called me back.

The following week I called four times trying to find out about the car and the damage and the delivery. The car was delivered on January 18th. I had the car inspected by a mechanic on January the 22nd. The first words the mechanic said to me were "Did you know this car has been in a wreck?" I told the mechanic that Carvana said it had been damaged in transport, the mechanic told me that it was more than damaged. It had been in a wreck. He could see the damage under the rear bumper. He said the back door and bumper had ether been replaced or repaired, and the rear tail lights were replaced with used tail lights that didn't match the head lights.

When my husband and I called Carvana to let them know what the mechanic said, the supervisor gave us the run around...We never received pictures of the damages, we never received papers on the extent of the damages, so needles to say we are returning the car tomorrow, and we will be waiting for our full refund. Carvana sucks. They are no better than used car salesman selling cars to unsuspecting customers. If I could give zero stars, I would...buyer beware. If you buy a car from this company, make sure you take it to a reputable mechanic for a thorough inspection.

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

First, I visited with Nashville Carvana just to learn about the process and get more comfortable with this new process. They were polite and knowledgeable. Days later I found a 2018 Rav4 online that I wanted to buy. I was previously told at my Nashville visit and calls to customer service that there were no delivery or transportation charges when I made a purchase.

When I started the purchase, a $199 charge for transportation was added. This was a (Carfax) Florida car and I live in Nashville and Carvana has a location in Georgia. So why did you add this $199 transportation charge? All the other Rav4 cars were listed with no transportation charges coming from the same area.

When I inquired, Customer service said it was because it had to travel 2,000 miles from New Jersey. WHAT?

I ask Nashville Carvana and they had no Idea why the charge was made.

Also, It took about 6 hours of calls and holds and return calls to get a hold of anyone in customer service.

I know they will return your money before the seventh day, but not getting the truth on the front end makes me walk away. I told the Nashville office I would take the car if they would remove the $199 transportation charge from Florida. They told me to call customer service again...I just said no thank you and left. I will buy somewhere else, these people are not consistent.

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

Getting a price for a Nissan Leaf 2013 - very low with no place to show a new set of batteries. Then checking the sale price of the same car, same year, same color, with higher mileage. It was 125% more in sales price. Wow, what a rip off! Very very poor. I called and waited in a line of 80 callers led to take it or leave it.

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

Carvana was the only place I could find the car I wanted so I thought I’d give it a go. I figured the 7-day test drive would be a worry-free way to go. I was so wrong.

I brought a beautiful 2013 beetle convertible TDI. Exactly the car I wanted. The VW service advisors told me that was one of the years to go with so I thought I had made a good choice. Within two days, I had a check engine light. The remainder of my "7-day test drive" the car spend having work done at the dealership. I did get a two-day extension (somehow a manager was never available to speak to me) because if I was given any longer my registration would come too late. Not true. I asked if Carvana could pick the car up at VW and end the deal. They said it has to be a residence. Basically, I was stuck with a questionable vehicle.

I got it back after my two-day extension only to have it not start due to a dead battery a few days later. Fine. I bought a new battery. Four days later, another check engine light. Back to the dealership. Today, another three days later the light pops back on. Thankfully I am still covered under the 100 days service agreement but is ridiculous. I’ve had the car four weeks now and will be making a dealership visit every one of those weeks.

Was this car even mechanically checked?

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

I am a current customer of Carvana and had purchased a vehicle in the summer of 2018. I went to purchase another vehicle today and they were the most unorganized and terribly placating group without any explanation of the steps that they "so-called" need to put you through. They approved it but needed to do an "identity verification" quiz. After leaving me on hold for 15 minutes I was told that the quiz timed out and they could not do it again, this was the same with the chat representative. I canceled the order out of frustration and they still wanted to hassle me to do so. I am going to work with a dealer. Good luck to those who are braver than me. They suck in my opinion!

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