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Carvana experience
- Thread starter chunt
- Start date
You are on the right forum...................
How so if they have a 150 point inspection? Are the "Independent Inspectors" not doing their job? It would seem if they have an "Inspector" and a particular Inspector's cars keep ending up being repaired they would not have a job for too long. Granted-stuff happens but still......
And the inspection. If you look at the inspection link, the form is still blank. Those are usually filled out.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
I know it’s low miles, but 5-6 years old with a 5.7L for $33k is insane. Good price they paid him for it though.my brother sold them his Challenger a few weeks ago they picked it up on Sept 3, finally showed up today (that i could find)
they paid him $27k, listed for $32,990 ( which, incidentally is only $1000 less than he paid originally for the car)
2015 Dodge Challenger - Carvana
Used 2015 Dodge Challenger R/T Coupe 2D for $27,990 with 3,580 miles. - Carvanawww.carvana.com
We sold our Subaru there also. Very simple and they gave us more than any dealer was offering.
Do you have personal experience with this policy?
I research Carvana for a relative of mine and whatever reports I read online were not exactly impressive. So backed off.
I like the Carvana concept but if they could make this return policy or the insurance company that deals with the warranty work better, I will consider using them to buy the vehicle.
A 150 point inspection just means they came up with 150 things they can list on a piece of paper. If there is a no hassle warranty that covers all 150 things, then you may have some recourse. Even a "certified" preowned vehicle from a dealer falls under the same situation.
Yes, inspectors often don't do their job or miss something, or seller decides they won't fix something. Granted the odds go down quite a bit if it's a relatively young vehicle but there's still due dilligence to research what problems are common with the particular vehicle.
An inspector that finds thousands of dollars of work that a vehicle "needs" before resold, won't have a job long either. Seller does not want that extra cost, just to claim it's inspected.
Why would you as a mechanic, ever want to pay someone else $1000+ markup to look over a used car for you? It's not like a $2K beater is only going to have $200 attempted markup, they still have the same overhead whether it's a newer or older vehicle. A 7 day return policy seems great, but I would not pay hundreds of dollars for it on a lower value vehicle as long as I can test drive before purchase, or have a 3rd party look it over if you are not familiar with the particular make/model/etc.
OK-what first hand knowledge do you have of this? That Inspectors don't often do their jobs correctly?
Easy - the Carvana inspection merely verifies functionality of features (without any real guidelines), presence of vehicle equipment (e.g. floor mats), 4mm on brake pads, 5/32” on tires and any major safety issues.
Edit: a shop that is familiar with the make/model can point out worn out items that may not be safety related, oil seepage, maintenance items, etc.
OK Critic. Here's is what I'm trying to get out of this inspection thing. I assume (there is that word) that the Inspector drives the car around a few blocks. If the transmission is slipping-or their is some undefinable noise-that vehicle isn't bought by Carmax. Or it is purchased below "market value" and sent to a repair shop.
Other than stuff happens-and then there is seven day return policy (supposedly no questions asked)-I'm trying to figure out how one can get "stung" buying a car from them.
I mean lets face it-most on here are old school and this purchase process (right now) is out of the norm.
People on here also love to bash the prices at Carmax-but the truth of the matter is that their available for purchase warranty pretty much takes all the risk out of a car purchase. And there is plenty of stories on the Internet about how they fixed issues spending thousands of dollars on vehicles.
Sellers are pretty good about only selling vehicles that are safe to drive, but beyond that, your experience may vary.
Yes, that you are idealizing what is best for the buyer, not what is best for the seller. It's the seller's game if you do not pick the inspector which is normally the prudent thing to do.
Remember, if an inspector finds too much wrong, and you're not a witness to it, the seller can just get a different inspector or fudge a report. They don't want to spend one more cent than necessary to flip the vehicle.
This is not isolated to car buying, includes other areas like home inspectors. Having had recent home repair work done, I've heard this from multiple contractors.
There's all kinds of evidence of this, but most of it I find on youtube channels for car buying, or lawyer, legal advise. It may vary by state, what is put on paper as far as inspection vs warranty obligation but generally you have to prove they knew of a pre-existing condition if not something specified in the warranty. Do they warrant all 150 checklist items?
Not worth the gamble for a car much over $2K and sometimes even then, rather than taking it to your own mechanic (one very familiar with that vehicle) if you can't assess it yourself.
Traded in a Sonata to Carvana for an Escape.
It went pretty well.
Car was $12k and had three problems, ripped gear shift leather trim surround (fixed by dealer under warrranty).
Car stunk like smoke (ozone cleaned myself). Also had red dirt all over everything. Upholstery extractor took care of that.
Carvana had attempted to put the wrong battery in the car, and when they did this, it was too tall, so they didn't tie it down at all, just left the tiedown in the battery compartment.
So after the warranty expired I had a no start issue, and a nice foamy battery in the battery compartment.
$99 walmart battery went in, with proper tie down.
I would probably buy another car from them if they do another black friday $1000 cash back bonus.
It went pretty well.
Car was $12k and had three problems, ripped gear shift leather trim surround (fixed by dealer under warrranty).
Car stunk like smoke (ozone cleaned myself). Also had red dirt all over everything. Upholstery extractor took care of that.
Carvana had attempted to put the wrong battery in the car, and when they did this, it was too tall, so they didn't tie it down at all, just left the tiedown in the battery compartment.
So after the warranty expired I had a no start issue, and a nice foamy battery in the battery compartment.
$99 walmart battery went in, with proper tie down.
I would probably buy another car from them if they do another black friday $1000 cash back bonus.
Personally no, I usually go to Carmax if I buy a used vehicle.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
That’s not what I am saying I am just saying like if the dealerships were to all go out and we had to go with Carvana or something like that I would want an old car from there instead of something that’s a couple years old or new. I don’t mind paying the extra for something old because older is always more reliable and not loaded with electronics. And yes I would have to test drive it before buying or return it if I didn’t like the test drive.
OK-you are talking about a scenario where you do not have first hand experience. You don't know anybody who has used Carvana and you haven't. So I will take that for what it is worth-and everybody else should too. You are the "old school" on here that would avoid buying online anyway.
It's an interesting concept.
There's a large DriveTime "processing center" on the outskirts of Birmingham that has a Carvana office attached to it. There are no retail car sales there, only cleanup, repair, and storage. Carvana has a different entrance, but it's literally in the same building as DriveTime. I'm not sure if they are just using the space or if they are contracting cleanup/repair to DriveTime as well. It's an interesting place...their parts counter, while not open to the public, is technically an Advance Auto Parts store with its own store number. They order things they have to get OE from local dealers. Carvana has a nicer showroom downtown in a small, old dealer building from probably the 1920s.
One thing that's funny is their pictures...some come out great and could be a picture in a new car brochure, and in others there is dirt, dust, smudges and smears everywhere.
There's a large DriveTime "processing center" on the outskirts of Birmingham that has a Carvana office attached to it. There are no retail car sales there, only cleanup, repair, and storage. Carvana has a different entrance, but it's literally in the same building as DriveTime. I'm not sure if they are just using the space or if they are contracting cleanup/repair to DriveTime as well. It's an interesting place...their parts counter, while not open to the public, is technically an Advance Auto Parts store with its own store number. They order things they have to get OE from local dealers. Carvana has a nicer showroom downtown in a small, old dealer building from probably the 1920s.
One thing that's funny is their pictures...some come out great and could be a picture in a new car brochure, and in others there is dirt, dust, smudges and smears everywhere.
What a train wreck of a thread. Everybody (with one or two exceptions) saying how bad buying through Carvana WOULD BE with ZERO first hand knowledge. Not even a 2nd cousin three times removed from their great, great grand fathers side..........
