Carvana

Did Carvana stand behind the car they sold? Yes, they did. And they repaired (or are in the process of doing so, it should be done Thursday 2-18-2021) the things that were wrong with the vehicle and not did. And they repaired (or are in the process of doing so, it should be done Thursday 2-18-2021) the things that were wrong with the vehicle and not disclosed. And, there was a list. The vehicle had previously been in an undisclosed accident. I am not totally blaming Carvana for this, as if it’s not reported they don’t have a way of “officially” knowing about it…although it was obvious enough that we noticed the damage in the bay before we even took possession of the vehicle, so not sure how they missed it. We have our theories on this, and suspect that a lot of the damage we had issue with on a Audi A4 with 36,000 miles is damage that would not have been as much of an issue if it was a 100,000 mile older vehicle. The damage was essentially cosmetic, and the following were fixed (or approved for repair and are in process) on the vehicle after it made it’s way to me in the vending machine: 1. Driver side body work- both doors repaired and repainted poorly-covered as an “exception” 2. Rear Bumper- essentially hanging off and missing numerous bolts 3. Front Passenger Rim- damaged badly enough you can feel/hear as you are driving 4. Fender Liner- missing, allowing road debris to be thrown into the engine. Clearly missing when you look at the side of the vehicle in person, not clear when you look at the photos 5. Headlight- unable to be aligned due to damage of some impact, being replaced as unable to be bolted back into body of the vehicle 6. Windshield-huge pit- seems possible this was damaged in transit 7. Front bumper- completely misaligned likely due to the bad body work and damaged headlight 8. Alignment- expected after doing body work to entire driver side of vehicle, and covered So, why the 2 star rating? It’s simple. They were so busy standing behind the vehicle that they forgot to stand behind the customer. And while I have no reason to think I will be unhappy with my car, I also can’t imagine that I will ever purchase another vehicle from Carvana. Carvana seems like a really good idea, especially in a pandemic. You can “see” the vehicle you are about to purchase, and all of the major imperfections are noted on the car (or so they claim) and it’s been through a 150 point inspection (I would LOVE to see what’s on that as I can’t imagine all of this damage was missed in a 5 feet from the vehicle walkaround, much less an inspection), and you are given 7 days with it to decide if you want to keep the car. But let’s be clear on that…if the car has enough damage on it that it spends the entire 7 days in the shop, like mine has (picked her up on 2-7-2021, she went into the shop on 2-9-2021 and will be out on 2-18-2021, hopefully) Carvana has no issue with this and there is no extension of that 7 days. I asked numerous times. I was told if the repairs have been authorized, there is no extension of the 7 day time. This is a policy that needs major revision. Yes, the repairs have been authorized…but know what I have had NO time with? You guessed it…a vehicle in even close to the condition of the one I thought I was buying to try for the 7 days. Does the car fit into my lifestyle? I wouldn’t know. I haven’t had the car in fully repaired condition EVER. My experience: When the car arrived at the bay after the vending machine “show”, it was immediately obvious there was some pretty notable cosmetic damage that was NOT covered in the vehicle information OR called out on the “hotspots”. The sales associate in the showroom, Shirl assured us (as she was busily taking pictures of all of the issues we found) that Carvana would make all of this right. Did I believe her? Yes, and no. I can’t lie, I was expecting to turn all of this in to their after-sale team and get a string of “that’s normal wear and tear” responses. To their credit, this didn’t happen and all of the areas we called out as damaged and not noted were fixed with only a little hassle (I had to call the warranty company and stay on them to make sure all were approved promptly, I do not know how long it would have taken had I not done this.) Yes, they approved the repairs to the vehicle, and when it is finished, it will be in better condition than it was when it came out of the vending machine. So, I guess all in all, and for a customer situated as I am (able to work from home, familiar with the vehicle as this is my 2nd Audi A4 and married to an ASE Certified Master Technician-Advanced Level Specialist in Engine Performance who did a thorough examination of the vehicle), it’s a pretty reasonable outcome. So, why the 2 star review? Well, Carvana did what they said. They stood behind the vehicle, they fixed it, and all of the steps along the way moved fairly well considering there were numerous people in each step…but while they were busy standing behind the vehicle, they absolutely didn’t care even a little bit about MY experience. The 7 day return? Sure, it existed on this car. But, know how they say it’s to give you time to see if it fits into your life? This isn’t true if it spends all of the trial period in the shop. I tried, more than once, to get an extension of it to allow me to have a fully repaired vehicle in my possession to evaluate. Nope, as long as Silver Rock (their after sale repair company) has “approved” the repairs (even if the estimate hasn’t been approved) your vehicle 7 day guarantee counts down. Yes, I am keeping the vehicle…because it is my 2nd Audi A4 and because my husband is a mechanic and went over it with a fine tooth comb, and because it is the exact vehicle I wanted. Were all of these things not true, I would have returned the car…without ever even having it. But, even with all of the repair work that was authorized (and it was close to $4,000) and them standing behind the car, I never felt that they cared about ME as the customer. It’s not unreasonable to ask for an extension of the 7 day trial, especially when the vehicle spends that long in the body shop. My trial RAN OUT while the vehicle wasn’t even in my possession. So, Carvana…you need to do a heck of a lot better. Even though I kept the car, I won’t be a repeat customer. And, I won’t encourage others to give you a try. The vending machine experience shouldn’t be the first and last time you “wow” your customer. More

Poorly inspected vehicles! I bought a 2019 vehicle thinking it was new and in good shape, it had major under body damage! Don't recommend! thinking it was new and in good shape, it had major under body damage! Don't recommend! More

Overall best option for buying a car in 2021 since scummy dealers want to swindle you. Carvana won't swindle you but you have to call them a LOT. I ended up calling them for every step of the way even after dealers want to swindle you. Carvana won't swindle you but you have to call them a LOT. I ended up calling them for every step of the way even after they repeatedly promised to fix / follow up. Finally after multiple support calls and being on the phone for two days (more or less), everything was sorted. Apparently they were having technical issues. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt since they did listen and were polite about it. Final support call was actually pretty good and they were able to resolve all the problems. I would recommend them over any dealer any day. Again, it's 2021. No reason to go to a store to buy things anymore. More

I’m actually returning the car. Turns out that the brakes were actually not as good as Carvana stated (they were at 4mm when they should be about 10mm). It was a nice car and the process was smooth, but it s were actually not as good as Carvana stated (they were at 4mm when they should be about 10mm). It was a nice car and the process was smooth, but it seems that some of the Carvana cars have hidden fees that the company doesn’t tell you about. Only go here if you’re willing to spend an extra $1000 on the final sticker price. More