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

Though I really loved the car buying process and the price they gave me for my trade in, I purchased a Nissan Pathfinder from Carvana and after driving it for a few days, noticed the brakes locking up on making the car extremely unsafe to drive. It's in the shop right now and Carvana says that they'll pay for the repairs. However, the fact they sold me a car with an obviously defective brakes is of big concern to me and feel like I purchased a lemon rather than a peach.

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

It started out great; easy platform, friendly advocates. Until the car was a lemon. I did the fly and drive from Tennesse to Michigan. Pickup went well. The car had an oil consumption issue not showing on the inspection or Carfax. After dealer testing suggestion is a $5,000 repair. I paid $13k and wanted to swap out a car. Carvana agreed but said they would only give me $9,000 or $4,000 less than I paid them a few days earlier.

Essentially they sold me a car with a bad engine and then wanted to stick their customer for the responsibility of the defect. What they did is prove the car they sold me for $13k was only worth $9k because of the defect they did not disclose. I went with Carvana because of the time savings. I have spent 20 hours dealing with this issue with Carvana, dealership, manufacturer and now the Silverlight warranty company. Carvana should have just swapped in a vehicle and taken the responsibility for the car they sold with a bad engine.

Amazingly, they still have not even sent me the title yet, so I could not even dump the car if I wanted to do so. The business model requires trust, and you cannot trust Carvana.

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

And their stupid response is call to get "looked" at, we have a warranty, but they fail to tell you they won't cover anything. And you have to take off work, find a dealership with a shop, weeks spent of wasted time on a piece of junk that doesn't start half the time. And they are not a company you can go and speak with someone - they are nowhere other than online so call, hold for hours, get hung up on, that is how they do business because you have no dealership to go to and speak with a person. You get no help at all.

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

They are shady after a week of waiting to get my delivery date. 2 days before set delivery I was informed the car had been sold to someone else. Still waiting to get my money back.

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

First, the website and purchasing process was mostly simple and painless. I actually enjoyed it! However, after completely filling out the purchase form I was called and told that I needed to give my banking information over the phone (even though I already provided it on the purchase order form). I assumed it was a scam call so I called Carvana back and learned that it was indeed them. They explained that they needed it to verify my account balance, which I understand, but the level of risk associated with doing so is extremely high as a consumer. I called my bank to explain the situation (Bank of America) and the bank told me that what was being asked of me was unethical and risky.

They advised me not to do this. So I called to cancel my order and was told that I couldn't receive any written confirmation as to the cancellation of my order!!! So, now I have to go on faith that a 5-figure sum doesn't accidentally disappear out of my bank account. None of this "extra" info is specified in writing anywhere. It is only brought up after you have given them your bank account info on the website to purchase the car. It's like, “Oh hey, all of a sudden we need you do provide this”.

I can't say that the company isn't legitimate, because there are a lot of written articles about how they are legit, but how can they treat a customer this way BEFORE a purchase and how can I to have good faith in them after the purchase (during the trial period) that they will follow through on their promises? Have you ever purchased something online using a secure, encrypted payment system only to have the store call you and say “Please read me your banking routing number”. Anyone who goes through with this is just asking for your identity to be stolen. A company who doesn't have the foresight to see how unethical this is probably doesn't have enough ethics to provide a quality product anyway. I'd advise against purchasing a vehicle from Carvana based on my experience.

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

I knew it was to good to be true. I got financed through Carvana. I picked the vehicle that I thought would work for me, and sent in all the information that Carvana would need to purchase the vehicle. Then, since no one had reached out to me, I decided to reach out them, but only to find out that I would have to have insurance on the vehicle that I'm test driving, and need have my down payment within 24 hours of delivery! I knew right then that it's a scam. Nowhere does it say this on their website, even when it congratulates you on purchasing the vehicle.

So now I'm going to have to change my bank account number first thing in the morning, it was a good thing I didn't request to take a day off from work. Oh and there was another thing that made me wonder, which was that they have an underwriter that will review my purchase. So that mean the down payment, monthly payment, and finance charges may not be what it says on the website! I am very disappointed, and told my friends and co worker about this website. It's a scam.

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

Loved the idea of buying a car online without the hassles of visiting car lots. Plus you have 7 days to return vehicle if unsatisfied. I entered in my personal info so they could give me my APR finance rate and any down payment. There were a lot in my preferred price range with no money down. Score!

So I took about a week, reviewing hundreds of cars and settled on a 2014 Hyundai Sonata 2.0t for 16,500. Added the extended warranty and placed the order. The day before it was to arrive, Carvana contacted me and asked me to send them copies of my social security card front and back, which I did.

Then Danielle, a Carvana rep called me and said I must have mistyped my SS#. The last digit was off, so they ran a credit report on some other lady, and I would now need a down payment of $500. No problem, so I gave her my bank routing and account number for the transaction.

Danielle then congratulated me and told me to have proof of insurance and my license handy when car was delivered. Ok, I said. Then I asked her, "Well, listen Danielle since I am putting a down payment on the car now, what will that make my monthly installments? I'm sure it won't go down by much, but you know, a penny saved is a penny earned" - my exact words.

Danielle says, "Well, with the down payment and the APR of 7.76%, your payments will be $309 a month." That was higher than my original payment schedule. And the APR went up from 6.3% I did the math while on the phone with her, and they were trying to jack me for another $1000.

Two things:

1st. If I hadn't asked what my new monthly payments were going to be I would have never known they had adjusted the APR by one and a half basis points, until and only when I either got my first bill or if I caught it on the paper work when car was delivered.

2nd. And this is the worst. Their claim that I had mistyped my SS# was a downright lie. You see, I went to show my father the car on Carvana website this morning, but it wasn't showing the car as sale pending. So, I clicked on (my account) to see if everything was ok with the sale. It just showed my personal info, name, income, last 4 digits of social, etc. And guess what, the SS# was correct. This occurred before I was notified there was an issue with the SS#. I still have the screen up on my computer at work.

Look elsewhere for a car.

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

I just want to give another update to be fair to Carvana. Charles Priano took responsibility for fixing this situation and offered me a check to cover one monthly payment for the three weeks I was without my car. I really appreciated the effort.

Although it was not in a timely manner, I did receive my license plates at long last and am happy being able to drive my car!

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

The online shopping experience was so easy and convenient. I enjoyed browsing through their stock, and the way the vehicles are presented on their site is clear and concise. The best part of the process was the ease of financing. You enter in your basic information on their site, and can play around with numbers to see your payment right up front. Nothing is hidden. That's where the easy process ended.

Like so many other online service providers, at the point were it involves a human on the other end of the transaction, I didn't feel like anyone really owned my transaction. I was passed around to multiple people throughout the process, and hence, the level of customer service felt very disconnected, and too casual for a purchase like this. The car's engine light came on immediately, so after returning it (and going without a car for two inconvenient days), it was returned to me, and it turned out to be a minor issue. I also realized at signing, that at least half of the cars they sell are used rental cars. Run away! Mine turned out to be one of those as well, after digging up records. This became obvious after the cleaning fluids dried on the interior many weeks later, and all the stains one would expect in a rental came showing through. Right away, I also noticed that when it rains, the car ends up with an inordinate amount of moisture on the inside. I didn't realize it was a major problem until many months later, when I discovered that water is somehow entering the frame of the car, and pooling during heavy rains. When I called to try to resolve that issue, I was sent in circles, and finally promised a follow up by a manager, who then never called back. The spare key was also missing at purchase, so I had to take it to a dealership to have one made (even though they paid for it, it was still inconvenient). Finally, the manual was missing at purchase, and they told me they'd send one, but it never came. I made several calls to customer service, and every time was told that one would be on its way, but I never received it, or any follow up.

Clearly, Carvana has customer service issues. I wouldn't tell someone to NOT use them, but I wouldn't recommend them either. One should approach them with extreme caution. This has been a poor experience.

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

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