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

Purchased a used 2013 Dodge Dart from Carvana in December of 2015. The more I look for rust the more I find it. The service manager at local dealership took pictures while it was just on the lift and emailed them to Carvana without me even asking. Under the dashboard all metal linkages in footwell are rusted, inside the TRUNK AND UNDERNEATH TRIM (I pulled it back). The rear seat brace is rusted as well as the cross bar. I noticed the first bit of rust when car was delivered and a wire was dangling out from under the dash on the clutch (it's manual). Guy says "it was like this when I picked it up". The trim under the dash is being held up by a rusty binder clip. At first a rep on the phone said they don't sell cars with rust and that it would and could be replaced. This week it seems they've changed their minds. And I'm stuck with a vehicle that has rust EVERYWHERE. So disappointed. If I test drove a car and spotted rust - NO BRAINER, plenty of cars to choose from. I would not have purchased this vehicle if I knew it was rusted from the inside out.

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

I will give you a detailed post from my personal experience with Carvana. I called Carvana about a 2013 Chevy Silverado that they had for sale. I saw on CarFax that it had came from New York. Red flag right there. The first thing I asked is if this truck had rust. They told me no over the phone and assured me they only purchase outstanding vehicles for their inventory. I saw some very minor scratches from their report also which was fine. So, the truck was supposed to be delivered to my house 3 weeks later. 2 weeks I receive a call saying they found a rust spot in the bed (red flag number 2) and said they were 'meticulously repairing it'. So, it was another week late.

Eventually, the truck arrives at my house and the first thing that catches my eye is the rust on the frame. I lift the hood and see nothing but rust on the engine. I told them to take it back and was angry that they wasted my time since the first thing I did was ask a out rust. I threatened to ream them with bad review and instead the person who dropped it off promised me they would scrounge the market to find me a replacement truck. That they would either give me a rental until they find a truck or they will pay me $50.00 a day until they find me a truck. That person lied to me and could not back up their promise.

After going through three levels of management they said they would check their inventory and get back to me. They found a more expensive truck ($5,000 more) and they only offered me a $250 discount. Their salesmen are extremely nice but this company has major issues and I would not recommend them to anyone looking for a new car.

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

Complete scam. I shopped, they ran my credit, offered me terms, I accepted, they called me and congratulated me on my purchase, confirmed my delivery time and place, instructed me to get insurance.

I signed all the contracts, started an insurance policy on the vehicle, and was eagerly awaiting delivery.

Then boom, less than 24 hours prior to delivery they called and said oh yeah, we can't do this unless you give us another 7K down payment. Mind you this is after I've already signed all the contracts and received a call from them telling me everything was good to go. They are no different than any other, "bait and switch" used car lot. Do not waste your time on these dishonest unethical people.

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

Well, I will start off with this is the second time I've bought from Carvana this year. Everyone is nice, and the cars are as described. Note: look at the Carfax and don't get one from up north if you don't want rust. But with this last purchase, I bought a Ram 1500 to pull my 23ft Carolina Skiff.

The truck is as described, but the only problem is the paperwork. It got lost or whatever, and now my temporary tags have run out as of the 20th. I had to cut my vacation short to get the boat back home before the tags ran out. I was told I would have them on the 20th. The 21st came, and there are no tags. I called again and they said I would have them on the 24th. It's the 25th, and I have no tags. I called again, and now they say the tags may be on Friday or maybe Monday. And when you talk to them it's like they are reading from a script, word for word. So that's two weekends I'm screwed from fishing.

I hate to say it, but they've lost my business. I got two kids to buy cars for this fall, so it's back to a dealer.

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

I made a purchase through Carvana after my Civic flooded from Harvey. Since 99% of dealerships flooded in my area, I didn't have much of a choice. The car delivered had minor exterior body damage that wasn't disclosed in the listing (front deep scratch, rear chipping), and the front plastic tow hook was missing.

Several months later, I noticed a foul smell. After inspecting the car, I realized the passenger side front and rear carpet was damp. I took it to a mechanic and found out the windshield had been improperly replaced and was slowly leaking. That's why it took so long to discover it. So I ended up with two flooded vehicles.

Because it was out of the warranty period, Carvana refused to help me. You're better off purchasing from a dealership because at least you'll have physical people to work with. It's really no different in terms of sales. They're great until they get your money. My car will be paid off in three years, and because of these reasons, I will not be purchasing from Carvana again.

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

I just want to give another update to be fair to Carvana. Charles Priano took responsibility for fixing this situation and offered me a check to cover one monthly payment for the three weeks I was without my car. I really appreciated the effort.

Although it was not in a timely manner, I did receive my license plates at long last and am happy being able to drive my car!

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

Got a good used vehicle for a good price. Once they got my money, the customer service started to suck. Still don't have the license plate. Worse than a traditional car dealership. Would not purchase from them again.

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

After delivery was delayed due to a part needing replacement, I got different answers when I was able to speak to a representative. They would not communicate via email, and despite three different CSRs promising to answer whether or not the repair would be covered under the manufacturer warranty, I never received a follow up call or email to answer the problem.

The website never updated the delivery date, so while the website said the car would be available three weeks ago, I just got a call saying the car is now ready to be picked up.

Still no answer on if repairs are covered, website still out of date. Canceled my order with them in disgust.

Bonus nitpick. In my account page, it shows all the credit check info at the top of your page, including income, date of birth, address, etc. Very insecure to have that in plain text, and why? What purpose is there in having that on your page? You already know all that and might not want it in plain text cached in your browser history.

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

I'm writing this after a week of frustrating "customer service" trying to resolve Carvana's transferring my money for the purchase of a vehicle I rejected at pickup because the condition was not as advertised.

I'll paste a below the summary of the email I sent on a 20+ email thread with their customer advocates (6 random individuals, rather than a dedicated person). Hilariously, they went from acknowledging fault on Monday, and promising to expedite and work to get my money returned by Wednesday, to lying to me yesterday (Friday) and stating that the funds never cleared, despite the fact that my bank (USAA) confirmed that the funds cleared my account without issue over a week ago.

The take away here is that this company acts as cogs in a system. If they hit any snags, they don't know how to react - the one individual who expressed any regret over the matter (Charles) has been edged out of the matter since Monday. No one else seems to see a problem with me being out almost $28k for 2 weeks, on a vehicle I REJECTED at the test drive.

Email summary to Carvana below. (This was unsolicited by Carvana, and despite numerous emails to follow, they've addressed none of their staff's many failures in any if their replies.) As of this morning, they've told me that I shouldn't expect to have my money returned until 13 days after they took it without authorization. (And they're perfectly fine with that.)

- Vehicle selected online, due to its single imperfection identified (scratch on Driver side mirror) and condition surpassing other comparable listings for the price.

- 7/29 - Initial delivery was scheduled for 530- but I received a call at noon saying it failed inspection due to window tint in excess of allowable state limits. Your staff suggested that I take delivery anyway and find an inspector in "downtown" that might look the other way. Ultimately, the local staff passed the buck to the 800 number, who realized that that suggestion was unacceptable, and lined it up to have the front tint removed, inspected, and reschedule pickup. I specifically asked (you can check your recorded line for this) if they would be leaving a filmy residue on the windows from the removal of the tint, and was assured that they would have it professionally removed.

- 7/30 - Approximately 4:30 pm, I received a call that the tint was removed, and I could come any time to pick up my vehicle.

- 7/31 - AM, I called based on the voicemail I received, I attempted to schedule a pickup for that evening. Was informed that that would not work, and that I was already scheduled for 5:45 on Thursday. No idea why your team thought I could do 5:45 on Thursday 8/1...I couldn't. I asked to reschedule - but was informed that the only other option was at 4:45. Turns out they scheduled me for 4:15 - and never updated the website, or sent me any information to indicate the pickup time.

- 8/1 - Arrive 15 minutes late for the pickup, because I understood the scheduled time to actually be 4:45. Still had to wait 10 minutes for the associate to come out and help, at which time she proceeded to have me sign forms, despite the fact that I had not SEEN or test-driven the vehicle. I asked about this, because it was not how my first purchase worked, and she said that this just got it out of the way, and we wouldn't complete the sale until I had inspected and driven the vehicle and finish up the transaction. I reluctantly proceeded per the associate's direction. Upon completion of the forms, we got the vehicle from the machine and proceeded to inspect its condition. It was NOT as advertised online. There were approximately 12 blemishes of comparable size to the one noted on the drive window. The vehicle was in clear need of a wash (dirt/dust and bugs on the front hood/grill). All windows were rolled down, hiding the thick filmy residue of the inside of the driver and passenger windows. Most significant, however, was the evident paint repair on the rear hatch. There was an elliptical pattern of missing clear-coat on the bottom of the rear hatch, driver side, and along the top surface/spoiler, there was over-spray/sporadic clear coat. None of this had been noted in the vehicle's description online. Both my wife and I separately test drove the vehicle - taking turns, and returning between trips to the front of the office, and the other remaining on-site with our 4 children. Your staff had absolutely no reason to interpret that we had accepted delivery of the vehicle - and it was never directly expressed as such. Upon final discussion with my wife, we concluded that the vehicle was not in the advertised condition - and that while many of the blemishes were minor - should we take delivery in the condition as is, we would have reduced cause to return it citing these discrepancies but most significantly concerning were the paint repairs and the window film, which while removable, is unacceptable for Carvana to deliver a vehicle to us under the assumption that we would resolve it. I returned to the office and discussed the matter with you associate at the main desk. She agreed that we should not take delivery, and I left the file of papers with her, on her assurance that they would be shredded and the purchase would not proceed. Upon leaving, I checked online to see the status of the purchase, and it still showed pending pickup. I could not find a place to cancel the order there, so I sent an email clearly stating that I did not accept delivery, and expressing my reasons.

- At some point thereafter, Carvana processed the money transfer.

- My bank shows the draft was withdrawn from my account on Friday 8/2.

- On Monday morning, 8/5 - my wife discovered the money ($27,832.09) missing from our bank account. I immediately called the Dallas Carvana site, who directly divested themselves of any customer support role and redirected me to the 800 number, which I immediately called, and was placed on a 45-minute hold. In the meantime, I called my bank from another line and initiated a dispute of the charges, and attempted 4 chat threads on your website to reach someone who could help me. When I finally spoke to an Advocate on the phone, I was informed that a return of the vehicle would take 7-10 business days to process funds. I objected clearly stating that I never accepted the vehicle, and that you withdrew my funds without approval. I was passed on to a supervisor, Charles, who was very supportive and understanding. Expressed that the funds still showed as "pending" on your end, and that there was nothing he could do to process a refund until the funds cleared from your bank. He then proceeded, in my direction, to initiate this email thread so that I would have in writing the confirmation of the error on Carvana's part and assurances of resolution. I have maintained all communication on this matter through this thread, rather than through your phone system or chat, because quite frankly I have every reason to require my own written record of this matter.

Aside from "thanks" for reaching out, and an apology that "I am sincerely sorry that we dropped the ball and failed your expectations when it comes to working with Carvana," no one on your staff (with the exception of Charles) has attempted to resolve the matter with any sincere understanding that you have not only failed my expectations - but, as an organization, acted unethically in attempting to compel me to take delivery of a vehicle that failed to pass inspection, misrepresented the condition of the vehicle, and most significantly, TAKEN MY MONEY without completion of the sale!

Throughout this escalation of this issue - your staff (again with the exception of Charles) has treated this issue as though it was simply another vehicle return. I am repeatedly passed from one "Customer Advocate" to another - rather than providing a dedicated individual to see this through to resolution - and each of those Advocates seem to think that passing on your marketing information about how Carvana seeks to "put me in the driver seat" is somehow going to ease my concerns.

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

I purchased a white 2014 Honda CR-V through Carvana on 11/28/16, and had an awful experience throughout the process. When I made the purchase there was an issue with my paperwork. Not one person from Carvana contacted me to correct the error.

After three-four days of no word on the purchase process, I called Carvana. Once that error was corrected, I was told it would take two weeks to receive my car. I was incredibly disappointed, as the website stated I would receive my car in 7 days.

On 12/11/16 I received a call and a series of texts from the delivery driver stating that my car would arrive on 12/12/16 at 6:00am. Around two hours after the scheduled delivery time, the truck arrived at the agreed upon location. The delivery truck had three cars, none of which were the car I purchased.

He told me that Carvana didn't give him the right car, and he didn't double check the paperwork. I then called Carvana to explain the delivery issue. I spoke with three different people to try to correct the error. I was put on hold for 20 minutes before I hung up. I called back asking to speak with someone else, and was told to call back later. Brittnee Penson, a supervisor, then called me back and told me that I “sound like [I’m] done with this” and wanted to know what it was I wanted her to do.

I have never been treated so rudely by a company. Eventually Teresa Aragon contacted me to correct the error. She asked me to give Carvana another chance by taking some of the delivery fees off of the final price. I agree, and my car is delivered two days later, which of course made me wonder why I had to wait 2 weeks the first time around. After signing for the car, the delivery driver tells me they had to jump the battery to get it onto the truck. I asked him if there was something I was supposed to do to make sure the battery wouldn't die again and he told me no, it seemed to be running fine. I agreed to meet the delivery drivers in a parking lot within a 5 minute walking distance to my house. So, I drove the car to my house, went inside to get my fiancé to show him the car, and the battery died again. We immediately called the delivery guys to come jump the car, because we do not have jumper cables. He says he is about 10 minutes down the road, that it's not his problem our car won't start, and that he will not turn around to jump the car.

I then called Carvana back to explain the situation and they offered to pay for a replacement battery and to tow my car to get the replacement battery installed. The car was dirty inside and out, even though I was promised they would go over the car with a fine tooth comb. I would absolutely never recommend this company to anyone. A word of advice, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

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

I regret my decision to purchase a car with Caravan.

It was purchased on December 2, 2016, and I followed up on January 3, 2017, when I did not receive my plates in the mail at that point. They assured me there was a small typo in the VIN and advised me to apply for an extension at the DMV within in the next two weeks.

After a week and a half, I went to the DMV and attempted to apply for this but was told the dealer still hadn't even submitted any registration documents at all! When I called the dealer, they apologized and said they would overnight the required documents, and that they were "waiting for a check from another department." I have been told this same excuse several times now.

I was assured the registration would be delivered after Martin Luther King Day when the temporary plates expired. Sadly, when I returned to the DMV to re-apply for the extension, they told me my temporary plate belonged to a completely different car (2013 Ford)!

My temporary tag has now expired. I have requested to speak to a manager several different times with no response from any manager at this point. The employees I do talk to seem confused. I have filed two complaints with different bureaus of the state. Georgia is very particular about car registrations since they receive a proportionally large amount of revenue from this.

In summary, I am terrified to drive because I cannot legally drive the car that I purchased from Carvana. I have to walk or take public transportation to get around. It is extremely disappointing.

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