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

The first car I bought was damaged in shipping and had bad brakes. Carvana said I could go on my own time and have it repaired and submit a claim or swap for another car. I chose to swap. They stated I was only allowed to drive 400 miles in the week, no problem.

The second car was supposed to be delivered on a Thursday, so I took another day off of work to accept the delivery. I got a call that afternoon stating my car would not be delivered as planned, they forgot to put it on the transport vehicle. So I waited three more days for delivery (I caused 2 days delay because my child graduated high school Friday and we hosted a graduation party on Saturday).

Second car was delivered on Monday. I drove it to work the next morning and the oil light came on. The car has an oil leak (I've had to put a quart of oil in it twice in the past 10 days). I called Carvana again to swap - again. Online customer service was unable to help with the swap, I had to call the 800# and wait over 30 minutes to talk to a person. By then the car I wanted was not available so I picked another. They said they couldn't deliver for over a week (8 additional days in this car).

As a reminder, they caused this additional week delay so I expected the 400 miles for that second week to be added. NOPE! They only granted me 200 additional miles, capping my usage on this broken, oil leaking car to 600 miles over a two week period. I am buying these expensive vehicles because I commute to Boston. I drive 400 miles per week. They have told me that they're going to charge me $1 per mile for every mile over 600.

I've missed 3 days of work trying to get a functional and safe vehicle delivered and countless hours on the phone with customer service. It's easier and more reliable to use a dealership. I will never ever ever use them again and will continue to tell everyone I know that they're a nightmare to work with and scamming people into buying lemons.

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

I'm a resident in Houston and I recently purchased a car through Carvana. This was my first time purchasing a car so I was very thorough with my contract and Carfax. I had it read over with my boyfriend who was co-signing with me. I sent it over to my mom to check over as well. It was a great deal, 2016 dodge challenger under 30,000 miles, no cosmetic imperfections for $20,700. The car was delivered to me at the beginning of July, and before I even got out to the car the gentleman who was dropping it off told me he had noticed some cosmetic issues. Then after doing a walkthrough, I noticed quite a bit more. I was told by the gentleman that the pictures would be submitted and to wait to hear from them about what could be done. I eventually was informed to take it to a body shop and get an estimate. That was done. Then I was told to wait for confirmation for the repairs to be approved. As the car was listed with no imperfection I was highly motivated to think they would not refuse the repairs.

While waiting for the approval I noticed the car had a coolant leak. I informed Carvana and was again told to get an estimate then submit it and wait for the approval. However, the car still had a couple of months of the manufacturer's warranty on it so I just had it repaired under that. That was 2 days without my car, and a couple of weeks pass and I was still waiting for approval for the cosmetic issues. I eventually called them and found it they had been approved I just hadn't been made aware. I was supposed to receive a text message, however, I didn't get it. I can understand technology mistakes happen sometimes though. I was finally able to take the car to the body shop on August 5th. That following Friday, August 9th, my repair advisor called me to inform me that the team had removed the bumper to get to some repair areas and noticed quite a bit of hidden damage. I had them stop repairs and contacted Carvana. Since finding the hidden damages I have spent over 5 hours on the phone with them. Multiple 24 hour approval days and found out the car had $13,000 of damage between the cosmetics and the hidden repair. $10,000 of it being hidden under the bumper and lights and grill being glued together as well as the reinforcement bar being dented in multiple areas. I asked to return the car and pick out another one of equal value, with my personal understanding that they sold me a car with extreme damages and was concerned that there are other hidden damages. They have refused to honor my original terms, now requiring a $6000 down payment and a 24 percent interest rate compared to my original 0 down and 12ish percent interest rate. When I asked why I could not have the original terms they said because they no longer offer co-signing and they would not transfer the terms to a different car, even though had the car I had originally chosen not been damaged I would have the car with those terms still.

So now my credit has been dinged twice due to the hard pull required to get my terms original and then dinged when I opened the loan, same for my boyfriend. On top of that I am without a car and unable to go somewhere else without paying extra due to my lowered credit score. Not to mention I just went through a whole buying process then the process of dealing with the repairs and now I am having to deal with trying to get the first months payment back, which can't be done until they have the car in the possession, which can't be done until the repairs are done.

I am unable to understand how they could do this to a customer who has done nothing wrong, I have been nothing but polite on the phone despite my growing frustration and I have been patient and in constant contact with them regarding everything. They sold me a car that should never have been listed, then refuse to honor the same interest and 0 down even for a car at the same price, and refuse to let my boyfriend co-sign with me when it was allowed a month ago.

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

So, I purchased a Mercedes GLK for $25,000 in which I paid $22,000 upfront. I was told by the drop off for LJ's that all repairs would be covered in the first 100 days. I was told a window was faulty that morning for no reason, so I should get the car inspected by the dealership, and everything would be handled free of charge. Also, they gave me one key that worked and another key that was for another vehicle.

After getting the inspection, it turns out there were some issues under the hood totaling $1,500 in repairs. When I sent this to Carvana, they tried to run from paying for the repairs. They called the dealership and even tried to talk the mechanics out of their evaluation.

During all of this, the customer service rep also tried to treat me like it was unreasonable for me to send in the repairs. Like I was a nuisance. Carvana is the worst.

By the way, the customer service rep was Natasha Tomlinson, and she even attempted to lie about the correspondence she had sent to me, etc.

Carvana is immature from its people on the top, and on down. If you're a professional, then you'll be dealing with people who aren't on your level if you buy a car from Carvana.

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

The sun visor on the passenger side literally fell off yesterday when my wife was doing her makeup. It won't reattach, and there's now a giant, ugly hole in its place in our new car. I'm guessing they put it on when they were preparing the vehicle, but did a lousy job.

With regards to the registration not being received and the temporary tags set to expire, they've offered to pay for a rental vehicle until the registration arrives. This is promised to be completed on 9/22. I will update this review in the future with the outcome.

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

The process was SO simple. I found the perfect car in less than five minutes, emailed all the paperwork and submitted each document as requested.

The car was to be delivered today at 9 am, and suddenly I received an email asking why we didn't pick our car up. We were scheduled for a delivery and the employees to speak with were either friendly and understanding or condescending and unpleasant. Why would we pick up a car when the whole advertisement is a simple process from home being delivered to you, we clicked delivery and never thought anything about it until the car didn't show up? And when it was discussed, there was never an apology, and the car was not going to be "re-delivered" until later this week, and that was not an option.

We canceled our perfect car and realized dealing with the dealership is clearly less stress than this joke of buying a car before you can even touch it. Great concept but they dropped the ball big time, so upsetting.

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

I really hate dealerships in that it takes forever to get from point A to point B. It should not take three hours to buy a car, especially if you have done all of the research on the vehicle that you are looking for as well as coming prepared with all of the necessary documentation necessary. We all know the "waiting game" is a car salesperson technique, but you would think this site would be different. Unfortunately, NO.

After they sent an invalid link to upload my documents and me fighting with trying to find the valid site to submit them, they canceled delivery and made an arbitrary delivery date in which I wasn't available. They couldn't coordinate with my immediate schedule and told me that the new delivery date was too far out so I would have to start the whole process over again. Are you kidding me? How is this taking longer than if I went to dealership? What exactly did I save?

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

Carvana continues the run around on repairs. I have sent numerous estimates with requirements and they keep adding additional things for approval. They do this until you are past your 7-day window. It was nice not having to deal with a dealership, but at this point, I would rather have to deal with that on the front end rather than having to constantly contact the company to try and make things right. Carvana makes no effort on their end once delivery is complete.

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

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