The overall experience was good, similar to CarMax, but a reverse process. Select a car (same), then do the paperwork (easy at both companies), test drive after the paperwork, take delivery, 7 day return policy. The car delivery was fast and easy, except when the driver scraped the front end of the car for over a a foot unloading, stating, "that's what rub strips are for." Carvana is not all unicorns and magic dust, they are a car dealer, after all.
The one noted flaw on the car online in the picture was not meaningful (no identifiable flaw in the image of the passenger front bumper) as the actual flaw was a foot lower with a paint chip on the lower center fascia. Not a surprise as it is something I noticed occasionally over several months of reviewing Carvana images (some images are identical for the same color/model, sometimes there is not flaw, etc.). The person delivering the car pointed out a "flaw" on the driver side bumper, actually some residual wax that rubbed off. She was searching for a bumper flaw in her description that did not exist.
A couple irritations....I discovered a door ding in front of the fuel filler 20 minutes after the driver left (the car moved from the truck to my garage, 30'), so I suspect it occurred in transit or at the local delivery site. So, now I have to pay for a minor dent repair.
Second thing was the car had 7 more miles than indicated, not unexpected as they do have to move the car....the thing was, when I got into the car for the test drive, the trip computer had 18 miles on it with average fuel economy for the 18 miles of 13 mpg. This means someone was really hooning the car (Veloster N with performance package). A few days later I experimented and got it down to 14 MPG, but it took really getting on it. So, hope they all had fun. Like I said, Carvana is just a car dealer with humans doing human things, not the Magic Kingdom. Set your expectations accordingly.
The delivery driver did state she ordered floor mats, as they are missing. Nice follow through...appreciate it. Hopefully they will be the floor mats specific to the car with the special "N" logos.
I did call Carvana twice, and also spoke to the driver about my mailing address...it is different from my home, as I do not receive mail or deliveries at home due to extensive business travel (months at a time). Nobody around to check for mail and deliveries, so the UPS store has been my mail and parcel delivery address for 13 years. All three contacts made notes (or confirmed notes were in the system) and stated the plates and registration would be delivered to my mail address. But the email I received from Carvana yesterday stated the plates will arrive at my home address. We'll see how that works out, since the DMV is a mess right now and I probably will not be around.
So, bottom line, the purchase experience was unique (all online for paperwork) and easy overall. The car selection for the type of cars I was interested in was quite good, been researching for months and Carvana had adequate assortments throughout, subject to pending purchases holding cars back sometimes. CarMax and local dealers ( I was open to new or very slightly used models) were a less consistent with on hand or available to ship models (especially regular dealers, Covid and all that).
The three actual humans I spoke with were all friendly and helpful, with maybe a five minute wait on hold for two calls (the third was a human calling me back the day after their customer service bot, Sebastion, only sort of answered a registration text question-nice surprise receiving the call). The delivery driver was also friendly and knowledgeable, just careless off loading the vehicle.
I would consider Carvana again, placing them on the list with CarMax (four vehicles purchased prior 7 years at three stores in two states). Both have easy and fast shopping experiences, friendly people, and depth of inventory. Neither has smoking great prices, but also not a surprise.
I would generally recommend Carvana to friends, if they are willing to pay the slightly premium pricing over what one might obtain at a regular dealership....if the dealership actually had the various models I was searching for...which in this case they often did not. I enjoy car negotiations at dealerships, and miss that at CarMax and now Carvana. But, if they have what you want, especially vehicles in high demand, jump on it.
Read More
