Carvana Buying Experience and my advice.
Caravan Buying Experience Rating: 7 out of 10
I just bought a 2014 Lexus CT200h F-Sport with 70k miles from Carvana (non plug-in hybrid). The CT200h hybrid batteries are famous for lasting 150k–250k miles and the car itself can go 300k+ with basic maintenance and only needing head gasket cleaned. Production was stopped in 2017 and good condition CTs are becoming very rare so I jumped on this one the moment it listed.
The car arrived in less than 48 hours and was in EXCELLENT condition. It had basically brand new tires and a beautifully done custom sound system and subwoofer. Neither were mentioned in the car posting. Now for the issues:
- The roof was damaged during transport to my home. It requires $2k in body work and is going to take 10 days in the shop. It's fully covered by SilverRock/Carvana, but still... what a bitch to deal with.
- I noticed a fog light was out and put in a claim for it. SilverRock required me to get a 101-point inspection from PepBoys. During the inspection, they discovered the 12v accessory battery was the original one and completely shot. Everything else checked out great (brakes, transmission, alignment etc)
They replaced the fog light and the 12v battery on the spot. It cost me $0 and 3 hours of waiting around.
My experience made me realize Carvana doesn't check shit on these cars. How do you miss a dead fog light and a 12-year-old accessory battery?
Because of this, here is my advice to anyone buying from them: Immediately submit a claim for something minor (like a headlight or wiper blades) right after delivery.
SilverRock will force a full inspection at a partner shop to approve the claim. This forces Carvana/SilverRock to pay for your independent inspection, and the mechanics will find everything else wrong with the car. It will take up some of your time, but it won't cost you a dime. Just make sure you get this done in your first 7 days while you're fully covered.
All in all, I paid absolutely nothing extra, just wasted a lot of time. I really love the car and to be honest, it was actually in better cosmetic condition than listed (minus the roof mishap).