Carvana Reviews - How It Works, Warranty, Financing, Returns

They sell you junk and promise the moon, total scum, not worth your hard-earned money, go to a dealership or a private seller where you can actually see the car in person before buying.

This company needs to be sued out of business, just a bunch of trash cars that I wouldn't doubt came from the floods in Texas. Just garbage, stay far away from the cars they offer!

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

One star is even too much for Carvana. Carvana sells damaged cars that aren’t reported to which means Carvana buys that kind cars, fixes and paints them, then installs aftermarket parts on in. This is my experience with Carvana. They’ll show you a Carfax, don’t believe what they tell you. When you get the car you got 7 days for a full refund go to a certified dealership to check the car. And after 7 days no way to get your refund. My car was hit from the front and rear. They put on aftermarket bumpers and transmission.

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

The process of searching for a vehicle was easy. Everyone I have talked to on the phone with Carvana has been nice and professional. The timeline from when my loan check was received at Carvana and the vehicle was shipped was longer than I anticipated. People at Carvana gave me opposing information. One person said it wouldn’t be shipped for another two weeks, while another person said that wasn’t true.

The real problems began during the delivery process. I was a direct delivery customer; therefore they had to hire a third party to deliver it. I was under the impression I would have more updates along the delivery process. I was notified when the vehicle was picked up and a two day estimated delivery date window. On the first day of the estimated delivery date, I never heard from the driver. The driver is contracted to notify you 12-24 hours prior to delivery. I contacted Carvana and they stated he probably has not called me because it is illegal for the "truck driver" to operate his cell phone while driving. Fair enough.

On the second day of the estimated delivery date, I still had not heard from the driver by 9:00 a.m. so I called Carvana again. They stated they would reach out to the logistics team and the advocate I spoke with said she would call the driver’s dispatch herself as well. She said to expect to hear from the driver within two hours. Two hours later, I had not heard from the driver. I called Carvana again. They still had not heard from the driver, but stated they would continue to reach out to him via text, email, and call. A couple of hours later, I still had not heard from the driver or Carvana. I called Carvana again. They still had not heard from the dispatch or the driver. I gave up hope of getting the vehicle that day.

That night at about 5:30 pm I see a flatbed truck driving up my road towing two vehicles, one is my 2014 GMC Acadia. This was a dually truck towing a flatbed trailer, not a "truck driver." He cannot get to my house because there is not a spot for him to turn around. He has to unload the two vehicles in the middle of the road then drive the Acadia to my house. I NEVER heard ANY correspondence from Carvana OR the driver about his arrival. If the driver had been in contact with me, I would have met him outside my neighborhood because I knew it was going to be difficult for him to deliver to my address.

The driver was hardly friendly. He did not ask for my driver’s license, simply a signature and stated "he never wanted to return" (to my neighborhood). I offered to drive him back to his truck so he wouldn’t have to walk. When I got in the car it had an obvious old cigarette smoke odor. I asked the driver if he thought it smelled like smoke and he said "it is probably from me because I have been smoking cigarettes this whole time."

I drove the car back home and started to inspect it. The outside of the driver’s seat upholstery has obvious damage that I feel should definitely have been disclosed as an imperfection. Also, where the seatbelt meets the seat it looks like a dog chewed on it. Pictures of these imperfections prior to delivery would have been nice. But above all else, the car smells like old, musky, cigarette smoke. It is cloth upholstery. I am not a smoker. I am super disappointed about this. The fact that this belonged to a smoker should have been disclosed as well. Also, there were little damaged and broken pieces of plastic that came from the car that I found sitting in the cup holders. I have no idea where those go.

I immediately took pictures and contacted Carvana. Once again, they were polite, professional, and apologetic. I sent them the pictures and the advocate I was speaking to received the thumbs up to offer me a $100 reimbursement towards detailing to hopefully remove the odor. The repair team offered a $250 check due to the significant "wear and tear" of the driver’s seat.

I went to an auto detailing shop today and they said it would be at least $300 to have this car detailed and hopefully remove the odor. They were super unimpressed by the way the inside was cleaned and the owner of the shop even wiped cigarette ash out with his finger.

Overall, I like the 2014 GMC Acadia. I want it to work out, it is what I am looking for. However, the delivery process definitely needs improvement. Also, the vehicle should never have been sold with this odor OR I should have been notified that it CLEARLY belonged to a smoker. Additionally, the "wear and tear" of the seat should have been disclosed with the pictures of the imperfections on the website. I consider it more than everyday wear and tear. It is a huge inconvenience to have to schedule a 4-5 hour detailing to remove cigarette smoke smell. I have six days until I have to decide whether to keep it or not, but I know the process of returning it is going to be a huge headache too. I would not recommend the direct delivery to anyone. If you can go to the site and check it out, it is another story. Overall, I would not do this again.

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

I purchased a 2017 Nissan Armada from Carvana with a clean Carfax. After 6 months paint started flaking from the back bumper. Imagine my surprise when a local body tech told me it had been repaired and repainted and repainted poorly. When I contact Carvana they finally admitted they had "refurbished" the back bumper. Refurbish/Repair - same thing in my book and should have been disclosed to Carfax. Of course Carvana told me to take a hike - so $1700 later I have a repainted bumper with a lifetime warranty on the paint job - something Carvana's cheapo shop evidently didnt do. So - don't trust the Carfax on a Carvana car.

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

I found a link on my financial institution's website that was pointing to Carvana. Since I was in the market for a vehicle I clicked on it just to check on my current vehicle's trade-in value. I was surprised at the results.

I was shopping for an SUV and clicked on available vehicles. I found just what I was looking for with very low mileage and all of the accessories I was wanting.

The whole process was just too easy. All paperwork was handled online and they coordinated with my credit union.

I paid the $299 to have the vehicle transported from AZ to FL with a delivery date and time that was convenient to my schedule. The delivery guys called me and advised their en-route time, etc.

The vehicle arrived at my house on the arranged day and time. I will add that it could have used a detailed washing as there was bug splatter on the front, but a car wash took care of that.

The paperwork process took all of 30 minutes after I test drove the vehicle. A whole lot better than wasting hours and hours at a car dealership.

I would recommend dealing with Carvana. This is my only experience purchasing a vehicle online and I would do it again without any hesitation.

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

I'm a resident in Houston and I recently purchased a car through Carvana. This was my first time purchasing a car so I was very thorough with my contract and Carfax. I had it read over with my boyfriend who was co-signing with me. I sent it over to my mom to check over as well. It was a great deal, 2016 dodge challenger under 30,000 miles, no cosmetic imperfections for $20,700. The car was delivered to me at the beginning of July, and before I even got out to the car the gentleman who was dropping it off told me he had noticed some cosmetic issues. Then after doing a walkthrough, I noticed quite a bit more. I was told by the gentleman that the pictures would be submitted and to wait to hear from them about what could be done. I eventually was informed to take it to a body shop and get an estimate. That was done. Then I was told to wait for confirmation for the repairs to be approved. As the car was listed with no imperfection I was highly motivated to think they would not refuse the repairs.

While waiting for the approval I noticed the car had a coolant leak. I informed Carvana and was again told to get an estimate then submit it and wait for the approval. However, the car still had a couple of months of the manufacturer's warranty on it so I just had it repaired under that. That was 2 days without my car, and a couple of weeks pass and I was still waiting for approval for the cosmetic issues. I eventually called them and found it they had been approved I just hadn't been made aware. I was supposed to receive a text message, however, I didn't get it. I can understand technology mistakes happen sometimes though. I was finally able to take the car to the body shop on August 5th. That following Friday, August 9th, my repair advisor called me to inform me that the team had removed the bumper to get to some repair areas and noticed quite a bit of hidden damage. I had them stop repairs and contacted Carvana. Since finding the hidden damages I have spent over 5 hours on the phone with them. Multiple 24 hour approval days and found out the car had $13,000 of damage between the cosmetics and the hidden repair. $10,000 of it being hidden under the bumper and lights and grill being glued together as well as the reinforcement bar being dented in multiple areas. I asked to return the car and pick out another one of equal value, with my personal understanding that they sold me a car with extreme damages and was concerned that there are other hidden damages. They have refused to honor my original terms, now requiring a $6000 down payment and a 24 percent interest rate compared to my original 0 down and 12ish percent interest rate. When I asked why I could not have the original terms they said because they no longer offer co-signing and they would not transfer the terms to a different car, even though had the car I had originally chosen not been damaged I would have the car with those terms still.

So now my credit has been dinged twice due to the hard pull required to get my terms original and then dinged when I opened the loan, same for my boyfriend. On top of that I am without a car and unable to go somewhere else without paying extra due to my lowered credit score. Not to mention I just went through a whole buying process then the process of dealing with the repairs and now I am having to deal with trying to get the first months payment back, which can't be done until they have the car in the possession, which can't be done until the repairs are done.

I am unable to understand how they could do this to a customer who has done nothing wrong, I have been nothing but polite on the phone despite my growing frustration and I have been patient and in constant contact with them regarding everything. They sold me a car that should never have been listed, then refuse to honor the same interest and 0 down even for a car at the same price, and refuse to let my boyfriend co-sign with me when it was allowed a month ago.

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

I have placed a vehicle for sale. I follow all the instruction, they don't even respond, it's been 36 hours of the last document submitted. Where is the head office? Wish to speak with their legal team...Darn scammer...

They leave the time turn off the deal. It's called customer service and follow the procedure.

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

We received a quote to sell my parents’ van. Carvana quoted based on the license plate info. We accepted and forwarded title and lien release letter as instructed. Carvana wouldn’t accept the documents, saying we needed a new title that did not reflect a lienholder, even though the lien was released by the bank, and we had a lien release letter.

In the midst of obtaining the new title, Carvana sent another email reducing their offer by $2,500, saying they re-reviewed the vehicle history. Total bait and switch, and Carvana has no knowledge of how titles in Illinois work. We will never try Carvana again and strongly recommend no one else subject themselves to this dishonest business.

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

I guess I'm one of the 25-something percent who had a very decent experience with Carvana.

I purchased online, picked up the car 2 days later (2016 Audi A6) at one of their "towers" (in Oak Brook, IL), drove it for a week, decided it wasn't the car for me. Nothing really wrong with the car, it just wasn't my preference. I'm glad I had a whole week to decide!

I called Carvana on day 6 of my test-drive week, they scheduled a pick up time for a few days later (even though I offered to drive the car to the pickup location, they insisted they would drive to me!), and the truck was there on time with my trade-in, dropped that off and picked up the car I had originally purchased.

No questions asked, no hassle, and I just got my refund in my account 2 days later!

The week test-drive is fantastic, NO other used car dealership will let you do that. And both purchasing and returning was a breeze. The price I paid for the Audi was very competitive.

I recommend Carvana and will definitely consider them for any future used car purchases.

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

I'm writing this after a week of frustrating "customer service" trying to resolve Carvana's transferring my money for the purchase of a vehicle I rejected at pickup because the condition was not as advertised.

I'll paste a below the summary of the email I sent on a 20+ email thread with their customer advocates (6 random individuals, rather than a dedicated person). Hilariously, they went from acknowledging fault on Monday, and promising to expedite and work to get my money returned by Wednesday, to lying to me yesterday (Friday) and stating that the funds never cleared, despite the fact that my bank (USAA) confirmed that the funds cleared my account without issue over a week ago.

The take away here is that this company acts as cogs in a system. If they hit any snags, they don't know how to react - the one individual who expressed any regret over the matter (Charles) has been edged out of the matter since Monday. No one else seems to see a problem with me being out almost $28k for 2 weeks, on a vehicle I REJECTED at the test drive.

Email summary to Carvana below. (This was unsolicited by Carvana, and despite numerous emails to follow, they've addressed none of their staff's many failures in any if their replies.) As of this morning, they've told me that I shouldn't expect to have my money returned until 13 days after they took it without authorization. (And they're perfectly fine with that.)

- Vehicle selected online, due to its single imperfection identified (scratch on Driver side mirror) and condition surpassing other comparable listings for the price.

- 7/29 - Initial delivery was scheduled for 530- but I received a call at noon saying it failed inspection due to window tint in excess of allowable state limits. Your staff suggested that I take delivery anyway and find an inspector in "downtown" that might look the other way. Ultimately, the local staff passed the buck to the 800 number, who realized that that suggestion was unacceptable, and lined it up to have the front tint removed, inspected, and reschedule pickup. I specifically asked (you can check your recorded line for this) if they would be leaving a filmy residue on the windows from the removal of the tint, and was assured that they would have it professionally removed.

- 7/30 - Approximately 4:30 pm, I received a call that the tint was removed, and I could come any time to pick up my vehicle.

- 7/31 - AM, I called based on the voicemail I received, I attempted to schedule a pickup for that evening. Was informed that that would not work, and that I was already scheduled for 5:45 on Thursday. No idea why your team thought I could do 5:45 on Thursday 8/1...I couldn't. I asked to reschedule - but was informed that the only other option was at 4:45. Turns out they scheduled me for 4:15 - and never updated the website, or sent me any information to indicate the pickup time.

- 8/1 - Arrive 15 minutes late for the pickup, because I understood the scheduled time to actually be 4:45. Still had to wait 10 minutes for the associate to come out and help, at which time she proceeded to have me sign forms, despite the fact that I had not SEEN or test-driven the vehicle. I asked about this, because it was not how my first purchase worked, and she said that this just got it out of the way, and we wouldn't complete the sale until I had inspected and driven the vehicle and finish up the transaction. I reluctantly proceeded per the associate's direction. Upon completion of the forms, we got the vehicle from the machine and proceeded to inspect its condition. It was NOT as advertised online. There were approximately 12 blemishes of comparable size to the one noted on the drive window. The vehicle was in clear need of a wash (dirt/dust and bugs on the front hood/grill). All windows were rolled down, hiding the thick filmy residue of the inside of the driver and passenger windows. Most significant, however, was the evident paint repair on the rear hatch. There was an elliptical pattern of missing clear-coat on the bottom of the rear hatch, driver side, and along the top surface/spoiler, there was over-spray/sporadic clear coat. None of this had been noted in the vehicle's description online. Both my wife and I separately test drove the vehicle - taking turns, and returning between trips to the front of the office, and the other remaining on-site with our 4 children. Your staff had absolutely no reason to interpret that we had accepted delivery of the vehicle - and it was never directly expressed as such. Upon final discussion with my wife, we concluded that the vehicle was not in the advertised condition - and that while many of the blemishes were minor - should we take delivery in the condition as is, we would have reduced cause to return it citing these discrepancies but most significantly concerning were the paint repairs and the window film, which while removable, is unacceptable for Carvana to deliver a vehicle to us under the assumption that we would resolve it. I returned to the office and discussed the matter with you associate at the main desk. She agreed that we should not take delivery, and I left the file of papers with her, on her assurance that they would be shredded and the purchase would not proceed. Upon leaving, I checked online to see the status of the purchase, and it still showed pending pickup. I could not find a place to cancel the order there, so I sent an email clearly stating that I did not accept delivery, and expressing my reasons.

- At some point thereafter, Carvana processed the money transfer.

- My bank shows the draft was withdrawn from my account on Friday 8/2.

- On Monday morning, 8/5 - my wife discovered the money ($27,832.09) missing from our bank account. I immediately called the Dallas Carvana site, who directly divested themselves of any customer support role and redirected me to the 800 number, which I immediately called, and was placed on a 45-minute hold. In the meantime, I called my bank from another line and initiated a dispute of the charges, and attempted 4 chat threads on your website to reach someone who could help me. When I finally spoke to an Advocate on the phone, I was informed that a return of the vehicle would take 7-10 business days to process funds. I objected clearly stating that I never accepted the vehicle, and that you withdrew my funds without approval. I was passed on to a supervisor, Charles, who was very supportive and understanding. Expressed that the funds still showed as "pending" on your end, and that there was nothing he could do to process a refund until the funds cleared from your bank. He then proceeded, in my direction, to initiate this email thread so that I would have in writing the confirmation of the error on Carvana's part and assurances of resolution. I have maintained all communication on this matter through this thread, rather than through your phone system or chat, because quite frankly I have every reason to require my own written record of this matter.

Aside from "thanks" for reaching out, and an apology that "I am sincerely sorry that we dropped the ball and failed your expectations when it comes to working with Carvana," no one on your staff (with the exception of Charles) has attempted to resolve the matter with any sincere understanding that you have not only failed my expectations - but, as an organization, acted unethically in attempting to compel me to take delivery of a vehicle that failed to pass inspection, misrepresented the condition of the vehicle, and most significantly, TAKEN MY MONEY without completion of the sale!

Throughout this escalation of this issue - your staff (again with the exception of Charles) has treated this issue as though it was simply another vehicle return. I am repeatedly passed from one "Customer Advocate" to another - rather than providing a dedicated individual to see this through to resolution - and each of those Advocates seem to think that passing on your marketing information about how Carvana seeks to "put me in the driver seat" is somehow going to ease my concerns.

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

The buying process was easy. Car was delivered when they said it would be. Then it came time for my temp tag to expire. Still didn't have my tags. I called them and they gave me a rental car. Wonderful. I called the following week to get a status update. They said that they had been delivered. Um, no. I asked for the tracking number. Looked it up and they had sent my tags to the wrong state. Now, I have to go to the DMV and request new tags or wait three weeks with no car for them to do so. This has been the worst!

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