I live in central PA so there are no Carvana sites near me. In fact, the closest is near DC, about 90 miles away. I found a 2015 Kia Forte5 SX with the turbo with every option available for that year and under 17000 miles on it on Carvana and I reserved it.. Mind you I was trading in a bottom of the line 2017 Forte with about 11,000 miles on it which didn't even have cruise control, (nor was it available in 2017 on a manual transmission model), so I was impressed that they offered me 13,000 in trade.
I was pre-approved and after sending in the required paperwork, (license, proof of employment/income and insurance), my car was locked down so no one else could get it. I found out it was a Texas car, just off manufacturer lease about 8 weeks prior and was at one of their Texas sites. All this happened within less than an hour. After I chose the site nearest to me, they scheduled a transfer for the next week, and stated they needed 3 days to prep the car for viewing after it arrived in DC and I would be contacted when it was ready to look at. Mind you I had the option of having it delivered or going to a vending machine to pick it up, and of course I picked vending machine.
On the 3rd day after arrival, (you can track the progress of your car when you buy from them, much like you track a UPS package), I got a call from them letting me know it would be ready anytime after 1 that afternoon. It was a Thursday, so I scheduled for Friday. I had my best friend go with me because I wanted his input. He has been working at one of the largest auto auction companies on the East coast for years so he was more versed in used cars than most people.
When we got there. they gave me the keys and asked I be back in 30 minutes to give them my decision. My friend and I drove it for about 20 minutes, tried it on the highway, in traffic, did some high speed traffic maneuvering, both impressed by how zippy the car was in traffic and how well it held the road in turns. It had been detailed immaculately. It looked like new, but what's more, it even smelled like new!
He told me it was in great condition, but he thought the price could be lower. Then I told him that price was inclusive of taxes, prep, tags, title, etc etc plus it came with a 7 year 100,000 mile warranty which covers a lot more than the manufacturers already excellent warranty and a 7 day 500 mile no questions asked return policy ( think of it as a 7 day test drive).. He told me if he and his wife had been looking at a smaller car, he wouldn't have hesitated to buy it.
Contrast that to when I had bought the car I traded in, from the dealer. My test drive was around the block, with the salesman in the back seat, and they lied repeatedly about the best price they could do. I know what you're thinking, new car dealer lie to sell a car? Unthinkable, outrageous, right. But everyone knows they are worse than lawyers when it comes to telling the truth. Anyway, that process lasted an entire week while they 'worked' on getting a better deal. Numerous phone calls and faxes later they finally met my target and I went to pick it up. That in itself took all day too.
Carvana closed the deal within 24 hours, but that was only because I did my shopping at around midnight when I had finally made up my mind. They on the other hand, had called me back with a firm decision at around 9:30 the next morning, so technically they only took 9 1/2 hours (although since they open at 8:00 AM ET, it was in reality only 90 minutes)
Maybe all you haters had a bad experience or maybe your're new car snobs who expect a new car experience for used car prices or maybe, you work for new car dealers and you're giving 'fake news' stories to discredit the competition, This particular site was also the one where a local favorite restaurant was given negative reviews by people who had never even been to it but just because they 'heard' it was a terrible place by competitors- what a surprise there.
I could go on and on about the negatively skewed ratings sites, but here are several things to consider: 1) How do you know if the rater has actually been there, 2) How do you know what the rater is accustomed to, 3) How do you know if the rater has personal reasons to see the rated facility fail or not,
Remember that first and foremost, value is defined as the perception of usefulness in providing a desired item or service. I have a decent job making just north of $30/hour but I'm a twice divorced sexagenarian whose previous spouses decimated any chance of ever having good scores again, and in my instance, Carvana was infinitely better than the alternative buy here pay here rip off joints people in my situation normally are presented with.. They also deliver what they say they will.
If I have any reservation at all about my purchase, it's that the stated color of 'blue' while technically accurate (as defined and listed by the manufacturer), but in person it's more gray than blue. Oh and a 200hp/ 195ft/lb torque engine makes for difficult starts in the winter
But those are most definitely NOT the fault of Carvana.
I was pre-approved and after sending in the required paperwork, (license, proof of employment/income and insurance), my car was locked down so no one else could get it. I found out it was a Texas car, just off manufacturer lease about 8 weeks prior and was at one of their Texas sites. All this happened within less than an hour. After I chose the site nearest to me, they scheduled a transfer for the next week, and stated they needed 3 days to prep the car for viewing after it arrived in DC and I would be contacted when it was ready to look at. Mind you I had the option of having it delivered or going to a vending machine to pick it up, and of course I picked vending machine.
On the 3rd day after arrival, (you can track the progress of your car when you buy from them, much like you track a UPS package), I got a call from them letting me know it would be ready anytime after 1 that afternoon. It was a Thursday, so I scheduled for Friday. I had my best friend go with me because I wanted his input. He has been working at one of the largest auto auction companies on the East coast for years so he was more versed in used cars than most people.
When we got there. they gave me the keys and asked I be back in 30 minutes to give them my decision. My friend and I drove it for about 20 minutes, tried it on the highway, in traffic, did some high speed traffic maneuvering, both impressed by how zippy the car was in traffic and how well it held the road in turns. It had been detailed immaculately. It looked like new, but what's more, it even smelled like new!
He told me it was in great condition, but he thought the price could be lower. Then I told him that price was inclusive of taxes, prep, tags, title, etc etc plus it came with a 7 year 100,000 mile warranty which covers a lot more than the manufacturers already excellent warranty and a 7 day 500 mile no questions asked return policy ( think of it as a 7 day test drive).. He told me if he and his wife had been looking at a smaller car, he wouldn't have hesitated to buy it.
Contrast that to when I had bought the car I traded in, from the dealer. My test drive was around the block, with the salesman in the back seat, and they lied repeatedly about the best price they could do. I know what you're thinking, new car dealer lie to sell a car? Unthinkable, outrageous, right. But everyone knows they are worse than lawyers when it comes to telling the truth. Anyway, that process lasted an entire week while they 'worked' on getting a better deal. Numerous phone calls and faxes later they finally met my target and I went to pick it up. That in itself took all day too.
Carvana closed the deal within 24 hours, but that was only because I did my shopping at around midnight when I had finally made up my mind. They on the other hand, had called me back with a firm decision at around 9:30 the next morning, so technically they only took 9 1/2 hours (although since they open at 8:00 AM ET, it was in reality only 90 minutes)
Maybe all you haters had a bad experience or maybe your're new car snobs who expect a new car experience for used car prices or maybe, you work for new car dealers and you're giving 'fake news' stories to discredit the competition, This particular site was also the one where a local favorite restaurant was given negative reviews by people who had never even been to it but just because they 'heard' it was a terrible place by competitors- what a surprise there.
I could go on and on about the negatively skewed ratings sites, but here are several things to consider: 1) How do you know if the rater has actually been there, 2) How do you know what the rater is accustomed to, 3) How do you know if the rater has personal reasons to see the rated facility fail or not,
Remember that first and foremost, value is defined as the perception of usefulness in providing a desired item or service. I have a decent job making just north of $30/hour but I'm a twice divorced sexagenarian whose previous spouses decimated any chance of ever having good scores again, and in my instance, Carvana was infinitely better than the alternative buy here pay here rip off joints people in my situation normally are presented with.. They also deliver what they say they will.
If I have any reservation at all about my purchase, it's that the stated color of 'blue' while technically accurate (as defined and listed by the manufacturer), but in person it's more gray than blue. Oh and a 200hp/ 195ft/lb torque engine makes for difficult starts in the winter
But those are most definitely NOT the fault of Carvana.
