Vroom Review: How It Works, Pros and Cons

Really don’t know how to rate this dealer because the dealership itself is a good setup, the people were nice and driving four hours. The process was fairly easy, however, the car we bought was terrible. As soon as we got back home we had to take it to the manufacturer's dealership the next day. So far the water pump and thermostat and gaskets all need to be replaced and now the dealer said the horn isn’t working. They also said there could be further problems after opening up. We gave them a perfect trade and it’s marked up on their site $3800. When we addressed them they said "unfortunately we can’t tell when parts are going to break" and that they would have just done the same thing and take it to the dealer. They said they do inspections. This is a one-year-old car, I don’t know how an inspection could have missed this big problem.

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

No stars for this irresponsible company. I had to give Vroom one undeserved star so I could post.

I am 75 years old and blindly trusted Vroom because this company appeared to be endorsed by AARP. So sorry I didn't read and heed the host of terrible customer reviews about Vroom before I did business with this company. Based on promotional materials I received through AARP, I purchased a 2017 Ford Expedition with a little less than 42,000 miles for my wife, Laura Mann, from Vroom and have had most of the various multiple nightmare experiences recounted in Vroom customer reviews. It would take too much time and space to recount them here. Please read and heed the negative customer reviews for this company. They are spot on. In addition, if you need roadside assistance, as we did, be prepared to spend at least two hours on the phone back and forth between Vroom, the warranty administrator (SafeGuard Products International, LLC) and the roadside assistance provider (SafeRide Motor Club, Inc.) getting your warranty registration numbers (which Vroom failed to provide to us before the vehicle was disabled) and then arranging for a tow truck to be dispatched. You can't just call a towing company for help. You first have to file a claim and then SafeRide notifies its selected towing company while you sit on the side of the road for another two hours or so with a disabled vehicle.

If you have a warranty dispute under the Vroom 36 month/36,000 mile warranty (for which we paid an additional $1,950), don't think for a minute you will come out on top. After you have paid Vroom and receive the warranty paperwork, you will discover (if you read the fine print) that you have signed away your Constitutional rights of access to our court system and trial by jury. You are subject to an anti-consumer arbitration clause that discourages disputed claims and assures you are almost certain to spend more money paying arbitrators and arbitration expenses than you can ever hope to recover in disputed repair expenses under the warranty. In addition, the extended warranty contains a provision that exempts from coverage any mechanical breakdown, loss or damage that results from a "pre-existing condition". "Pre-existing condition" is defined as "...a condition that, within all reasonable probability, existed in or on the Covered Vehicle prior to the Agreement Purchase Date." This vague provision would enable the warranty obligor to deny almost any warranty claim and force the customer to the Hobsian choice of either paying for the repairs out of pocket or resorting to arbitration.

I expect that the "Vroom Team" will make its stock reply to this post that they are sorry for the problems and will look into correcting them. Please don't bother to feed me this response, Vroom Team. Vroom obviously has no intention of altering or correcting its irresponsible business practices.

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

Worst customer service ever experienced.

This is the fourth automobile I have purchased from the company formerly known as Texas Auto Direct (now known as Vroom). The automobile I purchased on April 2, 2019 was a beautiful 2017 Fiat 124 Spider. The purchase price was great at $18,480. I had my financing in order, so this should have been a very easy transaction.

My paperwork was completed on April 2, 2019, and I hoped to take delivery by April 8, 2019 because I would be out of town after that date. This became a problem because there is really no number to call to check on your delivery date. I wasn't pleased with the communication regarding delivery, so I called their customer service and arranged to pick the vehicle up in Stafford, Texas. This was a five-hour drive for me, but I felt better knowing I would have the car prior to my vacation and wouldn’t have to deal with the poor delivery service anymore.

It took about ten irate phone calls with their delivery team before I finally got to speak with someone in Texas that could help ensure the car was ready.

Before pick up, I was contacted by Lupe Espindola, who assured me that the Fiat would be ready on April 6th, and that I could pick it up at 9 am and simply drop off my trade. So that is what I did. This part of the transaction went well. The car was ready on time, clean, and I left my Elantra in their parking lot, as instructed.

After I got home, I realized I’d left my garage door opener in the old car, so I texted Lupe to see if he would mail it to me. He said he would. This was a lie.

The next snafu was them mailing me the title and other paperwork that I needed for registration. In Louisiana, you have only so many days to register a newly purchased vehicle. The paperwork took so long that I was assessed a late fee by the state of Louisiana.

When I DID get the paperwork, I realized that I had been charged a $499 delivery fee. After all of the hassle, I went through to go pick the car up, I was astounded that the delivery fee was charged. I e-mailed and called several times about this issue and was assured a check would be sent. This was misleading.

The check was sent a week later; however, it went to my lender, USAA. Not to me as was suggested.

Three months later…after a phone call from my old lender, Capital One, I found out that Vroom NEVER PAID OFF MY TRADE-IN. Capital One said I had two days to arrange for payment or they could report me to the credit agencies.

I called the service line that I had become so familiar with over the past three months to tell them about the situation. I demanded that they pay off my old loan immediately or redeliver my Hyundai Elantra back to me. After all, I was still technically paying for it. After about 10-20 phone calls with their "service" department, I was informed that they could not wire the money that easily.

Instead, they would have to send me a new set of paperwork via FedEx. I was assured they would call me, though, and arrange for delivery of the paperwork. Instead of calling me back like they promised, they proceeded to send the paperwork to my home address. I happened to be in California at the time, so I was pretty enraged with that. I called them back several more times to ensure that the papers were sent to the place where I was staying in California.

They did assure me that they would go ahead and pay the balance of my trade before they received the returned paperwork. This was a lie.

Before I received the final paperwork to have my trade-in paid off, I got a call from their DELIVERY DEPARTMENT. Amazingly, the sequence of events had set off some kind of automatic pick-up request for my old trade-in. A guy from Texas calls and asks me what day he can pick up my Hyundai Elantra! The Elantra had been dropped off in Texas THREE MONTHS EARLIER.

This company is the worst. Their various departments don’t communicate with each other, they don’t communicate with customers, and they aren’t honest when they make promises. I called them several times after the whole ordeal to ask for some type of compensation for this disaster of a transaction, and they did nothing. Had they reached out to me and made some type of offer for all of the time and frustration they caused, I wouldn’t leave such a negative review.

The truth is, you need to read this review and avoid the company at all costs. You might save $1000 on the price of a used car, but think about what your time and well-being are worth. You don’t want to risk it. I can only imagine how much worse it could have been if the car I received had problems. DON’T EVER BUY FROM VROOM.

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

The sales and finance portion of the deal went very smooth. I was assured someone would be in contact with me daily while my purchase was en route...CRICKETS! Finally they email me on Saturday to tell my vehicle will be delivered on Monday and they will call me each day to give a delivery window. It's now 5 pm on Monday. NO CALL. I get sent to voicemail when I call. Their delivery support is crap. Finally get my sales rep on the phone who gets delivery support on the phone who tells me the truck won't be here until tomorrow. I'm so mad I'm tempted to refuse delivery. I cancelled my flight and gave back my rental car based on their assurances. Never again!

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

Paid nearly $30k for an almost new car with navigation buttons that are stuck in the pressed position and a scratched up wheel rim. Estimate is $800-$1,600 for damage. Vroom has been unresponsive.

They have yet to help solve the problem. Will be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Working with customer specialist, Kenya Morales, but she is not of any assistance.

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

Vroom sold me a car that was supposed to be a clean CarFax car but soon after receiving it I found out the whole front half of the ar was re-painted from a previous accident. The frame was ok but the paint and clear coat have started to peel. They agreed to the lowest bid to fix the paint on the side I noticed but while at the body shop I found out about the rest of the problems lurking with the paint job, which they flatly refused to fix and at this point were not willing to return the vehicle. Do not do business with them!

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

Basically a scam but you get a car at the end. I cannot express enough how upset I am with them. Looking for a car/purchase/filling out paperwork was easy. I got callbacks quickly and everything was great. I honestly thought I had discovered something that would change the future of car purchases for me. As soon as they have your money things drop off. You are supposed to get daily updates about car location but no, not a single bit of info no matter how many times I myself have to call them. They have no idea where the shipper is. I called maybe 20 times over a 4-day period and every time they said they would get back to me I wouldn't hear from them and I shouldn't be the one to have to call. It was supposed to arrive Friday so I took the day off work to be here for it. They called me at 10 pm to let me know it would be Saturday from 12-4, then again Saturday night no car, they said Sunday. Again I am waiting and have reached out to even get a time frame for the delivery and they have no idea how do they not have contact with drivers? So that's a third day wasted with no idea about what's going on. So Memorial Day I guess I'll be waiting at my house for a 4th day without any info or update.

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

Buying a vehicle from Vroom was the worst decision and experience I have had. I purchased a 3-year-old (2016) GMC Sierra. The vehicles supposedly pass some "high standard" of inspection and "pass multiple inspections for safety, mechanical, and cosmetic issues before it is sold". When I received my truck (later than was promised in the delivery quote) the tires were completely bald. I was somewhat ok with this as tires do wear and need to be replaced, but most reputable dealers will replace tires before selling a vehicle. I took the truck in to have new tires put on (5 days after getting the truck) only to find out the struts were "pouring" hydraulic fluid, not just leaking but pouring. Also, the brakes were "shot" with 3 mm on the front pads and just under 4 mm on the rear.

I called Vroom and sent them photos of the struts and brakes to see what they would do about it and got a huge runaround. After calling and emailing multiple times daily, my "new" to me truck has now been in a repair shop for a week, is past the 7-day return period, and needs a ton of work. Before I have even received the title for the vehicle, I am having to put $4000 into repairs on a vehicle I just spent over $40K on and should have had all of these things taken care of before it was ever listed for sale or left the lot.

I agree with another reviewer the truck only came with one key. It did say in the ad one key. When I asked the sales person about it I was told they say that on all vehicles but many do have 2 keys. They would "look into it" and get back to me. Of course, no one ever got back to me and it came with only one key.

I would never buy a vehicle from Vroom again, and if you are considering it, I would suggest you think again and look elsewhere.

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

We found a car that interested us, agreed to pay the listed price (absolutely no negotiation of car price or fees whatsoever) and received a price and fee estimate. I found the fees to be somewhat excessive...their title and registration estimates included an additional $25 fee because Vroom requires 60 days to license a vehicle when any other dealership in the nation can do it in 30 days. Vroom, of course, doesn't call it a late fee, but the State of Missouri does. The fees totaled what was explained, however, a $115 fee was not itemized with all of the other charges, both in the initial estimate and the loan docs they wanted signed...just complete ineptitude.

The rep we initially were dealing with was very nice but seemed to be inexperienced, vacillating on information regarding the process and requirements. Billy informed us that we had to provide proof of insurance plus a valid driver's license, which we did submit, albeit, through numerous attempts at using a "one-time-use" secure link which failed multiple times. Vroom has NO means of emailing or faxing documents (but would allow texting them?)! When the documents were submitted successfully, we were told that the documents had to be submitted in color not black and white (it would have been helpful to know this up front)...yet ANOTHER delay in the process!

We accepted the dealer financing, submitted an application through their link provided, and were told we would hear from a rep regarding loan disposition within an hour and it took into the next day and numerous calls for updates. ANOTHER DELAY. Then, onto loan documentation...ANOTHER DELAY in getting documents timely. Once received, we immediately e-signed them. We received the original documents via FedEx the next morning and immediately processed these as well returning them to FedEx the same day along with a cashier's check for the down payment and fees.

Throughout this whole process, it just seemed like the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing at Vroom across all levels of "service" and the ball kept getting kicked down the field to a new team...far too many people involved in the process from beginning to end. Their website states that you can either pick up the car or have it delivered. They stated that the car would be delivered in 7 days but it might take as long as 14 (or more!) days which concerned us. They would, in no way, allow us to pick up the car, contrary to website information, and always had stock replies as to why. We didn't want to wait over two weeks to receive a car from Vroom when we could have walked into ANY dealership, purchased a car, obtained their financing and driven away within hours.

We have already heard from the bank through which we obtained financing from Vroom; the bank has booked the loan and they're charging us interest for a car that hasn't even left Vroom's lot yet! This is outright THEFT and seems illegal not to mention unethical! How can Vroom justify paying themselves when they haven't delivered to the customer and still have possession of the car? Assuming this is regular practice, it has the right ingredients for a major class action suit.

Who knows just when the car will arrive, but it's looking to be 2-3 weeks from the time this whole process started. They MIGHT be able to deliver a car within 7-10 days if you pay CASH. AVOID THIS COMPANY and their poor process at all cost...it's just not worth it.

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

We purchased a 2015 Lexus IS350 AWD in February 2019. Everything seemed fine, until we had to use the air conditioning. The A/C did not blow cold air. It actually blew hot air, but we didn’t realize until a month later because it was cold and rainy most of the time. We contacted Vroom about the issue and they said it would be covered by the limited warranty (6000 miles/3 months through Safeguard). However, Safeguard denied the claim because they said it was from an outside force (a rock hitting the condenser). I doubt that is true, and Vroom must have sold us a car with an existing A/C issue. Vroom also refused to cover the repair of the A/C system even though we only had the car for a month. We regret buying a car on Vroom.

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

I will never buy a car from them again. Their customer service skills lack. They take forever in doing everything except taking your money. Four weeks and still no registration. They move like turtles! I could have driven to Texas, gotten the title and went to my local DMV in a faster time then they breathe. I am so unhappy, I want the car gone.

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