After bait-and-switch experiences at sketchy used car dealers, shopping for a car on carvana.com was looking pretty good, but along the way I hit some problems.
The problems started after I began the purchase process. I was making an all-cash purchase so I was asked to either use a 3rd party app to verify funds or by calling Carvana so Carvana would call my bank and ask my bank to verify funds. I certainly would not trust a 3rd party application with my bank credentials nor consent to provide them with access to all my accounts.
However, my bank's policy is to only speak with me after I have given my verbal password, and their policy also prohibits me from revealing my verbal password to anyone. So I tried emailing a letter from my bank stating I had sufficient funds. I tried calling my bank then using another line to call Carvana so that Carvana could request to speak with the same representative I was on the line with...I asked if I could wire the funds, which would be much more secure than a cashier's check (funds assured, federally backed), but nothing worked.
Carvana reps stated: we don't trust the PDF letter from you bank. You could have made it up, we only trust when we dial your bank, and hear them verbally confirm. I pointed out that regardless of how you verify funds, I could move the money 10 minutes later. What's the point?
The only solution was to have a cashier's check overnighted to me, at my expense. I spent hours getting this solved.
While driving the car the day after I received it, the dashboard alert came on: a tire was flat. I called Carvana and was told: call SilverRock. They said: go to a tire repair shop and have them repair or replace the tire, but tires are consumable, so it might not be covered by warranty, you'll have to try it and see. What?
So, the car is in the 7-day trial period, and I am faced with returning the car or spending hours at tire repair places (I had to go to 3) replacing a tire, perhaps at my expense. This didn't sit well with me. Surely, Carvana doesn't intend to deliver cars with flat tires, but here I am dealing with a $25,000 purchase with a flat tire. I finally went in person to the Carvana office and she offered to reimburse me for a new tire, if needed.
I got the flat fixed, but it raised the questions: Was this tire leaking before it was delivered? What other hidden problems might there be?
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