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

Carvana lets you choose and buy a car online and have it available for pickup or delivered to your door. After choosing a car and completing the forms, the online process stops and every step after takes place over the phone. You will have to conference call the bank to confirm funding, phone calls for the delivery and phone calls for any mistakes made on their end.

All the forms are post-dated, so that can slow down state registration after you take delivery. For example, my bill of sale was post-dated by 6 days after the funds were withdrawn from my account. I was erroneously billed MA sales tax and had to be refunded. There was no tracking or email updates so I had to call back repeatedly to check the status of that payment.

After taking delivery of my car I was repeatedly called by Carvana and delivery people for a car I didn't buy, they mixed up my number with another client. The car itself is great and was what I was looking for, but expect a few headaches during the process.

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

So far my experience has been great. Bought a car on Cyber Monday for $1k off an already low price. Car was delivered to my house (for free) and 20 minutes early by a nice delivery driver Matt. He gave me a $25 gift card.

The car I found was exactly what I was looking for. Great deal.

But judging from other reviews, Carvana is bad because they won't just give you a car for free if you have crappy credit. Those reviewers have no idea how the world works (and hence their bad credit I assume).

For the rest of the world with enough credit to buy a used car, Carvana is a potentially disruptive force in an industry that needs some disruption.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

OK. Here's the deal with Carvana.

I work at a collision repair facility, so I look at vehicles day in and day out. I'm going to know if something's been wrecked and I have a certified mechanic that is going to know if a vehicle has any mechanical defects.

I purchased a 2013 Toyota Rav 4 a couple of months ago. On the site, it listed a scratch on the hood and a few chips. I called about a million times prior to delivery to make sure everything was in order. Everyone was very helpful and friendly on the phone, and there was zero wait time. I even got a quote for trade in on my 2008 Toyota Avalon, and I am still wondering why they gave me so much money for it.

The vehicle arrived on time, and the delivery driver was awesome. She pulled it right off the truck and told me to take it for a test drive. While I was test driving it, she looked at my trade in. She even let me take my new delivery to my mechanic and put it on a lift right away. The oil was clean, new brakes on the front, new tires and under the hood was clean with no issues.

Now here's the part where people are knocking Carvana. The undercarriage rust. Yes, this vehicle did come from up north. It had more rust than the average vehicle in my area (Virginia). However, it is surface rust. It is on the bolts to the suspension and exhaust and a little on the exhaust pipe. Yes, the vehicle will continue to rust but it will no longer be exacerbated by northern driving conditions.

Was it a dealbreaker? Not for me. Nowhere bad enough to be an issue. When I got the vehicle off the lift, there were a few more scratches than noted in the online photos. A few light ones on the door (buffed out), deep one in liftgate and a couple deep ones on the front bumper. Interior was very clean except for front floor around mats which could have been detailed a little better. Also, the bumper had been replaced before, but all the other body lines on the car looked good (usually indicative of no prior body damage).

The VIN report on the vehicle listed no accidents (that doesn't mean there weren't any, just means none were reported) The delivery driver offered to waive the 100-day insurance deductible to get the scratches fixed that weren't noted online. Anywhere I wanted. They also paid my shop within a day of the claim, so Silverrock (the insurance claim company) was on top of things. Paperwork was easily taken care of at delivery. There were no hidden fees and it was so easy! The plates arrived earlier than expected in the mail. The car was about $900 less than cargurus.com (excellent deals) and about $1,000 less than NADA value.

So overall, the experience was great. If you are super picky and things like a little surface rust underneath and maybe a few extra scratches/dings bother you, maybe this isn't the place for you. If you do, just make sure you check out the vehicle thoroughly, because they probably do get their vehicles from auctions up north. For me, the high trade in value, zero hassle, and automatic paperwork was worth the less-than-perfect condition on the vehicle.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Carvana has royally screwed my entire life with my family. My husband of five years is the only one that is able to work, but they will not allow me to use his income and my credit. His credit got hit hard and is so low they want thousands of dollars down! My credit isn't so bad but I don't have income, but my husband makes enough money I can stay home and raise our family. They don't offer co-signing, this is not what I am trying to do, but seriously, I can't use income from my husband? We need a second vehicle because my family has a lot that needs to be done and most other places won't take our credit.

The one good thing about this place is they will take any credit, but you better have money to put down. I spent hours finding the right car and now all of that time was wasted because in the beginning it only asks for "annual income" not "only yours, no one else's, we don't care about your situation." I will forever warn people of this business!

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

Other than the delay in delivery due to some cosmetic repairs, the purchase and delivery of the car went smoothly. Unfortunately, since then, this 2013 Chevy Malibu that I purchased in October 2016 has been a nightmare since then.

The first week it was brought to the dealership because none of the back lighting was working (break lights nor lights for license plate). Approximately one week after that, the tire blew out on the interstate, and there was no spare tire or even a little fix a flat kit in the car for repair. Move forward about two months after that the battery as well as the starter had to be replaced (battery, fine, that is normal).

Now for the last two months the car every few days has to be boosted. I've taken it to the dealership twice, both times I'm told that there is nothing wrong with the car, but I am still standing outside in the heat using jumper cables in the parking lot. The last time was tonight, and it began making clicking noises as well. The dealership replaced the battery two days ago, so it is not the battery. I've only had the car approximately a year and a half; I should not have had this many issues. And now I'm stuck paying for this lemon that I bought from Carvana and am constantly wondering what will happen next with this car.

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

I bought a car with them and it was easy enough. The day it was supposed to be delivered, I received a call at 8:30 stating the driving called out and that this car isn't in their territory so they won't be able to deliver it for another 7-10 business days.

I tried to call back and I got a rep's voicemail. I left a message and said I'm available anytime. They never called me back, so I called the 800 number, and the rep told me that the location doesn't deliver to my house, it should have been the Boston location. I replied, "so they lied to me about someone calling out." They just aren't coming because it was brought to the wrong facility. They said no they didn't lie, someone did call out. I explained then shouldn't it be the next day. Why are we bumping me 10 days out when I was scheduled before everyone after me? I told them they had until Wednesday (which was two days away) to deliver or I'm canceling. Surprise, surprise - they were able to deliver.

When I got the car the top rail was severely dented during offloading. I would now have to set up to get that fixed free of charge but still on my own time. I had the car for a day and then called and said I didn't like the car and with all the issues I don't want to do business with them again. They said they'll call the Connecticut office to schedule a pick up. I let them know that's the incorrect office, the Boston office is in my territory (I figured they would know this and not the customer).

They removed the car in three days. They said I would see my money back in my bank account in 5-7 business days. It has now been 17 days with no money back into my account. I called today and they said it got stuck in the transfer and never made it. I asked if I never called you would have just kept my money. They said no, you would have gotten your money. No idea how they figured that. I also asked how often does this happen. They said not often. I said it's weird that $13,000 just gets stuck, is it perhaps that someone forgot to do it. They said no. I told them I caught them lying before to me. They said it would be two business days. I said if it's not there in two days I'm calling back and then they'll hear from my lawyer.

They are crooks and liars.

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

WORST buying experience ever!!! I went through the process the week before and told the gentleman over the phone that I would not sign the Arbitration agreement. He said I could send in a registered letter, opting out, which I then did, but I told him I still would not sign the arbitration agreement and he understood, or claimed he understood why I would not sign.

I had financing set up and sat there while the gentleman talked to my bank, and I went ahead and got the vehicle on my insurance in addition to spending $6.50 to send the registered letter.

The following week, the driver calls me from the road to tell me she will be there shortly, but I still needed to go online and sign the contract. I went online and found the contract did not go through because I would not sign the part with the arbitration agreement. I then called Carvana and after a gentleman tried to talk me into signing, he then said just to let the driver know, and it should still be ok and I could get the car.

The car shows up in front of my house, and the driver tells me I cannot have the car without signing. The FREAKING car is sitting in front of my house! She then calls Atlanta, and the guy gets on the phone with me saying I cannot have the car without signing the arbitration agreement. He explains once again that I can opt out of it, which I understand, but I am not signing something I don't agree to. I told the gentleman that I had a printed copy of the contract and could give it to the driver, but he refused, saying it had to be done online.

It is ridiculous that I said from the very beginning that I would not sign the arbitration agreement and they went ahead and sent me the car. It should have never gotten that far. I can only assume that Carvana thought I would want the car so badly that I would go ahead and sign the arbitration agreement. Tacky, tacky Carvana!

My feeling is if you can opt out of the arbitration agreement, why don't they have a contract online without the arbitration agreement for those of us who will not sign it? I'm sure Carvana feels most people are not going to go to the trouble of writing out the letter and going to the Post Office to send it.

I also find it interesting that Carvana's Review page is closed, so I cannot share my experience there, but you can bet it will share it everywhere else I can!

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

I found a truck that I was really interested in, a 2012 Tundra with 35,000 miles. Too good to be true right? Right after reviewing the Carfax, I noticed a discrepancy in the mileage. I called and asked how come the miles all the sudden has gone down to 30,000 miles when you guys listed it? The answer was they made a mistake and put the wrong picture with this car. The correct odor reading should be 83k so they will correct the mileage on the Carfax and their website. Then they insisted the price was right and will not be lowered.

Fast forward two weeks, thought I’d see if there were any new trucks and I find the same 2012 with the correct miles and a new lower price. I have instantly interested again, so I call to ask a few questions. Why when I try and purchase this truck it’s still trying to charge me old price? The customer service rep was one of the most unhelpful people I’ve ever spoken to. She was going to have to call me back to correct a price on my order I asked her have you tried to restart my order and she said no never thought to do that. I asked her about some of the features of the car, and all she was doing was looking at the same thing I could see. What is the point of that? How could you trust what they show you if the pictures are correct? How could you trust what they say when they don’t have any real information to look at? I don’t know that I’m brave enough to spend my money here no matter how good the deal looks.

Issues with this service:

1. Incompetent sales representatives.

2. Inaccurate photos of vehicles.

3. Photos of vehicles are not detailed enough to give you all the information. Look at CarMax, you can tell what the car looks like from the photos.

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

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

FAILED at all levels of attempting to purchase a vehicle from them.

To communicate - they didn't tell me all of the documents needed nor how to provide them until they were threatening to cancel the order twice.

To get the car to the correct state - they said it was already in my state, then they said it was sent to another, then they told me it had been in another state the whole time.

To deliver - on the third attempt to get the car to me, I finally canceled with the 8th person that called to tell me because the manager in my state was sent my case to him. He was sounding relieved that I canceled to care about how they could prevent this in the future or how to improve. It's scary to think how they could have messed up further by not paying off my trade in or having issues with the car for a return. Too many ways they could have continued to fail and not worth the chance!

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

I purchased a 2016 van with 50,000 miles on it. The buying process was actually really cool. Carvana’s service, overall, was also good. I like the concept of Carvana - you get 7 days to test car, can swap up to 3 times, etc. However, there several annoyances related to my purchase:

1. I realized right after my van was delivered that the rear vents did not blow. The van had to go the shop for two days of my 7-day trial. Thankfully, Carvana did ok handling the warranty process and van was fixed. It’s a little frustrating that their "inspection/certification" process didn’t catch this and makes me wonder the extent to which they actually inspect vehicles.

2. First time taking my vehicle out of town (an hour drive) it turns out my vans tires need to be balanced. Not a big thing but once again, irritating that I have to go spend money on this as the 100-day warranty does not cover, as far as I understand. I guess I should have taken my van up to 75-80mph before the 7-day period was up...but not sure I would have gone through the hassle of returning/swapping for tire balancing anyway.

3. Two weeks after my sale is finalized, Carvana has a Black Friday sale where all vehicles are $1,000 off. This is a great sale. One that I would have waited for. So I talk with customer service, ask if there’s anything that can be done (price matching, etc.) seeing as I am within two weeks of purchase. The answer is "no." Now, I understand this - policy is policy. But it’s annoying nonetheless, and many companies would do what they can to create some equity in a situation like this.

4. My van did not come with mats. At the time of delivery I was made aware of this. I was also told that after my 7-day trial, they would be ordered. When I asked the support person (during the same conversation regarding the $1,000 discount) for an update, found out that they were not ordered. Again, not huge. But very annoying.

Overall, I would say that the Carvana experience is so-so. Some great aspects and some not so great aspects. My complaints are relatively minor, but as I mentioned, it makes one think if they have business processes in place to catch major issues since they failed to catch some small but noticeable issues. Would I do this again? Not sure.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend