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

I ordered a car that was offered at $10,500. They didn't have it yet, so I had to wait. The next day they called to ask if I had any questions and to see if I still wanted the car.

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

I found the exact car I wanted at a great deal (yes!).

I started the purchase process (let the excitement begin!). I received a call a few short hours later and was told "we’re going to have to put you in another car because the one you tried to buy never should have been listed." (Wait, what?)

After an excuse filled with mystery acronyms and seemingly deliberately vague sales terminology, the guy presents me with another car - older model, plus bigger engine, plus much higher price. I mention that's not really what I wanted, so he says he'll explore the other available options and load them into my favorites on my profile. (Ok, sure, I guess...but I was really looking to getting the one I tried to, you know, purchase?)

A couple hours later, I go into my profile and notice three cars have been added - the first is the older, bigger-engined one I already mentioned I didn’t want, the second was a more expensive convertible version, and the third was much more expensive ($20k!) with way more miles on it. (Um...bait and switch much?)

Throughout the phone call, all I could think was "if this is how they plan on doing business, they won’t be in business much longer." I'm in branding and marketing. I know a great deal about creating and maintaining your brand. This example is one super-quick way to demolish your brand.

As of this very moment, I would find it very difficult to recommend Carvana to anyone.

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

As a previous customer with an exceptional experience, I decided to return for purchase this past Spring. It had been terrible. I have been approved and close to closing the deal and then later told "Due to discrepancies, we cannot complete your purchase." I’m not too sure what’s being insinuated with that, however, as a person who's experienced identity theft, I chose to be careful with the interest rates and go through Carvana again. I was even considerate enough to wait for a response letter to my appeal. I never received one, I received an email that stated only "After reviewing your letter, we decided not to continue the sale." My account was blocked, giving me no access to anything. Now I come to create a new account and purchase a vehicle for the last time, in hopes that I’m not cheated again.

I would have to say 2018 Carvana is a lot worsened than when I initially made my first purchase with them. Be careful. I hope the staff has been trained properly to help the customer and not run them away.

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

I agreed to sell my vehicle to Carvana. I had difficulty starting my vehicle, it had sat for a couple of weeks. Once the vehicle started, the tech drove the vehicle and we completed the deal. All the paperwork was completed, the tech handed me a check, and the deal was complete. Unfortunately, the vehicle did not start again so the tech told me the deal was canceled, even though we already completed the deal. After several minutes of discussion, he tore up my paperwork and demanded the check be returned. At this point, I just wanted the tech to leave. What I did not realize was the tech tore up my original TITLE!

Carvana did not care, wanted to leave. Awful customer service. Nobody has reached out to me or apologized for the mishap. Definitely, lost a customer.

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

Nightmare is a gentle term to use for our experience with Carvana, which still continues! When the car was received, the dashboard VIN had been removed. An oil receipt was in the car, and just out of curiosity, we called that dealer. The mileage was about 100,000 miles more than what the odometer read! It appears Carvana turned it back. There are numerous other problems, however, the ongoing one is that after four months, they will not provide the title and registration. I have exhausted my allowable temporary trip permits and can no longer drive "my" car because I can't get plates. Now my livelihood is affected, and I am unable to provide an income.

There seems to be no end to the go around. Why should they care? They have my money!

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

Don’t do it! Go to a regular dealership, worst experience ever!

I bought a van who’s battery died both with only 16,000 miles on them and of course, it was the 8 days, so the 7-day return didn’t apply. Then they just disclosed after the dealership brought up that the van door was a different color and had been replaced. They had done work to it that wasn’t up to par and now my van has been stuck in a body shop that they said they would pay for, and trying to get them to actually pay for it is a nightmare. Do not buy a car from this company! I mean, I have cried so much, I am a mom to three boys and this is so unacceptable.

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

Do not buy from them. Until you buy, they talk nicely. You want your car value to just fell down to $2K in a days then you can buy from them.

From: PS

Date: Mon, Sep 17, 2018 at 1:53 PM

Subject: Re: Carvana - Purchase Update

To: Carvana Customer Advocate

I think Carvana is fraudulent from the day one I purchased my car and everytime a new reason is given.

I purchased the car for $11.8K value without other fees and while trading in less than 3 months, the value is down to $8K. The reason given is system error on your side with incorrect VIN number, two cars with same dodge dart. blah blah...

I will check to find a legal way to scrap this out. In the meantime, you guys can take my car back, or I am not gonna pay my EMI's until I have a correct trade in value as last week.

Why the heck your trade team did verify my License, Bank account etc., without checking the VIN number or other information...You have your own system errors and keep creating the worst experience in buying from Carvana.

I will post the same in social media as well and other places too.

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

First I’d like to start by saying if you look at the reviews on Carvana's website, they are all great for the most part. Then when I read these reviews, I was like, ahh, these are the true Carvana reviews.

My father and I found a car we liked and went through the online process and found that user-friendly and pleasant. Then the terror began. They wanted us to call and verify our down payment was available in the bank. So we 3-way called the bank and verified funds set up delivery. They said they will deliver the car and remove money. Simple enough.

They then quoted us on the phone one payment amount then changed the amount because they had erased our entered information and entered their own. Then they added gap insurance and quoted us a crazy high number that I said can’t be right. "Oh yea, sorry Mr. Johnson, we will get it right." Ok great. The car is delivered, nice driver. We assume all was done.

Nope. I start receiving threatening emails demanding we wire payment, send a cashier's check, etc. We were told they auto withdrawal from the account. They then call and say we entered the wrong account number. However, wait a minute, we never entered an account number, it was done on the phone that they verified funds on. They treated us like we were trying not to pay because of their incompetence. I’m like sure, I’ll wire money, what are you gonna do for our inconvenience? Well, I got my answer when one employee hung up on us.

So we wired the money and they are still calling and threatening. I guess eventually they will figure out it was paid. I would just pay off remaining loan amount to avoid them making money on interest but was advised by there employee that they don’t care, they don’t handle the loans, they just sell cars. I wish I had sent it back, but my father does like the car, which was slightly overpriced. This is the last car anyone in my family buys from Carvana. As others have said, once the sale is made, you got what you got, no help from them afterward.

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

Let me begin by stating that I did not purchase. Every single vehicle in which I was interested had a "Pending" flag. This was out of 77 vehicles.

Additionally, the company lowballs your trade. Mine was a third of the Blue Book. Finally, your information is not safe and can not or will not be deleted from their site. The reps tell you that they are "required by law to maintain your information for 25 months since you have begun or completed an application." When I explained that I had done neither, the representative became less than pleasant.

In short, if you this place has terrible customer service, questionable ethics and you would be wise to reconsider purchasing from them IN SPITE of the catchy commercials and glitzy vending machines.

Terrible, terrible experience and I didn’t even purchase. I hate to think what the entire experience is like.

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

It seems like a great idea. But I like to have a feel for a car. Who wouldn't when you're paying $31,000 for it. So the first and second were not what I wanted. I ordered one more but had to drive to pick it up. I told them I would pass the 400-mile mark, which meant I'll have to pay $1 per mile. The gave me an extra 100 miles to go pick up. I picked up the car and didn't like it, so I tried to give it back but they said you must keep it. I tell them you said 7-day guarantee. Nope, if you don't like the first two, you have to keep the second one. I feel so cheated. It's best to just go to a dealership. You can look at how many you want and decided which one is for you.

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

So I bought a 2017 Jaguar XE 35T from Carvana with only 5k miles on it. I paid a little more than it was worth but the ease of ordering online made it worth it for me. So after multiple transfer issues with the vehicle, I was finally able to pick it up in Cleveland. I was really happy with the car until I took it to my car detailing guy. Post detailing, he let me know that this vehicle was in an accident and that both the front end and rear end of the vehicle had been replaced. To make matters worse, the paint job on the front end was done completely wrong and it would have problems going forward. To say I was a little pissed off at this point would have been an understatement.

So how did Carvana supply me with a clean Carfax report, and this vehicle made it through their 150-point inspection without them knowing that this vehicle has been in an accident? It just isn't possible, right? Well come to find out Carvana is the one that replaced the rear bumper on this car but claims to not know anything about the front of the vehicle. So you mean to tell me that this car was in their body shop and they couldn't spot a reworked front end but my detail guy could? So I pulled the Carfax report on the Jaguar and sure enough it had been in an accident. I immediately called Carvana and was told that they didn't have a record of an accident on this vehicle but they would look into it.

A day later I received a call stating that they would either cut me a check for $2800 or take $500 off another car on the website. I thought long and hard about taking that $2800 until I had the Jaguar appraised at a local dealership and found out that it was only worth $26000 and I paid $35,000. I immediately demanded my money back. They actually asked me to drive the vehicle all the way back to Cleveland. That wasn't going to happen.

Eventually, they agreed to pick the vehicle up at my house. Now here is where stage two sets in. I find out that Carvana never returned my plates to the NY State DMV. I have had the Jag for a month so now I get to re-insure my trade in, backdate it to 9/1/2018 and pay a DMV fine. You see, in NY state you cannot take a vehicle off of your insurance plan until you turn in the plates. They typically have a couple week's grace period, but after that they fine you $8 a day. So I am currently holding insurance on a vehicle that I traded into Carvana, a vehicle sent back to Carvana along with the two vehicles that my wife and I are currently driving.

To make matters worse I just found out that Bridgecrest sent my first car payment back to Carvana instead of sending it back to me. So currently I am waiting around for nearly $6k in checks from Carvana and I am out the money I spent on detailing this wrecked vehicle, the WeatherTech mats I purchased for it, the trip I had to take to Cleveland to pick up the vehicle in the first place, and all this money I am spending to insure vehicles that are not in my possession.

So yeah, I don't think I will be doing business with Carvana again. On a side note, Jakob (not sure how to spell his name) has been really nice on the phone and has been going the extra mile in trying to track down the checks they are supposed to be sending me. I have probably spent 50 hours on the phone with Carvana, my lawyer, and Bridgecrest. Not the best way to be spending my time.

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