Vroom Review: How It Works, Pros and Cons

I was initially very excited about this vehicle and eagerly put down a $500 hold based on the online pictures and the repeated assurances from the sales person that the $500 would be added back in once the purchase was completed. The car was shipped very quickly, which is an anomaly according to the other reviews I read. The delivery driver was great about communicating with me during the transit from Texas and I was able to meet him a parking lot near my house for easy offloading. As soon as I saw the vehicle, I was not at all excited about the color as it didn't look much like the candy apple red vehicle that I saw on the website (it was more of a maroon red). The car arrived dirty but that was to be expected as it was on the back of a transport trailer and it was raining. During my initial inspection I discovered that repairs had been done at some point to the rear bumper and the repair paint job was easily detectable to someone familiar with auto body repair work. There was no mention of an accident in the Carfax report, but that doesn't mean anything either. Overall though, the exterior was not too bad.

However, upon opening the doors and observing the interior, I was both surprised and disappointed by the lack of detailing and basic cleaning that went into this car. The interior was an off white color and it showed all kinds of stains and damage that I wouldn't have expected in a four year old car at that price. The deal breaker, however, was the black rubber tape (more like tar) that surrounded the inside of the top of the drivers door. Clearly, someone was trying to minimize the road noise that was coming through the top of the drivers door (right by your left ear) with horrible looking putty tape. A test drive confirmed the noise issue and I decided let my wife be the deciding vote (it was to be her car after all). She drove the car for about 25-30 miles and could not stand the road noise coming from the window.

We decided to have the car picked up and discovered that we would not get our $500 hold money back (I can't be too mad about that because it's in the darn contract, in spite of what I was initially told). The pickup was scheduled and within a couple of days, the driver contacted me for directions and pick up date. The driver missed his initial window by about 12 hours, but he was there before noon the next day. As soon as I sent a copy of the bill of lading, Vroom began to process my check. The check arrived within a couple of days, much to my surprise.

All in all, I would have to say that, other than the huge disappointment with the car they sent me and the loss of $500 for the privilege of test-driving their vehicle, the process was as promised. I wanted to be really mad about the $500, but that was my own stupid fault for not researching the contract more thoroughly. From what I read, the nightmare of purchasing an online vehicle may have been narrowly avoided by sending it back right away. I do NOT feel comfortable trying to buy a car on-line again...I want to SEE it and drive it without having to pay someone $500 for the privilege of looking. Anyway, I cannot say anything negative about the speed of delivery, pickup, or the reimbursement process, much to my relief, but it did cost me $500 for nothing but two weeks of anxiety and disappointment.

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

Stay away from Vroom unless you don't value your time, money, and sanity.

Sales process:

The sales reps pushed submitting my financing application out a day because he wanted to see if I would change my mind about buying their "Vroom Protect" program or whatever it's called for $2500. So, already inconvenienced me in order to try to make a kickback. I asked if the car had paddle shifters because the images of the vehicle were too low res to be able to tell, nor was the feature listed. However, I knew the particular car typically came with it as an option, and just wanted to verify. He simply looked at the images and goes, "well it doesn't look like it does."

Problems with this:

1) The images are too low res to see the shifters in the first place, and sufficient information about the vehicle was lacking.

2) Could the guy not walked out to the vehicle to check? I'm about to spend $15,000+ and you can't answer a simple question about the car? If they're at a different location than the vehicles, at least have a way to contact someone who can get the answer.

Purchase process:

I was given bad information on how to send payment to them. You must send either a Cashier's Check or a Wire Transfer, both of which you must physically be at your bank for, which was an issue for me because my bank is out of state. Because of this, I asked their financial department whether I could send payment through Western Union instead. They said yes, no problem, I sent the payment, and got a call three days (give or take) later and was told that it actually wouldn't go through, even though I've already sent the money. Ended up sending Money Orders instead.

Delivery Process:

Poor explanation of how this works. Even though my vehicle arrived sooner than expected, I was in the dark for most of that time and was stressing like mad not knowing if it would be a week or two or three. The third-party who delivered the vehicle was stellar though.

Cleanliness of Vehicle:

Poor. The delivery driver immediately pointed out the scuffs, scratches, poorly touched up and un-sanded spots on the car. Okay, it's a 4-year-old car, I don't expect it to be absolutely perfect, but now I know why the photos on their website are low-resolution...THEY'RE HIDING IMPERFECTIONS.

Get inside, and what the heck? There's dirt and crumbs in every crevice, including on the seats! Not to mention the stench inside the vehicle from the previous owner...yes, I can still smell the previous owner and could give an accurate description of that person based on smell alone, I feel. That's how prominent the smell is. An hour and a half of wiping everything down with Armor All, and the vehicle actually kind of looks like new if you disregard the color wearing off the red leather driver seat. Febreeze has helped with the smell, but I'm disgusted.

Titling and Registration:

Still have yet to complete this process. You're told this will take 4-6 weeks or maybe longer. Well, I'm moving out of state in less than two weeks, so that ain't gonna work. I've called the title/registration department every single day for almost a week, leaving voicemails and callback numbers with all the information and questions stated. I've sent an email that has yet to be answered as well. I've called customer service (let me note that customer service is always very kind and helpful to the seemingly best of their abilities, however, what they're able to do for me is limited) several times who has tried contacting the title/registration department themselves with no resolution, as well as escalated the issue to their manager in hopes they may get an answer. Nada. Absolutely preposterous that these people are ghosts at such a crucial step in the process.

I will NEVER buy another car online. If for some reason I do, it won't be through Vroom.

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

We had a great experience buying a van through Vroom. Not only have we loved the van and found it in excellent condition, we've had spectacular customer service.

I misplaced the key documentation in the process of moving, creating an enormous administrative headache. The Vroom staff dutifully and uncomplainingly helped resolve my issue.

They have been Wonderful!

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

Since my husband and I don't get any time off together to physically search for cars at dealerships, I decided to give Vroom a shot. For a few days, I was on the phone with a "car specialist" and a financial tech. I sent in everything they asked for, including three income statements, and they spoke with my husband to get him on as co-signer.

A week has passed, and we've heard nothing. No emails have been answered. Neither the specialist nor the tech left callback info, so I've had to search to find a way to get in touch with either. I spoke with another specialist, who gave me the finance tech's phone number, which is, of course, out of service.

So here I sit, with no way of finding out the status of anything, no way to speak to anyone involved, and am pretty irritated with the whole thing.

I gave two stars because the specialists were at least friendly and personable.

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

I purchased my vehicle and got it five days after the 10-14 day promised delivery (I received it on the 21st calendar day, they say 10-14 business days). They called me 30 minutes before they wanted to deliver to me, 24 hours earlier than the date of delivery that they had committed to and had been communicating for five days. On the day of delivery, I had to call them to inquire where my vehicle was, two hours after the driver called to tell me he would be there in 15 minutes. Vroom customer service agent requested that I call her back and give her an update because the driver wouldn't share any information with her! No seriously, that happened? I called her out on it. She gets mad at me? Really?

It arrived covered in dirt and mud, fine. It was shipped on an open trailer, OK. However, it arrived and was empty of gas (diesel, first one I have owned and not every gas station has diesel, just an FYI.) The Audi dealer vehicle inspection revealed that it needed new engine mounts and rear shocks, a total of $2,600. The Limited 90-day/6,000 mile warranty did not cover the $1,400 rear shock replacement. Additionally, the rear-view camera was not operational, due to not being plugged in (so no additional repair cost, this make me happy). This tells me that their 150-point inspection is complete fiction.

I will lose $500 to send it back but save myself from a $1,400 repair bill, which their inspection didn't find and you can make the call on this one. I see that sending a vehicle back to them is a nightmare, but I guess I am going to have to just dive right in. My friend cautioned me about buying "the pig in the poke," and now I understand. I would definitely recommend buying from someone you can actually see the vehicle beforehand because Vroom customer service is a complete joke.

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

So I had placed my deposit prior to reading all of these reviews. But I'm glad I did. The sales team was very good, although it's almost impossible to get your original rep on the phone. They're always conveniently on the phone when you call. I requested a call back 4 times, never got a single one.

Regardless, because I'm impulsive, I sent in my contract and down payment for a 2015 Subaru STI because the numbers checked out and the contract didn't have any sketchy wordplay. I sent out the contract on Friday, October 20th.

They emailed me that they received the contract that following Monday. I got another email later on that day saying my purchase was complete and the car is now under my ownership. They will arrange transportation after the inspection of the car, and email me a future delivery date in about 7-10 days from the day of the email.

Fast forward 7 days, exactly on the next Monday, I get an email with a target delivery date.

The delivery date was scheduled to be 11/3/2018 and they updated me every date via email and phone that it was still on track. Now it is Friday and I got a call at work asking if they could deliver the car a day early on that Friday instead, between 5 and 9 PM. I said yes, and the delivery showed up at 8:55 pm on a 2-car flatbed trailer behind a truck.

The car was/is immaculate inside and out. As described. From the time I sent in the contract to the day I got the car was a complete total of 13 days. Right in their quoted timeframe.

Basically, this review is to say that Vroom needs tweaking with communication more than anything. But they are by no means a scam. I couldn't be happier with the car and the impulsive decision I made to still buy from here despite the bad reviews. I'll wait a bit before I buy another car from here, but this particular experience was fantastic.

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

The car finally arrived on 11/13/18. When it arrived, the exterior was really dirty to the point the driver marked the car as having scratches.

I cleaned up the car and it turns out there's a deep scratch and ding on the rear spoiler. I submitted the claim on 11/19/18 and still waiting for it to be resolved.

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

I give 2 stars because if you like a car, you pick it out, they see if you qualify, and they give you the terms as far as monthly payments, and how much down you have to give...

But here is the bad part: If you don't agree with those terms with that car, then you pick another car, but then they run your credit again for another car, when they have already run your credit for the first car. I mean, come on guys, you keep running my credit, messing up my credit, to see what car is suitable for me. Which means they don't pre-approve! That is not fair, especially if you're trading in your current car and you still owe on it, how do I know if I'm approved or not? I won't know until they run my credit 1000 times to see what I'm approved for...WOW! Not cool for someone who is trying to rebuild credit!

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

Paid nearly $30k for an almost new car with navigation buttons that are stuck in the pressed position and a scratched up wheel rim. Estimate is $800-$1,600 for damage. Vroom has been unresponsive.

They have yet to help solve the problem. Will be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Working with customer specialist, Kenya Morales, but she is not of any assistance.

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

Unorganized delivery, rescheduled several times. Tried to deliver vehicle outside our requested delivery window of M-F, 8 am -5 pm. Delivered car on July 4, 2019 when business was CLOSED! Car was dirty, inside and outside. There was NO FUEL in the car's fuel tank, there was damage to the driver's side door, and worst of all, they delivered the car WITHOUT the KEYLESS ENTRY FOB, which controls all the door locks, trunk and alarm systems! I'm still waiting for their response to my concerns, but all I get is lies and no resolution! DON'T BUY OR SELL WITH Vroom, they don't have their stuff together!

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

I love the car. Vroom customer service is just incredibly poor. They have maybe 5 different departments you work with through the process and none of them can communicate with each other. They cannot answer simple questions like whether the car comes with 1 or 2 keys. When I communicate by email, they rarely respond. When they do respond, it’s like they didn’t read my email at all. They have such great potential if they could just figure out how to do customer service.

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