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

Sold me a car that is soon to blow up, it's not in good shape. Don't buy cars from here, they're not reliable. I have asked to help get it repaired but my warranty is soon to run out and they don't want to extend it long enough for the car to get a diagnosis.

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

What a horrid customer experience. I read all the negative reviews on Carvana, but thought I would be fine given all the great reviews on Carvana’s website. I should have known better. I’m not going to drone on and on, but basically, here’s what happened:

1. Ordered 2013 Porsche Boxster online via their website. Easy breezy! Got approved for financing through Capital One Auto.

2. Set up a delivery date and got excited!

3. At the time of delivery, I get a call from the delivery guy saying he couldn’t figure out how to get gas into the car so he can deliver it to me.

4. Carvana took the Porsche to a local car shop here in Atlanta. The car shop couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it and said there wasn’t anything wrong with it. I had to make the phone calls to Carvana for status updates.

5. Three days later, no updates from Carvana, still don’t have the car I ordered, no clue what’s going on. Was told by one of their customer service managers that they would personally see to it that I was "taken care of". Never heard back from anyone.

6. Bought a nicer Porsche Boxster from a local Atlanta Porsche dealership today at a lower price, with a two year Porsche certified unlimited mile bumper to bumper warranty, that’s in better shape with more options.

7. Took one hour to get in and out with my new Porsche using the dealer.

8. Carvana SUCKS. I’ll never give them another chance to earn my business. STAY AWAY!

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

I was going to buy a vehicle from Carvana and after going through all of the hoops they required they decided the income I get could be verified but they didn't want to accept it because my job pays direct deposit through Cash App. Instead of saying that right when I uploaded the documents, they wasted 3 days of my time having me send pay stubs, bank statements, and verification letters then at the very end lowered my "income level" and said my down payment would be quadruple what I was quoted.

I do NOT recommend this place. AT ALL.

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

The only reason why anyone would use a service like this where you buy a car without seeing it, is trust. We trusted that the car would be sound. It isn’t. We bought a 3-year-old Chrysler Town and Country and on Day 8, one day after the return period, it stalled. We called and here is the direct quote from the customer service person, "Sorry for your bad luck."

We took it to the service place, at no cost to us, but they cannot find the problem. I don’t trust this car and I have no recourse.

Here’s another quote - when my husband said that we might get stuck on the side of the road they said, "We’ll be here for you!" They will pay for any fixes for the next few months, but I don’t want to travel with the car and get stuck somewhere.

Bottom line - NO TRUST - for this car or this business model. I am stuck with this car and this stress. I will never buy from Carvana again.

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

I purchased a Toyota Rav 4 and it did not have the features that were listed on the website. I ordered another Rav 4 to swap with the one I purchased and they delivered the car but it was not the color that I was expecting. It was supposed to be black but it was purple. I had contacted customer service to verify the color was black because it looked purple in the pictures. They assured me the color was black but when the car arrived it was purple. The website listed the color as black, but the day it was delivered the website was changed to say it was purple. Also, the mileage was 100 miles over what they said it was supposed to be. Now I'm stuck with the wrong color car. I could do a 3rd swap but it is a take it or leave it with no 7 days to try it out. Read the fine print. Buyer beware! Also, the shipping fee is non-refundable if you decide to reject the car. This is not made clear up-front. This company is dishonest. Stay far far away. As big of a hassle as a car dealership can be, I'd much rather deal with people face to face and have all the facts then get scammed by a company such as Carvana.

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

Ordered a car online at the beginning of September. I went through my bank to finance because the Carvana rate was insanely high. My car was set to be delivered on September 18th. I received an email (an email and not a call) on the night of September 16th stating that the delivery was delayed and for me to call. I had to call twice to reach someone. I was told that they could not deliver now until October 1st. I complained and asked for the delivery fee to be returned and had to be transferred to another department. I was offered $25 per day at the most.

Carvana made me take out car insurance starting September 18th (the day my car was supposed to be delivered). So now I am stuck paying a car payment and car insurance for almost a half a month on a car that I do not have. Carvana’s response? For me to call back every day and check. Dealers charge fees for a reason and that is customer service. I asked Carvana what would happen because the payoff amount on my trade-in would be different due to the delay in shipping. Carvana told me that Capital One (who was receiving the payoff amount in the contract) would have to refund me the overpayment.

Skip to the delivery date on October 1st. Car is delivered by someone who is new and the car does not have the features advertised (BACK UP CAMERA). I have to again speak to someone in management who says that what is advertised on the web and their app can be two completely different things. SERIOUSLY! So I say fine and they offer me $100 for their error in advertising and I buy a separate camera system and have it installed. Car registration was for 45 days and here it is November 15th and I still do not have my tags from October 1st. Did Carvana call me to explain the delay? No, I had to reach out and ask and they emailed me another temporary registration, but I have no idea where the actual registration and tags are in the process. Also, I called Capital One to find out when I would be receiving the refund on the overpayment based on my trade-in value changing due to Carvana's delay in shipping. Capital One explains that they only received the exact payoff amount and not the amount on the contract that I paid and signed for with Carvana. So I called Carvana who tries to explain to me the breakdown after even speaking with finance. So they speak to finance and still refuse to admit to catch that they have tried to steal $450 from me. I insist that Carvana go back and check my contract versus what they paid to Capital One and they FINALLY realize that they did not send in the contract pay off amount. Not only did they not catch this, but they did not even acknowledge THEIR complete and total error in keeping $450 in overpayment on my trade-in value.

So here I am 45 days after receiving my delayed shipment car that was not as advertised, still with no registration and waiting to find out how Carvana is going to get my money back to me ASAP that they tried to steal from me.

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

This company has been nothing short of a nightmare.

I wouldn't even tell my worst enemy to buy a car from Carvana.

Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

I purchased a 2016 Mazda CX-5 on 8/2/19.

The online transactions went smoothly but things began to fall apart when the delivery date came. I was scheduled to pick up my car on 8/2/19 at 4:00 pm at the Gaithersburg location. About 2 hours before delivery I received a call from Carvana saying that delivery would be delayed because the vehicle failed Maryland State Inspection due to the brakes. (FYI, the car was advertised as having brand new brakes.) I needed the vehicle on 8/2 because I was heading out on a road trip on 8/3 so this presented a big issue.

I chatted in with a rep and kept pushing the issue that they needed to get this resolved ASAP as I needed the vehicle for the 3rd. After a lot of back and forth with the chat agent I was told there was absolutely no way I could have the vehicle that day and the EARLIEST I could have it was 10 am on the 3rd.

I got a phone call around 5:30 pm from the Gaithersburg store saying my car was ready?! I live about 45 minutes from Gaithersburg and it was a Friday evening but I hopped in the car to get there before they closed at 7 pm. The guy I dealt with at the store was friendly enough and the car was fine so I thought we were good to go.

I inquired about transferring my registration from the vehicle I traded in and they said it would not be an issue. I had read reviews previously saying that the registration process was sometimes problematic but I tried to remain positive.

I was told that registration could take between 30 and 45 days depending on the STATE. The Carvana Owners Dashboard on their website had a countdown (I believe the countdown started at 30, could've been 45) of when you should expect your registration. Well, the time expired on the countdown and I contacted them asking what the deal was. The chat reps insisted that it's possible that MD is slower than other states when it comes to registration and that I shouldn't worry. According to the rep, all of my documentation was fine and they didn't need anything from me. I asked if it was possible for me to just go to the MVA and take care of it myself so I could be done with the waiting to which they responded that I could not because I financed through them so they had to do the registration.

On September 19th (48 days after purchase) I received an email from the registration department at Carvana asking me to provide proof of insurance because the initial proof of insurance had lapsed (my auto insurance renewed on September 16th). I was pretty peeved considering they specifically told me I would have my registration WITHIN a 30-45 day window YET this was just proof that they DID NOT EVEN SUBMIT THE PAPERWORK until I had the car for 48 days...(to make matters worse, I had to continue to carry insurance on the X-Terra I traded in until I got the updated registration...). So their constant responses I got blaming the state of Maryland were all lies. I submitted the proof of insurance and like magic, I got the registration 2 days later.

I thought I was finally in the clear but started receiving emails from the MVA saying they got a notice from my insurance company that I dropped insurance on my Xterra (the vehicle I traded in) and that my registration and license could be suspended for driving without insurance...I submitted the Bill of Sale to the MVA and followed up with a call. The MVA indicated that they did not have the CX-5 on record and that the XTerra was still showing registered to me but they said it can take 4-6 weeks for their information to update so I didn't worry too much about it.

This week (November 11) I received a letter from my insurance company stating that I no longer held insurance on my Xterra and that the MVA can suspend my registration and/or license because of it. I contacted the MVA on November 14 to inquire whether or not my CX-5 is showing registered to me...

Spoiler alert, it isn't.

They are still showing I have the XTerra. When I explained my situation I was told that the MVA could've returned my registration paperwork to Carvana due to missing information but they wouldn't have that documented so they suggested I contact Carvana. SO I contact Carvana and they tell me there is nothing on their end and the MVA probably screwed up and told me to call the MVA...again. So I did and man am I glad I did. I spoke with a titling specialist who indicated that she could see Carvana began the paperwork but never completed the sale. She said it could've been due to them not submitting the right funds with the paperwork or something else. The woman I spoke with escalated the issue to another person in titling to see if they had more insight on why the title was never completed.

I received a phone call from the MVA clerk, Lorrel (God bless this woman and her investigation skills) who informed me that Carvana never completed the transaction. The sale never happened...

I got back in touch with Carvana and explained to them what the MVA was seeing. I provided the name of the MVA clerk and her phone number if they needed further guidance. Lo and behold the Carvana people voided...yes, VOIDED the transaction...So a very long story short I have a car I've been driving around for months that apparently does not belong to me and has plates on it that used to belong to my Xterra...Basically a stolen vehicle...

I was told that they were resolving the issue and resubmitting the documentation immediately and that they would overnight my registration. That was yesterday.

Today Hillary from Gaithersburg called me to give me some more bad news. Her bad news is that the MVA is saying the registration was not submitted within the allowed 90 days of purchase, thus another inspection would need to be done. Hillary assured me she would call the MVA branch manager to plead her case but that's where we are right now.

I am at my wits end with this company. I explained to Hillary that I'm basically driving a stolen vehicle and if I were to get pulled over this could be a HUGE issue to which she replied: "yea that is a problem." I explained to her that this has been a nightmare since day 1 and I wished I never bought a vehicle from them to which she replied "well, this happened because of one small mistake." ONE SMALL MISTAKE!?

This company doesn't take responsibility for ANYTHING they do. I am honestly besides myself.

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

The "we'll buy your car" end of their operation needs work. A lot of work. Though it would be impossible to ask every question regarding the vehicle you have to sell, the key-points need to be made CLEAR from the beginning. You enter your vehicle's information. You get an "appraisal" and "offer". You upload copies of your title and driver's license, only to receive a phone call asking one VERY important question (a key factor in the deal) which is never seen during the process you've already gone through. It wastes the consumer's time, folks. Furthermore, you are expected to REPAIR any red-flag issue in order to proceed with the pittance they offer in the first place, which in this case was triple the amount offered. Absurd. I feel for those who have to make that phone call. I'm sure many are nowhere near as polite as I was when speaking with the representative this morning. I now fully understand why the reviews are mixed with Carvana.

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

I bought a car from Carvana in 2018. The process was easy and everything was good. I had 2 cancer scares during this time and my grandmother was murdered there shortly after so handling the tagging process was not at the top of my priority list. Cut to October 2019. I get a letter from Carvana stating they are going to repossess my car. I called them to see if there was something I could do. I'm currently on disability and don't drive it and can't afford to tag it. They told me there was nothing I could do and they were going to repossess the car anyway. During this time I'm not getting a paycheck and figured I had some time to figure it out. The car payments are up to date and the car is fully insured. They took the car last night. I called the police to report it stolen and called Carvana to inquire as to how they can take a car without notifying local authorities and how this was legal as my contract states nothing of the sort. They state that it's Kansas law, which I looked up and there isn't a law that states they can repo a car that's being paid for. They also lied to the police and said that I was issued an extension when on both calls that I have recorded they told me that if I got the car tagged they were going to repossess it anyway. I'm currently in a mental health crisis which I explained to them also and it seems I have no recourse at this time.

I've looked them up on BBB and it seems they are having issues all over the country with not getting new buyers their titles on time if at all. I think this needs to be known that way people will steer clear of the "easy car buying process" and not get taken as Carvana owns the finance company so they are letting people pay and coming up with garbage excuses to repossess cars that are being paid for. Not to mention the car was thousands over Bluebook.

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

Preface - We are in northern Wisconsin with plans to travel to our Arizona residence leaving around December 1st. We bought this car with plans to drive it from Wisconsin back to Arizona for the winter.

Friday, November 8th: We picked out the car, Carvana took the down payment, we signed our documents and the verification process was completed this same day. We then waited, as instructed for someone from their delivery department to reach out.

Thursday, November 14th: Five business days went by with no communication from Carvana to arrange the delivery.

WE called THEM to ask where and when we would have a time frame for delivery of our vehicle. We were told that during their inspection they were putting new tires and brakes on the car.

Great! Ok so we waited - again - for their call to arrange delivery. And we waited.

Tuesday, November 19th: We had not heard anything so called Carvana. We were told that a driver had not selected our order to deliver. (We had chosen to have the car delivered to our door at the onset of the process.)

I get it - truck drivers can pick and choose routes, etc. We then spoke to a very efficient customer service representative who was able to change the delivery method to a vending machine in Chicago so we could pick it up.

Ok, awesome - Carvana has us scheduled us to pick up the car from a vending machine in Chicago on Tuesday, November 26th.

We purchased plane tickets to travel to the pick-up location which Carvana would reimburse $200 of.

We have arrangements to get to the airport which is two hours away.

Great! We had a hard delivery (pick-up) date. We signed new contracts due to it now being considered a pick up not direct to door delivery (another 15-day delivery/pickup timeframe was then reset - keep in mind they took our $10,000 down payment out of our account on November 8th).

We are still all ok with all of this, as we are flexible and now understand more about Carvana and the delivery/pick up process.

Sunday, November 24th: Two days before our flight to Chicago to pick up the vehicle we get an email that the delivery to the vending machine in Chicago is delayed.

Keep in mind, no call from Carvana - we had to call them and were told that the earliest they MIGHT have the car in Chicago was now December 9th, but there is no guarantee there won’t be another delay.

November 25, 2019: Here we are, once again waiting for Carvana to call us to discuss our options (we had to call to get on their call back waitlist).

Should we buy plane tickets again, waiting on you to get your logistical tangle figured out? Keeping our fingers crossed that it will be in your vending machine on December 9th?

Should we change the contract again so you can deliver to our Wisconsin or Arizona residence?

Should we rely on you to load it into one of your vending machines when it’s convenient for you so we can pick it up?

Do WE need to be more flexible than we have already been because we really want to buy this car from YOU?

I think not. At this point, we are done. Our flexibility has limits. We have canceled the contract.

We are now out the $200 plane tickets which you will not reimburse because we canceled our purchase contract due to your chaotic logistics.

Nice try Carvana, my suggestion to you is to get the logistical kinks worked out before you advertise how easy it is to actually start DRIVING a car that was purchased from you.

A lesson learned.

We have choices.

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

Initially, I was very pleased with the experience of buying a car from Carvana. I should have done thorough research before buying my car as I’ve seen plenty of other people with the same problem. My temporary plate has expired and after talking with 4 representatives none of them were able to help me with this problem besides telling me that there is nothing they can do and I just have to wait until I get my plates, blaming me that I did not send in a document that I made sure everything was filled out correctly. Now I’m just praying I don’t get a ticket until I receive my plates.

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