Yes, I read all the bad reviews.
However, the only reason I still applied for a car from Carvana was because they had a car on their website that I had leased previously from another company. In fact I still have the registration in my name from when I leased it. So I knew that this particular car had low miles on it and was mechanically sound. I didn't have any issues with it when I drove it.
However, according to the records I pulled on the car it had not had an oil change for almost 5000 miles. So I don't believe that they do any inspection. In addition, I believe Carvana is deceptive in that it doesn't list everything cosmetically that is wrong with the car.
On their website, It only showed a small picture of one scratch on the bumper. However, this car has many scratches on the back bumper. In addition there are scratches on the hood and in other places on the car. There is a dent in the passenger side door and the windshield has a chip in it that is very visible. Of course there are only a few pictures on Carvana's website and none of them conveniently show that information.
In addition, the car had OEM car mats and tires that were in excellent condition. Both of these have been removed completely from the car and replaced with cheap mats and cheap tires. Also, be very careful with your financing because they wanted to charge me $9000 extra for financing through them. In the end, I could have purchased two brand new cars for the price Carvana was charging me for a used car.
In addition, a lot of other cars on their website that I researched were cars from flood-prone areas. There are even reviews from people who got cars from them and took them to their mechanics only to be told the car was in a flood, so please do your research on the cars and be careful.
I do not recommend anyone to go through this company due to their deceptive business practices, and I believe it will eventually catch up with them. The fact that they do not fully inspect these cars, some of which have serious mechanical issues. They buy these cars cheap at auction, then pass them on to the consumers and then put the burden on you the consumer to get these cars inspected by mechanics and to get them fixed.
When that is what they should be doing anyway prior to offering these cars for sale. Even if you return the car during the 7-day period, they charge you a transit fee $299-$500, and this is non refundable regardless of if the car had serious mechanical issues or not. Why should you pay them for delivering a car to you with serious mechanical issues or not as described on the website?
Finally, if after reading all these horror stories online, if you still want to give your hard earned money to Carvana, please do yourself a favor and opt out of their one sided arbitration agreement that they make you sign saying that you will not sue them or participate in a class action lawsuit against them. Even Carvana knows that what they are doing will eventually catch up with them and they want to keep as many people from going after them as they can.
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
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Link to this Review
Company Response from Carvana
Michelle, we appreciate you taking the time to provide us with a thorough and candid review. Carvana is a different way to purchase a vehicle and we are constantly striving to improve our process. Each vehicle is reconditioned at one of our Inspection Facilities. During this reconditioning phase, we identify if any repairs or part replacements are warranted, as we want to ensure each vehicle is within our standards. We then photograph the vehicle, annotating the top three to five imperfections. We try to document the highest visibility imperfections that still fall within normal wear and tear of a used vehicle. Carvana prides itself on our transparency, as we are not trying to hide anything from our customers. We apologize if you felt our practices were ever dishonest, as that is certainly not our intent.
Carvana does purchase vehicles from all areas of the country. We do not purchase any vehicles that have fire, frame, or flood damage, as those are not within our standards. In addition, we do offer financing for customers. However, we also give our customer to option to pay cash, or finance through their preferred banking institution. Carvana does charge a transit fee for some vehicles based on miles traveled. In some circumstances, this fee is refundable. We also give all of our customers the option to opt out of the arbitration agreement if they do not feel comfortable. Thank you for your time, and we hope to have the opportunity to change your mind about Carvana in the future.