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

First, I visited with Nashville Carvana just to learn about the process and get more comfortable with this new process. They were polite and knowledgeable. Days later I found a 2018 Rav4 online that I wanted to buy. I was previously told at my Nashville visit and calls to customer service that there were no delivery or transportation charges when I made a purchase.

When I started the purchase, a $199 charge for transportation was added. This was a (Carfax) Florida car and I live in Nashville and Carvana has a location in Georgia. So why did you add this $199 transportation charge? All the other Rav4 cars were listed with no transportation charges coming from the same area.

When I inquired, Customer service said it was because it had to travel 2,000 miles from New Jersey. WHAT?

I ask Nashville Carvana and they had no Idea why the charge was made.

Also, It took about 6 hours of calls and holds and return calls to get a hold of anyone in customer service.

I know they will return your money before the seventh day, but not getting the truth on the front end makes me walk away. I told the Nashville office I would take the car if they would remove the $199 transportation charge from Florida. They told me to call customer service again...I just said no thank you and left. I will buy somewhere else, these people are not consistent.

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

The buying process was easy. I picked up the car and the tank was almost empty so that was a disappointment as everyone told me it came with a full tank but I guess the cup and key chains were supposed to make up for that! So I have now had the car for 3 weeks and it’s already leaving me stranded! It won’t start without a jump! I called Carvana and they basically told me too bad! It’s a wearable part and it’s not covered under my warranty. So I’m three weeks into this 2017 car with only 20,000 miles on it and I’m already having to purchase a battery! I understand it’s a "wearable" part, I understand batteries go bad! I even understand why it wouldn’t be covered under the warranty! But let’s be realistic here! I have only had the car for three weeks! I haven’t even received my registration in the mail yet and I’m already having to purchase a battery! If we were talking six months down the road and the battery goes bad I can maybe understand that but I’m talking about three weeks, three weeks! And they won’t cover it!

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

Our vehicle was sold to Carvana and they did not submit the payoff to the bank until we got a notice in the mail nearly two months later that we were late on our car payment. Then, Carvana owed us an additional $400, and it took days to get that figured out. The customer service was very disappointing.

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

The first car we got from Carvana we drove it for 2 miles and we get the low tire pressure light, and the sticker on the windshield says it's due for an oil change! We returned the car! Also, the customer service has no idea about registration and titles rates and discounts. They also provided us wrong info for the downpayment! The agents don't know what they are saying! I will not ever buy a cat again from this company!

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

The car I had viewed online for a month was not the same car they delivered. I rejected the car the second they delivered it. The pictures on their website showed the car picture perfect. When I finally got to see it in person the door had dents in it and the frame underneath was so rusted that the frame was about to break. It was filthy under the tire wells, and in the picture, the doors had chrome but not the car they delivered.

In the process of trying to buy what they showed as picture perfect but wasn't, was a hassle. Don't judge a book by its cover folks.

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

Don’t buy this car from Carvana.com - VIN 3VWLA7AJ9FM235171. It was damaged during delivery. I declined to buy. They sent it to their body shop, fixed the crushed roof, and repainted the car. Their website says nothing of the damage. I called, and they said they don’t have to report it. The car will never be the same.

Carvana is selling damaged cars and not telling you!

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

I contacted Carvana around March 25, 2018, and began the process to purchase a vehicle. I already had my financing in place with my credit union, so this should have been a very easy and seamless transaction.

I uploaded all of the required information and provided them with the check information to purchase the vehicle on March 28, 2018. I received a call from the client service representative, J.C., and was advised that everything was completed and I just needed to select a date for delivery. We agreed that Monday, April 2, would work for all parties.

I was extremely excited because it appeared that I would be getting the car that I wanted, along with the minimal hassle that they had promised. I received a call on the morning of delivery, April 2, and was advised by the Carvana rep that I, in fact, would not be receiving the vehicle, as promised. I was told that apparently the car had not been recycled enough to pass emissions! I was obviously upset and extremely perplexed! Why was I receiving this news on the actual day of delivery?!

I immediately contacted the corporate office to complain and was told that they simply did not know when the vehicle would actually be ready for delivery. Can you believe that? I was advised that someone would be reaching out to me very soon. I am not lying or exaggerating...over the course of the next six days, I did not receive a single phone call from any representative to update me on the status, or to even attempt to try to console or explain what was going on. I called them at least seven times! Every representative that I spoke with simply passed the buck and said someone would be getting back to me. This is no lie!

Finally, by April 8th, I'd had enough! I decided on April 10th to make the purchase of my Toyota Avalon Hybrid Premium at a local dealer, instead. Ironically, on the same day, I received a call from a Carvana rep indicating that the car could be delivered that evening. Of course, I told them to get lost!

Here is the crazy irony; not only was I going to purchase my vehicle, but my son and sister were both purchasing vehicles at the exact same time as I. No kidding! Needless to say, if my experience had gone well, I would have strongly encouraged my son and sister to follow in my footsteps and purchase from Carvana. Including all three purchases, they lost out on at least $110k in total sales, since my son purchased a 2016 Corvette and my sister purchased a 2015 Toyota Highlander. I purchased a 2015 Toyota Avalon Hybrid.

Needless to say, I would never do business with them again and will tell everyone I know about my experience. To paraphrase their corny commercial, "they did suck!"

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

Three weeks ago I purchased a vehicle online from Carvana. The process was smooth until it was time for my delivery. One week before delivery, I was told my car would be delayed a week; I had already waited three weeks for the car.

I tried to find another car to purchase through their website because I was on a timeline and couldn't wait another week to receive my new car.

When I called back after spending hours looking for a car in my price range, I was told they would not honor the price that was listed because there was a glitch on their website.

I will never attempt to buy from Carvana again.

Buyer beware!

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

Good afternoon.

My car was delivered from Carvana on 4/20/2018. I was told by the delivery guy that I will have until today, 4/27, to decide if I want to keep the car and I would receive a call. NO CALL WAS MADE TO ME. But, in Carvana's system, it shows them calling me.

I advised the rep that I NEVER received a call and there's nothing wrong with my voicemail. The rep then stated there was an email sent to me 4/17/2018. Which I did not read? Because, NO one told me they were sending over an email, until today. I wanted to return the car, and now I'm being told nothing can be done. The rep stated that it was told to me several times by previous reps that I had seven with the car. Yes! It was told me, but, the delivery guy told me someone will call me on Thursday to see if I still want the car. If not, it will be picked up on Friday. He said I have until Friday, but now the rules have changed.

I should have NEVER purchased this car with you guys. I've had issues from the beginning. But I decided to give you a chance anyone. Look who gets screwed, ME!

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

I tried to buy a car through Carvana which claims to be easy, but I spent hours on the phone trying to figure out what I needed to do to get the car delivered. Once I had a date set, I thought everything was going nicely. The day of delivery I got a call saying the car did not start and could not be delivered for a week. When the car did come, the tires were shredding on the front and completely bald on the back. The left reverse light didn't work nor did the Bluetooth and the car smelled like mold. I spent four weeks and hours of phone calls with Carvana only to realize I was better off walking into a dealership.

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

I had a polarizing experience in buying from Carvana for the first time. There were parts I loved and parts I was very unimpressed with in my experience.

Here are the things that I was impressed with and did enjoy about my experience. I am a huge fan of convenience and prefer not to deal with people directly as most of them are not intelligent enough or are too incentivized by their own agenda to sell me a car. So the "convenience" aspect of Carvana ranked very high with me. The online process of looking at and purchasing a vehicle sight unseen can be unsettling. But their online chat feature and the one time I did have to speak live to an associate it was excellent. All questions were answered, they were extremely knowledgeable and the assurance of a 7-day basic "test drive" with a no-questions-asked return policy was phenomenal. All cars should be afforded this length of time to consider.

I did start to discover a few problems when the car was to be delivered to my front door. The Carvana carrier truck apparently broke down that day, so I had to take an Uber to their Carvana facility in Frisco. Inconvenient and a little odd that they didn't have another carrier, but they even paid for the Uber ride. So, no big deal. I received the car, and it was spotless. The gal that helped me was super nice and the paperwork to sign for the vehicle took less than 2 minutes. I could have been out in 5 minutes if I chose. And I did. So, I now have this car in my possession, and the 7-day clock has started.

I noticed some cosmetic things that weren't disclosed on the website on this vehicle. An interior feature button was broken, a cosmetic small piece of trim on the door fell off, there was a big scratch on the rear bumper under the hatch not disclosed, and that was about it. I called into Carvana and told them the problems. They asked me to email in photos of the issues and that they would get back to me shortly. In 3 days I did get an email response, and I was impressed that they offered me a $350 check to cover the costs to fix everything. Perfect! No negotiating, no backing away from their responsibility, they (Carvana) just did the right thing. So, A+ for that experience.

Two days later (realize I'm still in my 7-day grace period), I am in a massive rainstorm in Oklahoma. Time to flip on my wipers for the first time. Now was not a good time to learn that the wipers were so worn out that they were stripping away from their housing. They were like spaghetti noodles going over my windshield. In fact, the metal housing scratched the windshield in the process. So I had to drive with them off, which was not fun. I immediately went and got them replaced myself. Remember, this company claims a 150-point "rigorous" inspection of all their vehicles before selling them. Yet they missed windshield wiper blades so destroyed you couldn't miss it if you just turned them on. Doesn't add up. So, this caused me to question just how thorough this alleged inspection was by Carvana. Moving on...

Later that day, I am running through all the diagnostic reports this car provides as it is thorough being a Porsche Cayenne. I pull up the oil level on the vehicle, and it shows the level to be critically low. Additionally, the car is telling me that the oil needs to be changed immediately. Carvana assured me that this car had received an oil change just before it was delivered. Now the car is saying otherwise. I call Carvana and ask about this and they claim that the vehicle settings just need to be re-set by a Porsche dealership noting that the oil had been changed. I would have bought that explanation except that the actual "oil levels" on the car are showing critically LOW. Doesn't add up... again. So I press Carvana on this issue and they agree to pay for a Porsche Dealership to change the oil in the vehicle. Hmmmm...I guess that I am happy they agreed to do that but does it not imply guilt? Who knows?

So, I am going to write that "yes" I would recommend Carvana as the benefits far outweigh the challenges. It is a pre-owned vehicle I purchased so there are going to be things NOT perfect about the car. I get that. But if you are going to CLAIM that you do such a rigorous investigation of the vehicle, there shouldn't be much that is obvious that is missed (like wiper blades falling off).

From a post-purchase perspective, they have been great. No debating and TWICE after going back to them to fix stuff, they have agreed to the right thing and just pay me. They don't want the car back, and I don't want to give it back. So, they make it easy/clean and simple which is smart.

If you are considering buying from Carvana, ask to SEE a report of the 150-point inspection FIRST. Then when you get the car, go over that list or consider taking it to a dealership so they can do it for you. It won't be free, but it will give you leverage to go back to Carvana.

All told, I would buy from them again.

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