I am NOT in the market for another car at this time. However, you never know, I could get hit driving to the grocery store or something and the car totaled. Mostly I'm just curious, as well as having nothing better to do at the moment.

My exsisterinlaw bought one last month. She went on carvana and ordered it. It was delivered quickly and was just as described.
I was surprised that there were no issues.

I still like to test drive a car before buying.

quote:

I still like to test drive a car before buying.

As well as inspect it myself. I'm old-fashioned that way. Sometimes people bring cars into the repair shop I work in and we give them a free "quickie" inspection looking for obvious faults. Quite a few of them look good to a casual glance but are rust buckets on the underside, have been in accidents and poorly repaired, etc.

Technically you get a 7 day test drive/inspection time period.
If you have any issues at all after 7 days they’ll take it back no charge.

I have seen 2 or 3 of their delivery mobiles in the neighborhood.

I live right next to one of their vending machine things. They are constantly switching out the cars in it and the lot guys always seem to be doing delivery details. Somebody’s buying them. When I first moved here I thought “what the hell is that” and googled the company, they seem to have a good reputation around here.

My big kid got one from them.
Easy peasy
He got a week test period where he could turn it in and back out of the deal. They even delivered it to him.

I worked with someone who did. They were satisfied with the process.

my perception - and limited research - is they sell mostly higher end models

not necessarily Ferraris and Porsches - but the nicer end of Toyota, Lexus, Infiniti, BMW etc

So they appear to be pretty selective

Plus the return policy

They seem to cater to those of us who 'know what we want'...

I have never used them but would be willing to try them out if they had what I was looking for

I will say the pictures on their website of the various cars are VERY meticulous.

Kinda a cool concept ... not having to step foot on a dealership and deal with that nonsense.

The 'Amazon fulfillment' of used car buying.

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“my perception - and limited research - is they sell mostly higher end models”

Matt got a Nissan Altima with cloth interior. Nothing fancy

How does their pricing compare?

quote:

Originally posted by Syngin1066:
I live right next to one of their vending machine things. They are constantly switching out the cars in it and the lot guys always seem to be doing delivery details. Somebody’s buying them. When I first moved here I thought “what the hell is that” and googled the company, they seem to have a good reputation around here.

Was still in McKinney when they built that. If I bought one of their cars I am definitely getting the giant coin and putting it in the vending machine.

quote:

Originally posted by deepocean:
How does their pricing compare?

Very reasonable, no hassle or dealing with salesman, then money guy then three hours of bullshit

He found what he wanted
Picked out color and year and interior
He made a payment online to seal the deal
They showed up with a flatbed and dropped it off
And a payment book

Maybe I'm just getting old, but this strikes me as the next step in the "I'm too lazy to get off my ass and do anything anymore" process. No one using Carvana is getting the best pricing they could, but I'm beginning to think no one cares about that anymore, so long as they never have to leave the couch. Next new business opportunity...a cellphone app and service where you can have someone bring you a drink from the refrig in the kitchen.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
...a cellphone app and service where you can have someone bring you a drink from the refrig in the kitchen.

Yeah, well, I might be up for that app now, as I'm approaching 60, and my youngest (of six kids) is now a junior in high school & the only one living with us full time.
But when they were all young.....Those were the days!!

Having recently (Summer 2018) gone through the search for a gently used car, I saw a lot of cars come up in Autotrader/Carfax searches and many of them were from Carfax.

They seemed higher priced than equivalent models with the same specs (make/model/year/engine/mileage/trim) than ones I saw at local dealers. I settled on a nice 2015 CPO Honda Accord V-6 EX-L w about 32k miles, just off of lease, leased from them same dealer I bought it from. It was 1.5 - 2K lower than what I was seeing on Carvana.

And even if the price was the same, I too like to test drive before buying.

Seems they charge a premium for not having to get off your butt and go look at cars where they are being sold.

Also didnt trust the buying sight unseen and then returning if I didnt like it.

We picked up our used 2017 Silverado LT from Carvana in Atlanta. 10,000 miles on odometer and it was in showroom condition. Saved thousands off buying new, saved a tremendous amount of time not having to drive all over town to used car lots and then dealing with the whole used car buying process. Nope I’m not lazy and yes I know we got a good deal on the truck. Financing was handled online as well as searching for exactly what we wanted.
We chose to go to the Carvana lot directly to pick up the truck and check it over after we searched for the ‘perfect match’ and put a hold on it. We were given the opportunity to test drive, look it over in a brightly lit bay, and with no pressure. We signed the papers (took 10 minutes since we financed online thru Carvana) and drove away happy with the 7 day return, no questions asked warranty.
Buying outright without a trade, I would do it again, no doubt.

No personal experience, but a friend of mine has had very good experiences with Carvana. One that he bought had a scratch that didn’t show up on the website pictures. They took it back to exchange, but didn’t have another of that exact trim available. Gave him a free upgrade to the next higher trim level instead. He’s a high school teacher and his wife is a stay at home mom, so they definitely aren’t buying luxury.

I still think I’d rather haggle and save a few dollars, but some folks really hate the traditional car buying circus. For them, Carvana might just be worth the slight premium.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
Maybe I'm just getting old, but this strikes me as the next step in the "I'm too lazy to get off my ass and do anything anymore" process. No one using Carvana is getting the best pricing they could, but I'm beginning to think no one cares about that anymore, so long as they never have to leave the couch. Next new business opportunity...a cellphone app and service where you can have someone bring you a drink from the refrig in the kitchen.

I don't know that I would call it lazy rather then what is my time worth. I bought a used truck last November (not from carvana) and looking back at the process the amount of time and energy i put into research and driving to different car lots and the frustration of dealing with (some of) the salesmen just to save a few bucks.

There is a price point where most people will be willing to pay more for convenience and carvana's model seems to be targeting that point.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
Maybe I'm just getting old, but this strikes me as the next step in the "I'm too lazy to get off my ass and do anything anymore" process. No one using Carvana is getting the best pricing they could, but I'm beginning to think no one cares about that anymore, so long as they never have to leave the couch. Next new business opportunity...a cellphone app and service where you can have someone bring you a drink from the refrig in the kitchen.

So... you like the dealship experience? I don’t.

They rely on the fact that because you've already bought the car and they've brought it to you, you'll feel a sense of obligation to keep it even if you're not exactly thrilled with it.

I found Carvana quite expensive when shopping for an FJ Cruiser, and I understand thus far they haven't made dime one. Carmax will be rolling out home delivery soon that will not require prior purchase as well as the ability to purchase a car and complete all paperwork on line, so that may change the game a bit for Carvana. I believe the vast majority of consumers perceive used cars as unique items rather than as a commodity, so there are some situations where it might make sense, but I don't see this concept really taking off.