I like to do stuff online and after having dealt with some car dealerships and their empty promises, I believed that it is a good idea to try Carvana - well, I was wrong.
I used their app to search for cars and finding one I really liked was the easiest part. Trying to order it started a whole bunch of issues.
First the app stalled several times during the ordering process, so I had to reenter the same info over and over again. But somehow - and several hours later - I came to the final step "Place Order". I clicked on it and was returned to the home page without any confirmation...
Well, the vehicle showed the "purchase pending" label, so I was just a little bit disappointed but not worried...
A few hours later, still no email and nothing on my account - and the "purchase pending" label was also gone. A customer service representative told me that there are problems with the website and app and I should try to place the order again. Well, this time I didn't use the app but the website and the experience was much smoother, but a few hick-ups remained. But I made it again to the "Place Order" button and this time there was an order status dashboard.
Because I liked to finance the car with them, I uploaded all the documents required and answered all additional questions. Everything seemed fine...
A few hours later I got a call from a lady from the underwriter's department and she wanted to clarify a few things. She was very professional and friendly and I explained my somewhat unique situation to her. I run a company here in the US which has a lot of customers in Europe which pay me in Euros, while others pay in US$. I also have another company in Germany which also generates income - in Euros, as you can guess. A third form of income is salary in US$. My income before taxes which I had stated to Carvana was an underestimation of my actual income - just to be on the safe side. She thanked me for the explanations and said that everything is fine and asked just for some additional documents which I was happy to provide.
However, the website didn't let me upload these documents because it was stuck in a verification process which I already had completed 2 times. Another call to customer service - along with an approx 10-minute wait time - another very helpful customer service rep and the problem was solved. I uploaded the documents and they didn't show up. Uploading again solved this problem...
A little while later I got another call from the underwriter's department - this time it was a guy. He explained to me that they cannot accept any documents where the currency is not in US$ - everything needs to be converted to that. I replied, that I cannot do that, because some accounts are in Euros, while others are in US$ - just to make it easier for my customers. I also explained that they can easily convert Euros to US$ using a simple 1:1 ratio - which underestimates the true value. He just replied that they are not trained to do that, that Carvana is a US company and everything has to be in US$. From there the conversation rapidly went downward. Suddenly documents already accepted by his colleague were no longer useful, he just repeated the US$ requirement over and over again, without trying to work with me...He always complained that he cannot calculate my income, while totally ignoring the fact that all US$ positions nearly summed up to the number I had given, without even taking the approx 50000 Euros additional income into account. We went around that circle multiple times - he didn't, or didn't want to, understand.
After nearly 20 minutes of useless and very unpleasant conversation, I pulled the plug and requested to cancel my order. I also expressed my deep dissatisfaction with his service in particular and how Carvana treats its customers.
I cannot recommend Carvana at all!
While they want to look modern and up-to-date, they lack a lot of things. Starting with problems with their app and website, to unprofessional and somewhat rude customer service reps, while also missing transparent processes.
In today's world many companies - like mine - work worldwide and have to accept multiple currencies. Carvana is still stuck in the middle ages - for them only US$ have a meaning and nothing else exists in their bubble, which they are not willing to leave. Sad!
They just lost another customer!
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
5 people found it helpful
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Company Response from Carvana
We appreciate you taking the time to reach out to us regarding your overall experience and providing a constructive review. We apologize that throughout your experience, there was a lot of miscommunication and unclear expectations were presented to you. We are happy to hear that you enjoyed your online search shopping for your dream car. However, providing transparency for our customers is of high importance to us and should have set clear expectations in order to set you up for success. We value you as a customer and it is imperative that we are providing clear expectations throughout your process. We know how frustrating it can be with speaking to multiple Customer Advocates and hold time, however, we apologize that your experience was less than perfect as this was never our intent. We understand the reasoning behind canceling your order, but we hope that we can regain your trust in the future. Please know that you can always reach out at (800) 333-4554 if you need anything and that we appreciate your constructive feedback to make our process better.