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

Bought a car from Carvana, which was smooth. My temporary tag expired on June 30th and it’s August 20 and I STILL have not received my actual license plate and registration for my vehicle, which I was supposed to get BEFORE my temp tag expired, or at least a few days after. Talked to Carvana and all they could tell me is "it’s processing." For over a month it's processing?! Anyways, yeah, avoid buying a car from them if you have the option. Also, I’ve looked up online if other people have had this same issue with their registration process and yes, many people have. So it’s clearly an issue with Carvana.

Length of Use: 3–6 months

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

I've gotten a couple of text messages and emails from Carvana saying the re-scheduled delivery is on time and I should have my ID and insurance card ready for the delivery. BUT THEN...I get a call from them and guess what? The car is still in New Jersey. I am in California. The text messages and emails were obviously sent without anyone actually confirming them.

The breakdown:

Delivery attempt #1 - Carvana fail.

Delivery attempt #2 - Carvana fail.

Delivery attempt #3 - I would be an idiot to allow this to continue.

As stated previously; I wish I had never started this deal with Carvana.

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

Absolutely horrendous experience trying to get the car registered and the customer service is absolutely terrible. I've spent hours and hours on hold or waiting in their webchat. They consistently do not directly answer questions or provide solutions and then just leave the webchat. I purchased the car and had it delivered in NM but needed to register in California. When I bought the car they told me I would have to drive to California for a smog inspection when things re-open (due to COVID). When receiving the car, I was told I would also need a VIN inspection but that I could do that in NM. After attempting to do that at the local motor vehicles department, I was told I also had to do it in CA. Since I had to go for the smog test anyway, I was OK with that and planned to make the drive (10 hours each way) once the services opened. I started getting tons of emails every day from Carvana about potential fees and fines if I didn't get the registration documents. It took hours on hold and multiple web chat sessions for them to acknowledge and confirm that I could wait until the DMV was open in California.

As soon as it did reopen, I drove to California and completed the inspections. According to the website, the smog test could be scanned and uploaded and they needed the original copy of the VIN inspection mailed. I did both and I sent the VIN inspection using the prepaid envelope they sent. The VIN inspection has been lost in the mail for weeks and they have no tracking information on the label they sent. The customer service keeps blaming me for not recording the tracking number. Now I am going to have to drive back to California for another VIN inspection. But the worst part is their customer service continually provides wrong or inconsistent information, makes you wait in very long queues, and does not acknowledge your issues or complaints. I suspect it's semi-automated even once you get past the part that is openly automated because they often just repeat the same few lines even when you ask for more details or explain something further. I would strongly suggest avoiding this company!

Length of Use: Less than 3 months

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

First, I would have written this on Carvana's site but I never received an opportunity to review in an email and they would not provide one (they have a limited time to review which explains all the high ratings on their site).

I am at 45 days and no registration and temp from another state expired. I get that COVID closed some state DMVs but in my state (NH) registrations are done at town offices, you never have to go to the state DMV. My town offices have been open since the third week of June and I have registered three cars there since 92 renewals and one purchased mercifully not at Carvana. During my wait, my license on Carvana's file system expired but I had renewed it. I follow my "Dashboard" on Carvana and it says registration materials have been submitted for processing. Several days before temp registration expired I contact customer service to see the status of registrations - after 1 and 1/2 hour wait they say "your license on file expired, we can't submit registration". What, on June 15 my license on file expires and I renew it but nobody from Carvana indicates (until I contact them on July 11) that I need to submit a valid current license. They NEVER would have contacted me.

Three "advocates," 7 hours waiting, the first one apologizes and says "we should have contacted you" and promises to get back to me in a half an hour - no follow-up from her. Later another "advocate" is nice and sympathetic, promises to see about a rental and guarantees she will contact me on Wednesday when she returns to work. Today, no sympathy, no apologies, my fault because the license had expired, I explain I had a valid one l when I bought the car and it was their delay in processing and in never contacting me that was the problem. No help, "is there anything else I can help you with today" is all I get.

I have a car I can't drive 45 days after buying it and nobody will even tell me if they got the uploaded current license let alone if it will be another 45 days before I can. No help, customer service "advocates" are a joke - I will be posting the entire transcript of my conversations with the "advocates" so people can see how little help and clueless they are - basically, they (well 2 out of 3) try to be sympathetic without actually doing anything to help.

If you need a car PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not use Carvana because you will be stuck as many of the reviews on this site note. DO NOT USE REVIEWS ON CARVANA, THEY ALL WERE REQUIRED TO BE WRITTEN BEFORE REGISTRATION ISSUES DEVELOP.

Length of Use: Less than 3 months

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

First, I spent nearly 2 hours on the phone with one of Carvana's "customer advocates". Half the time I spent on hold while the "advocate" was on hold with my bank to get information I already provided in the paperwork I sent.

After that draining wait, the advocate said everything was all set and went through. He confirmed the car's delivery. However, 12 days later and it's the scheduled delivery time, but no car.

After waiting on hold for 40 minutes, the advocate told me that an "underwriter" went in and unapproved me for the vehicle. An underwriter that had nothing to do with my account or ever spoke with me. The advocate said there was no reason for the underwriter to do this and that it was an error on Carvana's part.

The car I researched, reserved, and put on my loan application, was pending for another person to buy it. The worst part is instead of Carvana reaching out and admitting to the other customer it was already reserved, they told me there was nothing they could do. Which is ridiculous because the other person hadn't even filled out the paperwork or decided yet if they actually wanted the car.

The sale could have easily been stopped by Carvana. They claimed it wasn't possible to do that in their system. This is inaccurate due to the fact that an employee literally just did it to me. So now they can't stop a sale, which isn't even confirmed yet, when some random underwriter stopped my sale that was officially approved?

I requested to speak to a manager, but it's nearly impossible. The advocate said her manager wasn't available. Which made no sense to me since the advocate kept putting me on hold because she said she needed to ask the exact same manager I wanted to speak to.

IN SHORT: if any mistake happens on their end, you'll be screwed in terms of getting any decent customer service. And if something is slightly unique or different about your paperwork, get ready to spend over an hour on the phone.

I spent almost 2 weeks excited and waiting for a car that was taken from me only a few days after I was approved. There was no reasoning, no attempt by Carvana to make it right, and I was never contacted that my car wasn't ever going to show up. I never write reviews, good or bad, but I did for the first time because that's how bad my experience with Carvana was.

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

Purchased a 2013 Passat TDI (think "Dieselgate" bargain) and loved the car. However, it turned out to have hidden rust, so I returned it within the 7 days and received a full refund, as promised. HOWEVER, from the moment my order was confirmed via email, until the day our dealings were done when the refund hit my bank account, I never received another email or text or call advising me of the status of my pickup, my subsequent return (160 miles away so need to know we are on the same page to avoid driving over there for nothing), or refund. I never knew where I stood with them. Chatting and calling got me long wait times and vague general answers not specific to my transaction. When I returned the car, I actually had to ask for a copy of the return agreement. Carvana would have sent me on my way with nothing to prove I even returned the car!

Length of Use: Less than 3 months

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

They delivered a wrecked car to me and I reported it once I realized the issue. They had me take it to a certified dealer. Then when it was ready to approve the fix on my car they denied it saying I never reported the issue in the first 7 days. I have did not have my $12K car for the first 6 weeks. Now I'm paying on a $12K car that is wrecked.

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

It took a bit, but Carvana reached out and did help me resolve my issue. There are pros and cons associated with doing business with them. Work needs to be done on the backend, the logistics of getting someone a car that meets their needs after the order is placed, but the front end is a lot better than dealing with shady car dealers. Moving my rating up 2 points to a 3.

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

Do not buy a car from them! I spent almost $40,000 on a used Porsche Boxster. I had it for less than two months, and the driver’s door jam separated from the panel. This is all under their 100-day warranty. I took it to Porsche, and it ended up needing a new door panel, and would cost $3,500 to repair. They called in the repair (to try to get it covered), and of course Carvana said that this is cosmetic, and was not covered. Absolutely useless and I am beyond disappointed. I will never buy a car from them again, and I advise you to use a dealer, that will cover and actually back up the quality of their vehicles.

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

I ordered a 2018 Chevy Silverado for my husband because I am about to be on a deployment basically bouncing around for the next few weeks dealing with the current pandemic. He needed a more reliable vehicle and we were excited to have something hassle-free for a second it out crazy lives. Instead, we received a vehicle that was significantly more beat up than in the pictures so we decided to use the swapping option. This is where things got terrible. I picked a new pickup, everything was good to go, so I thought. They changed $400 for delivery of the new vehicle, fine whatever, but on top of that they just up and canceled my delivery because of a "mistake on their end" and refuse to work with me on getting the vehicle here in the day our contract listed. I leave in two days and will have to either pay out of pocket to travel home and take leave after work hours or have to cancel all together. The Carvana Executive Resolution Specialist Lisa from Tempe, AZ was rude when she reached out and unapologetic. Very disappointed and hope no one has to deal with the added stress my family is going through due to Carvana.

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

Carvana's response reports a "rigorous 150-point inspection" but somehow checking for oil leaks isn't in there. I fully believe Carvana screwed up the drain plug and added silicone to hide a leak which ended up being the oil pan.

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