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

Ordered a car online at the beginning of September. I went through my bank to finance because the Carvana rate was insanely high. My car was set to be delivered on September 18th. I received an email (an email and not a call) on the night of September 16th stating that the delivery was delayed and for me to call. I had to call twice to reach someone. I was told that they could not deliver now until October 1st. I complained and asked for the delivery fee to be returned and had to be transferred to another department. I was offered $25 per day at the most.

Carvana made me take out car insurance starting September 18th (the day my car was supposed to be delivered). So now I am stuck paying a car payment and car insurance for almost a half a month on a car that I do not have. Carvana’s response? For me to call back every day and check. Dealers charge fees for a reason and that is customer service. I asked Carvana what would happen because the payoff amount on my trade-in would be different due to the delay in shipping. Carvana told me that Capital One (who was receiving the payoff amount in the contract) would have to refund me the overpayment.

Skip to the delivery date on October 1st. Car is delivered by someone who is new and the car does not have the features advertised (BACK UP CAMERA). I have to again speak to someone in management who says that what is advertised on the web and their app can be two completely different things. SERIOUSLY! So I say fine and they offer me $100 for their error in advertising and I buy a separate camera system and have it installed. Car registration was for 45 days and here it is November 15th and I still do not have my tags from October 1st. Did Carvana call me to explain the delay? No, I had to reach out and ask and they emailed me another temporary registration, but I have no idea where the actual registration and tags are in the process. Also, I called Capital One to find out when I would be receiving the refund on the overpayment based on my trade-in value changing due to Carvana's delay in shipping. Capital One explains that they only received the exact payoff amount and not the amount on the contract that I paid and signed for with Carvana. So I called Carvana who tries to explain to me the breakdown after even speaking with finance. So they speak to finance and still refuse to admit to catch that they have tried to steal $450 from me. I insist that Carvana go back and check my contract versus what they paid to Capital One and they FINALLY realize that they did not send in the contract pay off amount. Not only did they not catch this, but they did not even acknowledge THEIR complete and total error in keeping $450 in overpayment on my trade-in value.

So here I am 45 days after receiving my delayed shipment car that was not as advertised, still with no registration and waiting to find out how Carvana is going to get my money back to me ASAP that they tried to steal from me.

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

I purchased a Toyota Rav 4 and it did not have the features that were listed on the website. I ordered another Rav 4 to swap with the one I purchased and they delivered the car but it was not the color that I was expecting. It was supposed to be black but it was purple. I had contacted customer service to verify the color was black because it looked purple in the pictures. They assured me the color was black but when the car arrived it was purple. The website listed the color as black, but the day it was delivered the website was changed to say it was purple. Also, the mileage was 100 miles over what they said it was supposed to be. Now I'm stuck with the wrong color car. I could do a 3rd swap but it is a take it or leave it with no 7 days to try it out. Read the fine print. Buyer beware! Also, the shipping fee is non-refundable if you decide to reject the car. This is not made clear up-front. This company is dishonest. Stay far far away. As big of a hassle as a car dealership can be, I'd much rather deal with people face to face and have all the facts then get scammed by a company such as Carvana.

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

The only reason why anyone would use a service like this where you buy a car without seeing it, is trust. We trusted that the car would be sound. It isn’t. We bought a 3-year-old Chrysler Town and Country and on Day 8, one day after the return period, it stalled. We called and here is the direct quote from the customer service person, "Sorry for your bad luck."

We took it to the service place, at no cost to us, but they cannot find the problem. I don’t trust this car and I have no recourse.

Here’s another quote - when my husband said that we might get stuck on the side of the road they said, "We’ll be here for you!" They will pay for any fixes for the next few months, but I don’t want to travel with the car and get stuck somewhere.

Bottom line - NO TRUST - for this car or this business model. I am stuck with this car and this stress. I will never buy from Carvana again.

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

I purchased a vehicle through Carvana last year. Though I was initially satisfied with my experience, this has now changed to disappointed. I failed my inspection today due to the window tinting on my vehicle. I now have to pay more money to have the tint removed. Carvana should let customers know this ahead of time. My next vehicle will not be purchased through Carvana.

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

I was going to buy a vehicle from Carvana and after going through all of the hoops they required they decided the income I get could be verified but they didn't want to accept it because my job pays direct deposit through Cash App. Instead of saying that right when I uploaded the documents, they wasted 3 days of my time having me send pay stubs, bank statements, and verification letters then at the very end lowered my "income level" and said my down payment would be quadruple what I was quoted.

I do NOT recommend this place. AT ALL.

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

UPDATED REVIEW:

Despite the delay, the car arrived right on time on the second delivery date. The car was in great shape, clean, as advertised, and even had a full tank of gas. The delivery driver, Taylor, was very pleasant and informative.

Overall, the process was painless for me. This may not be the case for everyone, but I would recommend giving it a try.

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

What a horrid customer experience. I read all the negative reviews on Carvana, but thought I would be fine given all the great reviews on Carvana’s website. I should have known better. I’m not going to drone on and on, but basically, here’s what happened:

1. Ordered 2013 Porsche Boxster online via their website. Easy breezy! Got approved for financing through Capital One Auto.

2. Set up a delivery date and got excited!

3. At the time of delivery, I get a call from the delivery guy saying he couldn’t figure out how to get gas into the car so he can deliver it to me.

4. Carvana took the Porsche to a local car shop here in Atlanta. The car shop couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it and said there wasn’t anything wrong with it. I had to make the phone calls to Carvana for status updates.

5. Three days later, no updates from Carvana, still don’t have the car I ordered, no clue what’s going on. Was told by one of their customer service managers that they would personally see to it that I was "taken care of". Never heard back from anyone.

6. Bought a nicer Porsche Boxster from a local Atlanta Porsche dealership today at a lower price, with a two year Porsche certified unlimited mile bumper to bumper warranty, that’s in better shape with more options.

7. Took one hour to get in and out with my new Porsche using the dealer.

8. Carvana SUCKS. I’ll never give them another chance to earn my business. STAY AWAY!

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

I bought a 2019 Dodge Challenger with 30k miles two months ago. A month before I bought it the crank sensor was serviced, and in the two months I have had the vehicle, the vehicle has been in the shop for a month of it. The vehicle was repaired with after-market parts which voided the original factory warranty. The repair was not disclosed and the car has been a lemon purchase. Carvana also damages the vehicle in transport to the pick-up and refused to list damages on the Carfax when I asked and the rep told me it would be to protect the resale value. Carvana will hide the history of a vehicle to make a sale. Now I am stuck with the tow fees and unreliable transportation two months into a 72-month agreement. Do not use Carvana!

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

Sold me a car that is soon to blow up, it's not in good shape. Don't buy cars from here, they're not reliable. I have asked to help get it repaired but my warranty is soon to run out and they don't want to extend it long enough for the car to get a diagnosis.

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

I haven’t even received my car yet and am already starting to think about canceling my order. Car was supposed to be delivered tomorrow in which they gave me the same BS excuse they gave others about trucks breaking down, etc. Needless to say, I returned my lease today and now I’m without a vehicle until next week when my car is supposedly going to be delivered. Talk to their garbage "team" just to be told "oh well" in other words. Now I keep hearing about many people not receiving their registration and it’s pushing me towards canceling my order. I’m sure Carvana will respond to this review with that same basic copy and paste answer they give everyone else because they more than likely do not even read these reviews. But no matter what happens from here on out I would not recommend buying a car from them. Wait for a real company to take this idea of online car buying and make it a real business and take it seriously! I guess the only thing good about this was I only wasted about 15 mins of my time.

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

At first, everything seemed on track with them when I made my first attempt at a car purchase. Just before delivery I realized that the car listed wasn’t the one I wanted (Tesla Model 3 Long-range) but in fact, it was a Mid-range model. Now, the customer service rep was great, she helped me comb through all the listings to find the model I wanted (even had upgrades) for only $200 more (but picking a new car, pushed delivery one week). Fast forward, three days before delivery (31st of October 2019) I get a call saying they cannot make the delivery date because the car was not charged and missed the transport...it’s an electric vehicle...you mean to tell me no one checked to make sure it was charged and ready for transport? Seriously? 150-point inspection and no one looked at the battery on an electric car...Now, delivery is pushed another week, ok fine. My new issue is I travel for work and the new delivery day is one day before I leave for the weekend (4 days for work), so the 7-day money-back guarantee is now cut down to 3 before I have to decide (mind you I want to bring it to the Tesla dealer to get an inspection). So frustrating. Now I sit and wait for the delivery day once again. I will update the review after the car arrives.

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