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

Absolutely great experience from start to finish. I will never buy a car from a traditional dealership or "big used car guys" again as long as Carvana stays the same. Best car buying transaction I have ever had!

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

I decided to give Carvana a try after being in an accident that left me with a broken ankle and some other injuries. I was in need of a replacement family vehicle fairly quickly and unable to walk around big dealerships or drive far. The overall experience has been smooth. The ease of the transaction completed online or through the app is unmatched. I appreciated all the customer service reps, from every phone call received to the delivery drivers. I ultimately ended up trading in my vehicle once within the 7-day guarantee just because I wanted more features.

I believe the detailed pictures did the vehicle justice. The stains and dings look worse online than in person in my opinion. These cars appear to be well-maintained and love that they only provide vehicles that have no prior accidents!

Some bad things: the vehicle description and the actual vehicle I received did not match. I was expecting an SEL and received an SE (the vehicle sticker matched so I am ok). My 2nd delivery was late which was reportedly due to detailing. When I receive the truck, it was still covered in dust/dirt on the top and the inside smelled of wetness (mildew) as if they were rushing and did not let the seats dry.

Overall, still a good experience.

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

I'd have to say at first I was a little skeptical about buying a car over the internet. I actually called them to ask questions about the process and feeling them out over the phone. I wanted to talk to a real person and get real answers to my questions and not through an online page. They were really polite and professional over the phone and had my answers. I went through the process of ordering and it was pretty painless. I traded in a paid-off 2018 Focus ST3 and they actually came back with a decent trade offer. I decided to make the drive to the Tampa store location since it's about 2 hours away. I did this because driving the new car back would be a good shakedown to test everything. This way I just dropped my trade-off and drove home the one I had reserved. It came with a full tank of gas and a fresh oil change (I did check for clean oil and it was there). They used a Carquest oil filter. The guy at the Tampa store was very polite and let me take the car for a test ride by myself. My appointment was at 10 am on a Saturday. It did have a few scratches on it I didn't know about, but it wasn't a deal-breaker.

As for the cleanliness of the car, it could have been a lot better. I did see a Mobil detailer on-site cleaning cars. I would say they just do the basics then on to the next one. Probably, no one from Carvana does any follow up them. The mileage on the car and what I saw online was a match and it's still got about 10 months of factory warranty left. Other than the cleanliness and a few scratches, it was not a big issue. I kept telling myself "Hey, you're buying a used car, not new". I got a great finance rate since I only went 3 years. It was under 4%. I know I could have had it delivered, but the ride home in it was fun (Focus RS) and offered a good shakedown. I got it home and did a full polish and buff, the used a quality wax. The scratches were removed. Overall, I think I did good and everyone from Carvana treated me like a highly valued customer.

Now, here's my only gripe, if it is one. I took delivery of this car less than a week before Black Friday. Well, guess what? Carvana is doing a Black Friday Sale on all cars until December 2 with a $1000 off. So, I do feel heartsick and bummed out over this. I wish someone would have said something to me and I would have held off a few more days before reserving my car. It really would have made my year had I got in on this and helped me out financially.

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

My experience with Carvana has been pretty amazing. Their staff has walked me through every step of this process, making it a very relaxing experience. I have had all questions answered and any new information that needed to be provided was presented during my interaction with the Carvana staff. Job well done. Will definitely use this service again.

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

I saw an ad on TV for Carvana and became intrigued by the idea of a car vending machine (pretty cool). I got the app and browsed a couple times until I found the perfect car. I was easily able to use the app to fill out the paperwork and upload the necessary documents. I did have to call the customer advocates a few times but they were quick to answer and helped right away. Finally, the car was scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday. On Tuesday (right at the time of delivery), I got a call from another customer advocate informing me the delivery would have to be rescheduled because the "check engine" light came on. Of course I’m upset and I’m starting to doubt purchasing the car. I figured I could have my mechanic look at it and, if anything, I can just return it. On Friday, the car was finally delivered. Between Tuesday and Friday, I got in contact with the customer advocate delivering the car to find out what the issue was. I was informed on the day of the delivery the car just needed an oil change. Apparently, there was a mix-up between the "check engine" light and the "maintenance" light. Nevertheless, the paperwork was easy to sign during the delivery. I did have my mechanic take a look at it and he could see nothing wrong with the car. As for the registration process, there was an issue with a section being filled out on the insurance forms (change in state forms). The issue was easy to resolve and the customer advocates were easy to work with. I got my registration the day after delivery (Saturday, wow). Overall, I would recommend Carvana to anybody who is interested or curious. Do expect some hiccups along the way but the advocates make it easier. I love my car and the process was worth it ultimately.

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

Initially, I was very pleased with the experience of buying a car from Carvana. I should have done thorough research before buying my car as I’ve seen plenty of other people with the same problem. My temporary plate has expired and after talking with 4 representatives none of them were able to help me with this problem besides telling me that there is nothing they can do and I just have to wait until I get my plates, blaming me that I did not send in a document that I made sure everything was filled out correctly. Now I’m just praying I don’t get a ticket until I receive my plates.

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

Preface - We are in northern Wisconsin with plans to travel to our Arizona residence leaving around December 1st. We bought this car with plans to drive it from Wisconsin back to Arizona for the winter.

Friday, November 8th: We picked out the car, Carvana took the down payment, we signed our documents and the verification process was completed this same day. We then waited, as instructed for someone from their delivery department to reach out.

Thursday, November 14th: Five business days went by with no communication from Carvana to arrange the delivery.

WE called THEM to ask where and when we would have a time frame for delivery of our vehicle. We were told that during their inspection they were putting new tires and brakes on the car.

Great! Ok so we waited - again - for their call to arrange delivery. And we waited.

Tuesday, November 19th: We had not heard anything so called Carvana. We were told that a driver had not selected our order to deliver. (We had chosen to have the car delivered to our door at the onset of the process.)

I get it - truck drivers can pick and choose routes, etc. We then spoke to a very efficient customer service representative who was able to change the delivery method to a vending machine in Chicago so we could pick it up.

Ok, awesome - Carvana has us scheduled us to pick up the car from a vending machine in Chicago on Tuesday, November 26th.

We purchased plane tickets to travel to the pick-up location which Carvana would reimburse $200 of.

We have arrangements to get to the airport which is two hours away.

Great! We had a hard delivery (pick-up) date. We signed new contracts due to it now being considered a pick up not direct to door delivery (another 15-day delivery/pickup timeframe was then reset - keep in mind they took our $10,000 down payment out of our account on November 8th).

We are still all ok with all of this, as we are flexible and now understand more about Carvana and the delivery/pick up process.

Sunday, November 24th: Two days before our flight to Chicago to pick up the vehicle we get an email that the delivery to the vending machine in Chicago is delayed.

Keep in mind, no call from Carvana - we had to call them and were told that the earliest they MIGHT have the car in Chicago was now December 9th, but there is no guarantee there won’t be another delay.

November 25, 2019: Here we are, once again waiting for Carvana to call us to discuss our options (we had to call to get on their call back waitlist).

Should we buy plane tickets again, waiting on you to get your logistical tangle figured out? Keeping our fingers crossed that it will be in your vending machine on December 9th?

Should we change the contract again so you can deliver to our Wisconsin or Arizona residence?

Should we rely on you to load it into one of your vending machines when it’s convenient for you so we can pick it up?

Do WE need to be more flexible than we have already been because we really want to buy this car from YOU?

I think not. At this point, we are done. Our flexibility has limits. We have canceled the contract.

We are now out the $200 plane tickets which you will not reimburse because we canceled our purchase contract due to your chaotic logistics.

Nice try Carvana, my suggestion to you is to get the logistical kinks worked out before you advertise how easy it is to actually start DRIVING a car that was purchased from you.

A lesson learned.

We have choices.

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

Just before the end of the 7-day return period, I raised my complaints with Carvana. They very professionally dealt with my issues and are paying to have everything fixed. I was very surprised and impressed. It appears the issues happened in transit and outside of their direct control. I am now a happy GTI owner. I did not threaten them with a bad review to get action.

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

I bought a car from Carvana in 2018. The process was easy and everything was good. I had 2 cancer scares during this time and my grandmother was murdered there shortly after so handling the tagging process was not at the top of my priority list. Cut to October 2019. I get a letter from Carvana stating they are going to repossess my car. I called them to see if there was something I could do. I'm currently on disability and don't drive it and can't afford to tag it. They told me there was nothing I could do and they were going to repossess the car anyway. During this time I'm not getting a paycheck and figured I had some time to figure it out. The car payments are up to date and the car is fully insured. They took the car last night. I called the police to report it stolen and called Carvana to inquire as to how they can take a car without notifying local authorities and how this was legal as my contract states nothing of the sort. They state that it's Kansas law, which I looked up and there isn't a law that states they can repo a car that's being paid for. They also lied to the police and said that I was issued an extension when on both calls that I have recorded they told me that if I got the car tagged they were going to repossess it anyway. I'm currently in a mental health crisis which I explained to them also and it seems I have no recourse at this time.

I've looked them up on BBB and it seems they are having issues all over the country with not getting new buyers their titles on time if at all. I think this needs to be known that way people will steer clear of the "easy car buying process" and not get taken as Carvana owns the finance company so they are letting people pay and coming up with garbage excuses to repossess cars that are being paid for. Not to mention the car was thousands over Bluebook.

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

The "we'll buy your car" end of their operation needs work. A lot of work. Though it would be impossible to ask every question regarding the vehicle you have to sell, the key-points need to be made CLEAR from the beginning. You enter your vehicle's information. You get an "appraisal" and "offer". You upload copies of your title and driver's license, only to receive a phone call asking one VERY important question (a key factor in the deal) which is never seen during the process you've already gone through. It wastes the consumer's time, folks. Furthermore, you are expected to REPAIR any red-flag issue in order to proceed with the pittance they offer in the first place, which in this case was triple the amount offered. Absurd. I feel for those who have to make that phone call. I'm sure many are nowhere near as polite as I was when speaking with the representative this morning. I now fully understand why the reviews are mixed with Carvana.

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

This company has been nothing short of a nightmare.

I wouldn't even tell my worst enemy to buy a car from Carvana.

Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

I purchased a 2016 Mazda CX-5 on 8/2/19.

The online transactions went smoothly but things began to fall apart when the delivery date came. I was scheduled to pick up my car on 8/2/19 at 4:00 pm at the Gaithersburg location. About 2 hours before delivery I received a call from Carvana saying that delivery would be delayed because the vehicle failed Maryland State Inspection due to the brakes. (FYI, the car was advertised as having brand new brakes.) I needed the vehicle on 8/2 because I was heading out on a road trip on 8/3 so this presented a big issue.

I chatted in with a rep and kept pushing the issue that they needed to get this resolved ASAP as I needed the vehicle for the 3rd. After a lot of back and forth with the chat agent I was told there was absolutely no way I could have the vehicle that day and the EARLIEST I could have it was 10 am on the 3rd.

I got a phone call around 5:30 pm from the Gaithersburg store saying my car was ready?! I live about 45 minutes from Gaithersburg and it was a Friday evening but I hopped in the car to get there before they closed at 7 pm. The guy I dealt with at the store was friendly enough and the car was fine so I thought we were good to go.

I inquired about transferring my registration from the vehicle I traded in and they said it would not be an issue. I had read reviews previously saying that the registration process was sometimes problematic but I tried to remain positive.

I was told that registration could take between 30 and 45 days depending on the STATE. The Carvana Owners Dashboard on their website had a countdown (I believe the countdown started at 30, could've been 45) of when you should expect your registration. Well, the time expired on the countdown and I contacted them asking what the deal was. The chat reps insisted that it's possible that MD is slower than other states when it comes to registration and that I shouldn't worry. According to the rep, all of my documentation was fine and they didn't need anything from me. I asked if it was possible for me to just go to the MVA and take care of it myself so I could be done with the waiting to which they responded that I could not because I financed through them so they had to do the registration.

On September 19th (48 days after purchase) I received an email from the registration department at Carvana asking me to provide proof of insurance because the initial proof of insurance had lapsed (my auto insurance renewed on September 16th). I was pretty peeved considering they specifically told me I would have my registration WITHIN a 30-45 day window YET this was just proof that they DID NOT EVEN SUBMIT THE PAPERWORK until I had the car for 48 days...(to make matters worse, I had to continue to carry insurance on the X-Terra I traded in until I got the updated registration...). So their constant responses I got blaming the state of Maryland were all lies. I submitted the proof of insurance and like magic, I got the registration 2 days later.

I thought I was finally in the clear but started receiving emails from the MVA saying they got a notice from my insurance company that I dropped insurance on my Xterra (the vehicle I traded in) and that my registration and license could be suspended for driving without insurance...I submitted the Bill of Sale to the MVA and followed up with a call. The MVA indicated that they did not have the CX-5 on record and that the XTerra was still showing registered to me but they said it can take 4-6 weeks for their information to update so I didn't worry too much about it.

This week (November 11) I received a letter from my insurance company stating that I no longer held insurance on my Xterra and that the MVA can suspend my registration and/or license because of it. I contacted the MVA on November 14 to inquire whether or not my CX-5 is showing registered to me...

Spoiler alert, it isn't.

They are still showing I have the XTerra. When I explained my situation I was told that the MVA could've returned my registration paperwork to Carvana due to missing information but they wouldn't have that documented so they suggested I contact Carvana. SO I contact Carvana and they tell me there is nothing on their end and the MVA probably screwed up and told me to call the MVA...again. So I did and man am I glad I did. I spoke with a titling specialist who indicated that she could see Carvana began the paperwork but never completed the sale. She said it could've been due to them not submitting the right funds with the paperwork or something else. The woman I spoke with escalated the issue to another person in titling to see if they had more insight on why the title was never completed.

I received a phone call from the MVA clerk, Lorrel (God bless this woman and her investigation skills) who informed me that Carvana never completed the transaction. The sale never happened...

I got back in touch with Carvana and explained to them what the MVA was seeing. I provided the name of the MVA clerk and her phone number if they needed further guidance. Lo and behold the Carvana people voided...yes, VOIDED the transaction...So a very long story short I have a car I've been driving around for months that apparently does not belong to me and has plates on it that used to belong to my Xterra...Basically a stolen vehicle...

I was told that they were resolving the issue and resubmitting the documentation immediately and that they would overnight my registration. That was yesterday.

Today Hillary from Gaithersburg called me to give me some more bad news. Her bad news is that the MVA is saying the registration was not submitted within the allowed 90 days of purchase, thus another inspection would need to be done. Hillary assured me she would call the MVA branch manager to plead her case but that's where we are right now.

I am at my wits end with this company. I explained to Hillary that I'm basically driving a stolen vehicle and if I were to get pulled over this could be a HUGE issue to which she replied: "yea that is a problem." I explained to her that this has been a nightmare since day 1 and I wished I never bought a vehicle from them to which she replied "well, this happened because of one small mistake." ONE SMALL MISTAKE!?

This company doesn't take responsibility for ANYTHING they do. I am honestly besides myself.

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