Vroom Review: How It Works, Pros and Cons

To start off, buying the vehicle was simple and painless. Now getting my vehicle registered is a different story. Not sure if the issue is because I purchased the vehicle out-of-state or what. Can’t reach anyone from customer service. Called twice so far and nothing. I purchased the vehicle back in June and now it’s August and my registration is expired. The funny thing is when I called last month regarding an update I was told I would receive my registration in the mail by the first week of August. I highly recommend purchasing a vehicle in-state instead of out-of-state to avoid what I’m going through.

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

At this point in time, Vroom just has not got their act together.

Buying a car sight unseen is just not a good idea. The car I received was shipped with only one key fob. Our local ford dealer charges $179.90 for a replacement. The windshield is cracked, it also looks like it was sandblasted. No jack or tire changing tools. Why would anyone remove these? No fuel in the tank? Customer service is non-existent. There is a positive side. We saved a little over $4,000.00. As compared to our local Ford dealer.

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

Had a great overall experience with Vroom. My salesperson, Tyler, was great and financing was easy. Communication, in the beginning, was top-notch, shipping was fast, and the vehicle arrived in immaculate condition; it was hard to even tell it was a used vehicle. I was disappointed that the truck came with only one key, but they fully disclose this with each vehicle so I knew ahead of time. I was unaware that my key is over $500 to duplicate, so this is a bit frustrating. I don't understand why none of their vehicles come with both keys.

My other issue was with title and registration. It took two months to get my plates as I let them handle registration, thinking I could avoid going to DMV. Still had to go to DMV for a vehicle inspection (was not told this ahead of time), so really I could have done the whole thing myself and had plates in about 3 weeks. The communication in this department was very poor and it was very hard to get a hold of anyone for status updates, which they said they would provide.

I would recommend Vroom for your vehicle purchase, just handle registration yourself.

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

So after reading the 300 negative reviews, I can honestly say I was VERY nervous about the transaction. Pages and pages of bad reviews, my experience was different and challenging, but all in all, I am very happy.

The primary issue with Vroom is they have all their sales calls going thru a call center where no one knows anything about cars. The call center was Rock Auto disguised as a Vroom. After 3 minutes with these people, I knew what the deal was. What I did was run a VIN check on the Porsche 911 cabriolet I was interested in to see where the car was located. Once I found out, I called the dealer direct from an old ad on eBay. They put me in touch with a TRUE sales guy, and we went over the car in detail. No call center BS.

I was approved for the car quickly and the finance team sent the paperwork out timely. To my surprise, the car was shipped from Texas to New Jersey in less than 5 days after all docs were signed. The car was delivered and like others have stated, was not clean and the car did have a damaged rim. I went to my local Porsche dealer and they validated the issue.

Here's where the 5 stars come into play. I called customer service and Christy Leal in the Vroom customer service department approved a new Porsche rim, almost $2000.00 that day to be replaced on the vehicle. They dealt directly with the dealer and simply kept me in the loop.

The issue with Vroom is that they are relying on a call center who merely reads from a script. This is not good. If you do a little homework on the car you see listed on their site like I did, you can avoid the call center, Rock Auto. This will alleviate 99% of the stress, and you will get a nice car at a great price.

I can proudly say I am one of the few happy people that has purchased a car from Vroom. I would definitely buy another car from them. Christy Leal is an excellent employee and she deserves the 5 starts I have given.

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

Yes, they do honor the return policy, but it is a real pain in the butt. Not worth the gamble.

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

Overall very disappointed and believe me, I didn’t want it this way.

Pros:

- VERY nice people on the phone.

- Car came with no surprises; the pics were accurate.

Cons:

- The phone salesman giveth, operations taketh away.

- You never get the same person on the phone twice.

- No one really understands the car biz, and they sound like they really don’t like to work there.

- They’ll never give a manager's name (they don’t exist apparently).

- No one is ever in charge to help with drama, and I had nothing but.

- Salesmen promised it was fully serviced, but no one could confirm or produce records. Service cost me $600.

- The delivery driver tried to drop off at Midnight.

- You must do your own Smog and VIN verification in California. I didn’t know that, so my registration took 90 days, with me reaching out multiple times for help. Very little or no response from them.

- They still owe me $160 for that - we’ll see.

- No technology on their website to track your purchase, and they never reach out during the process; just dark the whole time (not even emails in 2018?!).

This is not an online car company; I cannot see how they will still be operating by the end of the year.

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

Car buying online can NOT be this easy anywhere else. I submitted a credit app, followed up on the app on Monday 6/11/18, got approved, received contracts on Wednesday 6/13/18, returned them back at a FedEx drop-off box, Vroom received them on Thursday, 6/14/18, paid my deposit as well, Vroom rep called me on Friday 6/15/18 and said my car had been moved to the shipping department to be inspected and prepared for shipment.

On Monday, 6/18/18, I received an email saying that estimated delivery day would be 6/20/18. At this point, I'm over the top anxious and super excited for 6/20/18. On 6/20/18 evening, around 5:50 p.m., Vroom rep calls and tells me the delivery guy won't make the delivery time so it'll be 6/21/18 when he delivers.

I received my car on 6/21/18 at 6:00 p.m. at a Walmart supercenter parking lot. I signed the bill of lading and received my keys. Oh, and there must have been miscommunication between the delivery guy and Vroom, because before he handed me my keys he asked who was going to pay him, and I told him my shipping fees and all were included in my financing. So he said they are probably just going to send him a check.

Other than that everything went extremely smooth. I did not run into any problems other than the day delayed delivery. I am completely satisfied. I received my paperwork and my car all in ONE week! ONE week! It does not get any better or easier than that. The car is freaking awesome, l LOVE it! It's just like brand new on the inside and almost on the outside, with just minor scratches and paint chips. Minor normal wear and tear. I love my car!

I would highly recommend Vroom to family and friends and to anyone looking to purchase great vehicles at reasonable costs. In the future, I plan to purchase again from Vroom. Thanks Vroom!

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

I found a vehicle that seems like a great deal on an Audi A3 for my son. Everything seemed fine until I decide to buy the vehicle. Customer service is really poor even before you buy the vehicle.

I asked them to provide me Out of the Door cost and they sent me the numbers. I go ahead and put down $500 on the vehicle and they sent me the contract overnight.

The contract has a higher amount then what was conveyed to me via email attachment.

Extended Service contract - I had asked them about providing me details about the extended service contract and they told me, they cannot give any details unless I buy the car. That should have been a big RED flag. Still, I decided to get it based on knowing I can always cancel it and get a prorated refund. I never received the contract for the extended warranty. I got about 50 pages but no details of what is covered, what isn't, if it is refundable or not...you get the idea. Sketch.

Second RED flag, when I had told the associate that I can buy the car outright in cash, I was told I have to do the paperwork if that is the case. I decided to finance and asked them if there is any penalty if I paid off the loan as soon as I got the vehicle and I was told that would be the case.

The difference in the cost of what they indicated to me earlier and what they send me in the contract seems to be GAP insurance. If I am willing to pay off the car or purchase the vehicle outright - why would I pay them $859 or around that they are charging me for Govt fees and GAP insurance? That is big RED flag #3.

Red flag #4 - If you have read all the other negative reviews about their customer service, understand this. I called them first thing after opening the FedEx envelope at around noon Arizona local time and was hoping I can talk to the person with whom I have been dealing. I could not reach her, so I provided the information to someone else who said she will ask Robbie to call me back. She took all the information from me, and no one called me back.

Red flag #5 - I have not seen any company where the associate dealing with you would not provide you a direct contact number or email address. Vroom.com does not provide you an email address for a specific associated; it is a generic email address so you can never email the associate you are working with. You have no number you can reach it is a generic number for their Huston Sale Office and everyone answers. If you ask for an associate and the person does not or cannot answer it goes to voicemail but there is an error in their system so you get a message "I could hear you," and it disconnects you.

Seriously, I believe the business model is great, and at some point there will be an honest company that will make a killing in auto trading, but I doubt if Vroom.com is that vendor though.

Red Flag # (I lost complete count now) is their seven-day, 250-mile, no questions asked return policy seems fake. The contract I received has a date of 6/21/2018 for the seven-day. I received the contract from them yesterday on 6/22, I have not mailed them anything yet and have no intentions of mailing anything back to them. However, I wonder if I were to have mailed it back to them on a Friday, they would not have opened it until 6/25. Even if they had shipped me the car on the same day (highly unlikely), I would not have received the car from Houston to Phoenix, Arizona before 6/27 evening. So, I would have inspected the car on 6/28 and would have been stuck with the car because I exhausted their seven-day return policy on a $22K car.

Seriously, they could do this honestly and become successful, instead, they give you the same taste in the mouth as dealing with any other dealer. I think they did every one of us a favor, the local dealers have become a lot more responsive and are at their A-game in communication and have been providing you everything upfront and it seems better than the past.

Regardless of Vroom.com's success or failure, I am glad they helped the consumers by giving a threat to local dealers.

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

I am writing this review on behalf of my experience with the purchase of a car with Vroom. I went to the dealership on Saturday, August 4, 2018, and was literally the last couple out of the door around 8:45 pm.

I was finalizing the finance paperwork through my lender for the purchase of my 2017 BMW X3. We were unable to complete paperwork, so I was told to come back on Monday to finish and pay any remaining balance. I received a telephone call early Monday morning from Casandra, the saleswoman, asking what time was I coming into the dealership.

I arrived at the dealership at 12 pm to meet with Finance to complete the final paperwork. I was at the dealership for two hours+ and no one told me the car was not ready. It was when I arrived at the delivery desk that I found out the car was in the shop. If the car was not ready, they should have called me just like they called me to find out when I was coming in to complete paperwork. Poor service and communication, and I told the manager Mike and saleswoman that is NOT acceptable. I took the day off from work to pick this car up.

I asked Mike how do I provide feedback on my customer experience and he said that I will receive an email with information to provide customer service. I called the number, and the woman that answered the line was not a friendly person. I did not feel comfortable leaving any comments with a person that is onsite at the dealership and not receptive.

I had other things that I needed to get done and visiting the dealership more than once in one day was not in my plans. I received a call from the saleswoman telling me the car had a problem with brake light and it needed to go to the dealership. That the dealership can send it or I can take it as it. By this time I was stretched over a barrel. The car was supposed to be in make ready sent by Mike on Saturday. I asked on the phone if the car was clean, and it was one excuse after another. They said yes. But it was the opposite. We arrived at the dealership at 6:30 pm and the car was not cleaned. They made more excuses and told me that I can take the car myself to get detailed. So I would have to pay out of pocket, scan and email the receipt, and be reimbursed five days later. NOT acceptable.

Just like they called to follow-up about when I was coming in to bring my money is how they should keep customers in the loop and be upfront and transparent about the status of the car even if it is a delay. When a car changes a status or delays, it should notify people throughout the process no matter where they are in the process all the way to delivery.

For God's sake, I could have taken the car on Saturday if I have to take to the dealer because it's delivered with a problem. I have to clean it myself.

They have to figure out how to maintain quality customer service throughout the process in a high volume sales model. The process started out good and was negated with the customer service going downhill...fast!

I wasted my time, had to take the day off, gas, had to change plans. I am not happy about it at all and at no time did the manager or saleswoman accept responsibility for the service.

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

I should have read the reviews that warned about poor customer service, especially when it related to money and refunds. I had started the process of buying a car and had put down the standard hold deposit while the paperwork was mailed. In the meantime, I found a much better deal on a better car elsewhere. I contacted the "specialist" to cancel the deal, release the hold, and get the deposit refunded. Easy, right? No. After several days and no response, I contacted the specialist who assured me that everything was being processed and I should see the refund any day.

More time passes, no response, no refund. Again, I contact the specialist who once again assures me that "everything has been cleared." I am not sure why it has not posted back to your bank. I will call the paperwork team once they are in office in the next hour just to double check what I am seeing. I have never had this issue before with a refund on a hold, and rest assured we are not trying to keep it from you. Again, no further reply and no follow up from the specialist. More days pass. 14 days after I canceled the hold, I get an email saying the refund has been processed and could take another ten days. Unacceptable.

If you call customer service to inquire about the further delay, they simply say they are sorry and there's nothing they can do. I will never purchase a car from this group, and I am so glad that I did not allow them to handle more than $500 of my money. As of this writing, I still do not have the refund.

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

This dealership needs some work to be great! They need chat options online. Their contracts require an arbitration clause! They don't provide an online tracking when your auto is being delivered. They don't have a client online dashboard.

My auto had minor damage to the lower deflector. Sales person never followed up after the sale. They would not negotiate the price.

They would not provide me with any inspection results even though they say they check all these items. Too cookie cutter.

I paid for a third party inspection (highly recommended), and they found a fairly serious steering issue that took over two weeks to fix at the dealer. They blamed it on that dealer, but the dealer had the auto for six days, so it took Vroom over a week to bring the auto to service.

Oil was at 11% and 1/8 fuel tank.

One thing you have to be careful of is when you buy a particular trim it may not always have all the options that trim would typically have IF the auto was originally purchased through a rental company because they can order autos with less features. Always ask about all the features!

Ok, here is the good:

I got a good deal on the auto I purchased. I got an almost fair trade in price. I was able to email the salesperson.

Luis Williamson was my rep. All and all, he did a pretty good job. He helped to find a decent interest rate (same as my 3rd party approval). Pretty good communication.

The concept of online sales of autos and delivery, I like a lot and endorse, but Vroom has some obvious shortcomings.

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