Vroom Review: How It Works, Pros and Cons

1. I like the fact that purchasing doesn’t involve having to physically go to a dealership - purchased right from the comfort of my couch.

2. Vroom should provide a step by step guide as to what to expect when purchasing. Such as the documents you need once you begin speaking with a sales rep. If trading in you need specific documents/items that they will ask questions about.

3. If you aren’t financing through Vroom, they make you go through the entire process yourself for tax, tag, title, etc. Unlike Carvana where it doesn’t matter if you finance through Carvana or your own bank, they will still manage the tax, tag, title, like a regular dealership would.

4. You have to go through the entire process of purchasing although they allow you 7-day/250-mile return/exchange. I wish they would reverse the process similar to Carvana.

5. If this exact car were on Carvana’s website at the time of me purchasing, I would have chosen Carvana over Vroom.

6. I didn’t like my sales rep for several reasons, but the main one being he said he wasn’t allowed to disclose information on the work that had been done to the car to make it up to standard. But I called the next day and spoke to someone else who was more than happy to share the information.

7. Vroom needs to switch to 100% DocuSign. Had a few mistakes in my paperwork and kept having to overnight the documents which delayed the process even further.

8. The car itself is exactly what I expected, just the Vroom process needs to be worked on in some areas.

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

We had some issues during delivery and after. I was not receiving adequate support and was very frustrated...After I posted my review, I was contacted by supervision at Vroom and we are working through things. I will update again after all is settled.

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

After being on perpetual standby for 48 hours - with every 6 hours being told it will arrive in the next 6 hours - it finally arrived. It was loaded on a Car Hauler and covered in road grime - I expected this, no way around having a dirty car delivered straight off a transport. This did not bother me.

What did bother me was that once I got it home and cleaned it up there was significant damage to the paint. Several areas had "rub" marks that rubbed all the way through the paint to the bare metal. None of this damage had been disclosed in the sales description or photos.

I called Vroom and they told me to go get an estimate and take pictures. Damage estimates were about $2K in damages.

If Vroom repairs the vehicle I will keep it as I think it is a good vehicle for the price paid. If not, then I will get to experience their 7-day "love it or return it" policy.

Will update this at a later date.

As of now - I would say "maybe" buy a car from Vroom if you love what you see and have a very flexible schedule, and are very patient. If they repair the damages then I would recommend...will update as the situation develops.

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

Pros: 7 days return policy.

Cons: Just cross your fingers that the car arrives in the condition expected, otherwise you will get nowhere with customer support.

Mine came with scratches all over and it's been two weeks and they still have not resolved the issue.

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

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT PAID ADVERTISER OR AN EMPLOYEE OF THIS COMPANY.

Here’s my car buying experience through Vroom. I tried to be OBJECTIVE as much as possible so whoever reads this review and is on the fence about this particular company and or the whole online car buying territory, one can at least make an informed decision.

Buying: My initial buying experience through Vroom was smooth sailing thus far. Just like so many others, I visited a countless brick and mortar, lots of hook'n and jab’n for the best price. No such luck. I started search online and by luck found a car on the Vroom website. I have zero prior experience buying a car online. I "clicked" my way through the initial buying process. A few hours later, a Vroom rep called to explain the way ahead. Charged a $500 deposit to slap that "Sales Pending" banner on the website for a 24-hour period as you get paperwork started. Vroom sends an email with a link to electronically review/sign the Purchase Agreement. Included with this is a copy of the Carfax report. I sent a cashier's check via FedEx using the label included in their email; all this done in one day.

Delivery: Received several emails spaced out a few days apart to confirm an approximate delivery date. The date of delivery fluctuated several times but all communicated well in advance by email. This was followed up by phone calls by a Vroom rep and finally delivery driver. Car arrived early morning Saturday by a private hauler, driver did his thing, I gave it a quick "look over" to ensure it's actually the car I selected. I commenced an in-depth surface inspection of the car to confirm pre-existing cosmetic imperfections noted from Vroom's website in addition to making note of anything new...as to be expected, I did indeed find a few more minor discrepancies throughout the car; however, no deal breakers.

Behind the Scene: Purely speculating here but I imagine A LOT of stuff taking place on Vroom's side once the deal goes thru. From coordination with whoever has your car (it's probably NOT located in Texas), state of overall condition since it's most likely been sitting outside for pro-long period since website photos, prepping the car for delivery, bid and award for transpo, and perhaps a QA checkpoint by Vroom at some point before delivery (Vroom keeps the details of their inner workings under lock and key).

Concerns: One wheel had very noticeable damage near the lug nut area which was not mentioned on the website. Did not come with 60-day Temp Tags. The Interior of the car was immaculate. The exterior was surface dirty from travel on an open trailer. I do understand it's a used car and "normal wear and tear" is subjective but expected.

Date of Purchase: April 30, 2020.

Date of Delivery: May 9, 2020.

Thus far, I personally enjoyed the online car buying experience. Yes - it's new and I was nervous as hell buying something without physically touching it in addition to reading loads of "interesting reviews" from fellow consumers about their personal experience with Vroom on various other websites...definitely made it more suspenseful.

UPDATE 1 (May 11, 2020): YES, Vroom states they conduct their own inspection; however, what EXACTLY this consists of is unknown (when requested for inspection checklist, Vroom didn't share this with me). It would be "WOO" of you to error on side of caution: being that the closest bonafide Volvo shop to me is 3 hours away and would certainly exceed 250mi "grace period", I paid $125 for a local non-Volvo shop to conduct Used Car Inspection - it took 3 hours. Post inspection, no issues mechanically. The only recommendation was to replace engine oil and filter (DONE) and new tires (pending). I contacted Vroom to inquire about my options pertaining to the replacement of tires and damage to one wheel. They sent me an email requesting evidence of my concerns which I responded with pics and a copy of the dealership’s inspection checklist.

UPDATE 2 (May 13, 2020): Vroom FedEx overnighted missing TEMP TAG; turnaround time one day.

UPDATE 3 (May 15, 2020): Vroom will not be compensating for dealership recommended tire replacement. Stated the tire measurements meet their quality assurance.

UPDATE 4 (May 16, 2020): For $400, had the worst two tires replaced. The other two tires will be also replaced soon. I am not risking the welfare of my wife or kids to save a few hundred dollars.

As for damaged rim, I will fix myself using the over-the-counter product. Now that I have a better understanding of how "frugal" Vroom is ratifying post-sale discrepancies, I just assumed Vroom would declare damaged rims are "within acceptance" for normal and tear. I didn't want to taint my perception of Vroom any further; after such a flawless INITIAL car buying experience.

This whole experience isn’t perfect but it is a viable alternative.

Good luck everyone.

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

Cons: Like the title said the car got delivered absolutely filthy. And on top of all that, the windshield had a quarter-sized crack in it on the passenger side. I don't even think the car was detailed when Vroom had it. There were still stickers from the Manheim auction in Orlando inside the car too. Vroom also claims to repair and remedy scratches and dings yet I found several quite deep scratches all over my car. Just a poor experience all around. I finally had to put them on blast to get them to agree to fix my windshield. The sad part is they only offered up to a $75 credit for a detail, anyone in the car detailing business knows a solid paint correction place charges upwards of 3x that.

Pros: The whole car buying experience online was actually really good. I filled all my info out on a Saturday night and got a call to my surprise on Sunday. Mr. Mitchell Wegela that helped me over the phone described how the whole process worked and he ran my credit through lenders. He was awesome and very informative. I got approved by all the lenders that were open and he gave me options to which one I'd like to go with. The following day (Monday) I received the contract through FedEx and it was super easy to go through and sign everything. They even included an envelope with a shipping label to get it back to them.

Summary: All in all, the car buying experience through them was a breeze, much easier than going to a greasy dealership. Not so happy about the delivery condition though.

Length of Use: Less than 3 months

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

I later got a call from Customer Service after this review. They are refunding my delivery fee due to how unhappy I was with the service. I bumped them up a star from a 2 star to a 3 star.

Length of Use: Less than 3 months

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

Price was good and vehicle was in excellent shape. Buying process was fine, but they don't even begin processing the title transfer until 2 weeks post-delivery. Then, they say that can take up to 8 weeks, which is completely ridiculous. Still waiting for my title. Car did arrive with dealer plates, as promised, and was delivered earlier than promised. However, I never got advance notice of the early delivery, and was just lucky that I was home when the driver called to say he was an hour away. I give Vroom high marks on price, but low marks on customer service. Their claim that they keep you informed every step of the buying process is all hype. Their communication is downright terrible. Next time I'll use Carvana.

Length of Use: Less than 3 months

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

The buying process was smooth and easy, there was no pressure which made the experience delightful vs. dealerships. Paperwork was a flurry, not hard, and was rather fast considering it was all electronic and FedEx packages. We were delighted to receive our vehicle 7 days after the paperwork was completed, instead of waiting the entire 10-14 days. There tends to be a hard time getting someone to call back, but you just have to be persistent - I give them a bit of latitude for this due to being a nationwide dealer and I assume they take a ton of calls. Regardless, at that point, we probably would have rated this "5 stars" easily and would have recommended using VROOM to our friends and family.

However, once we received the vehicle, we noticed a large, approx. 12" gouge on the bottom driver's side of the rear bumper cover. It almost appeared to be a body line until we really looked at it. When we reported the find to inquire about a reasonable remedy, we were informed that the damage was visible in a picture so basically "sorry for you". We had screenshots of all the listing pictures, which there were no imperfection pictures listed. In fact, in the vehicle description, under imperfections, it only stated normal wear and tear. We recall our sales representative explaining that the vehicles are all run through the shop to make sure everything worked and that all cosmetic damage over 6 inches was repaired before sale. This gouge is clearly larger than 6", nor was it listed as an imperfection - and the picture it was visible in was not an "imperfection" picture, and literally could be overlooked as a body line or light glare. We were stunned that something as simple as offering to assist with the repair was worth ruining the entire experience, especially since the damage should have been fixed prior to sale (as our rep had informed us) and that the picture was not an imperfection picture. We would have been satisfied with an apology for the deceptive picture and lack of reporting the imperfection, if not at least an offer to help a little with the repair bill. That one minor miscue on the part of the customer service person took the experience from a sure-fire "5 stars" to a "3 stars" and from full-on recommendations to "be careful". I’m still flabbergasted that a company that relies on word of mouth recommendations (being that all transactions are done sight unseen) would compromise the information they put out (we fix anything larger than 6") instead of at least attempting to come to a satisfactory solution between both parties.

In all, reward is always commensurate with risk. Other than the glaring 12" gouge that was hidden by glare in a far away pic and not pointed out as an imperfection, the vehicle was otherwise in really good shape. So if you are considering Vroom, be sure to zoom in on anything that may look like damage and keep in mind there may be imperfections that aren’t pointed out with imperfection pictures - and Vroom will use the regular pics as evidence that those damages were "shown". Also, if you decide to buy, they have great communication up until the phone agreement/deal/$500 down is complete. After that, it’s emails on their time and hard to get a person on the phone. You’ve got to learn patience. Delivery was faster than promised - that was a plus! The vehicle was brought via a 3rd party "Hotshot Trucking" carrier. The driver was prompt, nice, and gave us plenty of time to look over the car. I will say, look over the car and report ANYTHING damage-wise that you weren’t aware of on the Bill of Lading and call Vroom before signing for the car - maybe they’d be more likely to agree to remedy issues that way.

If you know what type of car you want, you’re patient, and understand your vehicle may have some dings not shown, then you can find a lot more vehicle (better packages, better equipped) for a better price than at a brick and mortar dealership. We’d probably be willing to use Vroom again - we’d just be super diligent when inspecting pictures before purchase and inspecting the vehicle upon delivery.

I gave 3.5-4 stars for customer service and friendliness. Both Andrew & Mac (the 2 gentlemen we spoke with before and during the purchasing process) deserve a 5-star rating; both great! Customer Service post-purchase, maybe 2-2.5 stars - super hard to get a return call or willingness to discuss issues with vehicle/pictures.

I give 3 stars for quality of work, because the vehicle is beautiful and drives great - but that 12" gouge either shows poor quality control in the reconditioning department or a deceitful photographer for not adding an imperfection photo.

Price is 5 stars. Better equipped vehicle with similar mileage for about the same out the door price (better in some cases) as the dealerships we looked at.

Length of Use: Less than 3 months

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

First time I tried something like this for a vehicle (both selling and buying online). Worked ok...some bugs need to be worked out of their system. I would still have given them a 5-star review except for some problems with their subcontractors (pick up and delivery) and then the fact they kept my payoff money almost a full month without applying it to my existing loan which meant I had to pay another full month's payment on a vehicle I turned in. Not happy about that at all!

Length of Use: Less than 3 months

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

The experience is OK. I don’t think they really check the cars as well as they should. I found things that were wrong with the vehicle and I’ve been calling customer support but it’s so hard to get through.

Length of Use: Less than 3 months

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