Unbiased Review + Specifics Regarding Carvana ⯎ Is Carvana as Good as Promised?
Here is a REAL + genuine review for Carvana. This Carvana review we'll expose everything about Carvana, what you'll like about Carvana what you you may not like with respect to Carvana and a lot more.
Within this review you will learn:
Upon completion of reading the review, you'll know all you need to know to decide if Carvana is right for you.
Details About Carvana
The philosophy behind Carvana is the idea that you can make buying a car much easier, faster, more convenient without the pressures of a car salesman.
The way Carvana car buying experience works is you go to the Carvana website and browse through thousands of used cars. The Carvana car vending machine website has 9 different filters you can set to only show cars based upon things like:
- Price range.
- Number of miles the car has.
- Car make/model.
- Car body type.
- Car features.
- Fuel type the car runs on.
- Miles per gallon the car gets.
Once you have found your desired car, you purchase it either by ...
- Buy the car with cash.
- Finance the car using your own financial institution.
- Get financing from Carvana.
I, unfortunately chose to get financing through Carvana simply because it was a simpler, faster, more streamlined experience. The problem with this is Carvana uses the most lenient lending institutions for the auto financing. This means the people with good credit get a lousy lending percentage rate to compensate for those people who default on their payments and incur related expenses to Carvana.
My credit rating was 760 and I got an interest rate of 9%?? (I ended up refinancing through another lending institution and getting a rate of just 4%. The point being, get your financing through Bugs Bunny before letting Carvana handle your car loan).
The signing of the purchase agreement can be done all via online pdf document which is convenient.
You then pick a delivery date and time which is convenient for you. Generally, delivery takes about a week or so. At the date and time of your vehicle, your vehicle is delivered to you via an attractive Carvana tow truck. (This is a whole other story for me. They had a guy drive the car to my house and beat the living piss out of my car in the delivery process. How do I know this? Read the part below about the bad points about Carvana).
Carvana even takes car of registration and all the other little annoying details associated with purchasing and registering a car.
The concept sounds good in theory and feels good while you are doing it, but unfortunately, my personal experience with buying a Cadillac from Carvana was less than a stellar experience. I would probably NOT use Carvana in the future ever again.
My overall impression of Carvana is that they are cramming in way to much business than their staff can support. In other words, Carvana has way too many sales of cars relative to the number of employees to run the company.
What You Are Going to Appreciate About Carvana
Here are features on the positive side related to Carvana. These are reasons for why you should do business with Carvana.
- Carvana is a very convenient and hassle free way to buy a good quality used car.
- In the list of bad points about Carvana section below, it is indicated that when the car was delivered to me the windshield wipers were old, the oil had not been changed and the car was not as clean as it should have been. Carvana DID repay me for the cost of the oil change and new windshield wipers.
- All phone contact I had with staff was very polite and professional and Carvana does at least seem to try to make customers happy.
What's Disappointing About Carvana
Below is a listing of statements that you are NOT going to appreciate about Carvana. If this list holds beyond one or two entries, you might want to purchase from someone else.
- I was lied to about the value of my 2017 Cadillac ATS. The site price for this car, which had 17,000 miles, was $21,500 (roughly). The Carvana website claimed I purchased the car at a whopping $4,000 below Kelly Blue Book. BS! When I refinanced the car, it showed the actual value of the car was just under $20,000 which means I overpaid for my car by about $1,500.
- 2 Days before my car was suppose to be delivered, I got a call from Carvana because I was trading in a jeep that had 18,000 miles on it. This is the mileage I entered in at the Carvana website. Carvana requires you to take a photo of your dashboard so they can see the mileage. The actual mileage of my Jeep was 18,500 miles. Because of that 500 mile difference, Carvana told me my monthly payment price would be $420 instead of the promised $380. Really?? A $40 per month increase because of 500 miles difference in the Jeep mileage. More like Carvana knows as your delivery date approaches, you start to get excited and you are less likely to turn the price change down because of the disappointment of not getting your car. I fell for it. My bad but ever more so their bad!
- The person who delivered the car to me beat the living piss out of my car delivering it to me. How do I know this? When the car was delivered it had a full tank of gas. The gauge that displayed the approximate number of miles left until you have to refill was about 225 miles. As soon as I saw that I thought "this car must have a really tiny gas tank or the miles per gallon must REALLY suck." I found out the truth when the cars gas tank was on empty and needed to be refilled about a week later. When I filled up the tank the number of expected miles until the next fill up would be needed was 420 miles. This vehicle guestimate of how many miles left until your next refill is based upon how hard or how economically your drive the car. For my delivered Cadillac to only show 224 miles until the next fill up with a full tank of gas means the driver must had have the gas pedal to the floor the whole 20 mile trip to my house. He must have been doing wheelies on the way as well.
- The car was delivered about 1 1/2 to 2 hours later than promised. Not a HUGE deal, but still worth mentioning.
- Although the whole Covid virus thing was in full swing then (fall 2020) it took over 2 months after the car was delivered to me before I got the metal license plates. I had to keep contacting them every month to get updated temporary tags. I shouldn't have to call them for this. They should be calling me.
- The car was delivered in not as clean a condition as one would expect. The car was not filthy but the windows were.
- The engine oil had not been changed. There was 14% oil life left when I got the car.
- The windshield wipers were toast and desperately needed to be replaced.
Carvana Images
Here are some images related to the Carvana car purchasing website.
Carvana Website Search Used Car Filters.
![Image of Carvana Website Search Used Car Filters.]( "Image of Carvana Website Search Used Car Filters.")
Carvana Website Search Used Car Filters.
Carvana Car 2017 Cadillac Ats Purchased By Carvana Reviewer.
![Image of Carvana Car 2017 Cadillac ATS Purchased By Carvana Reviewer.]( "Image of Carvana Car 2017 Cadillac Ats Purchased By Carvana Reviewer.")
Carvana Car 2017 Cadillac ATS Purchased By Carvana Reviewer.
Carvana Alternatives
To ensure you choose the right item for you, below is a list of other items similar to Carvana. Be smart. Many reviews on Carvana are BS. The reviewer just wants to make a commission, having no concern if you get shafted. Do you have a concern about Carvana or one of the alternatives to Carvana below? Contact the people with your question. If they can be trusted, they will answer you promptly and professionally. If their desire to respond to you is questionable before the sale, think of how bad it will be after the sale.
- At the time of this review, there are no known alternatives to Carvana.
What are your Thoughts of Carvana
If you don't mind, feel free to tell your good or bad story and experiences using Carvana. Were you happy with them?
