My Latest Carvana Experience

I wasn’t planning on buying a car; but I am facing a summer full of road trips and my old car (a 2012 Buick Enclave) has a list of issues to fix, including a malfunctioning heating/ventilation system, was introducing anxiety about if it was up to the task or not.

The next thought was just to utilize rental cars. But the rate to rent a large, comfortable vehicle for these trips would be through the roof. So from that standpoint, buying made more sense. The problem was that:

So I figured I would just take a drive out to some local dealerships to see what was out there and what my options could be. Big mistake. Anytime I tried to speak to someone, it was a high-pressure, manipulative set up. However, I got the feeling that my income was high enough to where financing would be possible. I was really annoyed at how much they focused on the monthly payment vs. the purchase price. There was almost no transparency or even honesty in regards to what these dealers told you.

I had gone to Carvana’s site just to see what vehicles are out there and what the prices were. I found that Carvana’s prices are generally fair — but also, they have a huge inventory. So you can play around with specs and mileage to get a good idea on how it effects values. I had a great experience buying my 2014 Honda Odyssey minivan through Carvana back in 2018. But they didn’t approve me for financing when I needed to buy a car in 2023. However, I also did not have a job either. So I figured I would try their pre-approval feature so that I could browse vehicles with an idea of what type of payment I would have.

The pre-approved rates beat what the in-person dealers offered. So I went ahead and pulled the trigger to start a purchase. I went through opting to not do a trade in — because similar to the first time I purchased through Carvana, the trade-in value offered was negligible. I stepped through the process fully expecting to be denied. But to my complete surprise, I was approved!

I really thought that there might be some sort of catch. But there wasn’t. No one messaged me to call to verify income or for more documentation. Nothing. I opted to go to the local car vending machine instead of delivery — since the vending machine wasn’t so far away.

This is where the first problem popped up. On the day that I was supposed to pick up my vehicle, I received a text message about 4 hours prior that there was a delay — and my pickup was rescheduled to a date that was 5 days later. On one hand, it was disappointing. But on the other, I opted for a vehicle with a 2-day delivery and I had read many reviews about delivery/pick-up delays. So I was not surprised. Also there was no issue with the sale. I held my breath the entire time waiting for them to pull the rug from under my feet. But it never happened.

My purchase price was under $25K — and that was my goal. My APR is a crappy 19.99% — but beats the terrible 20.54% I had on my old loan. I paid $290 in shipping costs and that’s all that I’ve come out of pocket for for now. I just added the car to my existing insurance policy so no immediate cost there. My pick up time was 7:30 am. I arrived at 7:20 am and I was off and driving away at 7:45 am.

In A Nutshell

If you truly dislike the pressure and stress of buying a car; especially if you need something quickly — then Carvana is a great option. And even if you have bad credit and limited money down, you can still get a good car. You just have to be realistic. I would personally opt for GAP insurance (since you will be underwater if you put no money down) and decline the warranty. Purchase something under your budget and be sure to save up for maintenance and repair costs. But yes, definitely recommended!