Carvana

Looking at their listings they seem VERY overpriced relative to competition.
I've read that they sell the deal rather than the car and obviously customers have to ante up to support that fancy infrastructure.
Lots of financial bloggers take shots at the Garcia family who owns and runs it.

I'm assuming most of their stock comes out of lease returns going to auction. If that's the type of vehicle you're looking for, better to find a friend with a dealer license and hit some auctions.
 
I had a friend sell his car to Carvana. He knew he probably wasn't getting absolute top-dollar, but was glad to not have any anxiety of "how bad is the dealer screwing me on this" or relentless calls from tire-kickers on the weekend. They showed up at his house, put the car on the trailer, and handed him a check. Very straightforward.

I assume the buying experience is very similar to CarMax. Are they the absolute lowest price? No. You are getting access to a huge inventory of vehicles across their network, and the simplicity of just walking in and paying X. I bought my M3 from CarMax years ago and it was very refreshing versus what the local BMW dealers were doing.
 
Price wise you can do a lot better negotiating your own price. Especially if you email several dealerships' internet sales and have them fighting against each other.
 
Originally Posted by PowerSurge
Price wise you can do a lot better negotiating your own price. Especially if you email several dealerships' internet sales and have them fighting against each other.


This is a very good point. There are a LOT of good deals to be had right now. Even if you don't negotiate the price down at a dealership, the financing deals are almost unprecedented. 0% for 60 months is not that hard to find.
 
Originally Posted by dparm
Originally Posted by PowerSurge
Price wise you can do a lot better negotiating your own price. Especially if you email several dealerships' internet sales and have them fighting against each other.


This is a very good point. There are a LOT of good deals to be had right now. Even if you don't negotiate the price down at a dealership, the financing deals are almost unprecedented. 0% for 60 months is not that hard to find.


I think you are confusing new and used cars. Carvana is basically used cars so you don't usually see 0% on a used car, only 0% on a new car where the manufacturer can take a hit on the financing if it moves the metal. Used cars don't have a financing arm so the only way to offer a low rate is through higher prices.
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by dparm
Originally Posted by PowerSurge
Price wise you can do a lot better negotiating your own price. Especially if you email several dealerships' internet sales and have them fighting against each other.


This is a very good point. There are a LOT of good deals to be had right now. Even if you don't negotiate the price down at a dealership, the financing deals are almost unprecedented. 0% for 60 months is not that hard to find.


I think you are confusing new and used cars. Carvana is basically used cars so you don't usually see 0% on a used car, only 0% on a new car where the manufacturer can take a hit on the financing if it moves the metal. Used cars don't have a financing arm so the only way to offer a low rate is through higher prices.


Yes. The prices you see on Carvana, which are usually high, you can pay a little more and have new, many times. And then when you figure in very low or 0% percent financing, might as well buy new.
 
So-not a rhetorical question-if you "find a friend and hit some auctions", what would be a fair profit for your dealer friend's access to wholesale stock and his/her expertise distinguishing between the junk and the good cars on sale day? Put a number on how much you'll permit your "friend" to earn on say a $5000 or $10,000 vehicle.
 
Bought our Escape on Carvana during their black friday promo.

It was $1000 cash with any purchase.

I had a time bomb 99k mile Sonata to trade in and they gave me 6 grand or so for it.. More than anyone else.

The price of the escape was a little high, but if you count in the good trade, and the $1000 cash it was a good deal.

Escape came from New Mexico, checked out OK. Not serviced real well by carvana. Smoke smell and needed a few things. Had wrong battery in it, and had dirty air filters and cabin air filters.

After a little work and ozone machine I'm happy with the car.

I guess if you buy direct from Carvana without a promo and without a trade it may be a little over priced.

I think I can do a referral code if anybody is considering using them, not sure though.
 
Originally Posted by Powerglide
So-not a rhetorical question-if you "find a friend and hit some auctions", what would be a fair profit for your dealer friend's access to wholesale stock and his/her expertise distinguishing between the junk and the good cars on sale day? Put a number on how much you'll permit your "friend" to earn on say a $5000 or $10,000 vehicle.


If the auction is in our same area and he's going there to bid anyway, 200-300 bucks.

My neighbor runs a small town BHPH place and typically buys low end stuff in that range. He makes good money doing this.
He's a gruff guy, retired military, has the personality to deal with people who may or not intend to make the payments. Every so often I'll see a car on his rig (Ford diesel pickup and 5th wheel trailer) that is unfamiliar and it's usually one he's had to go and do a re-po on.

I have another neighbor whose father had a similar BHPH place and he died unexpectedly, she had a heckuva time sorting out the paperwork and getting people to pay.
 
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They seem to be very effective at selling Chevy SS sedans in minutes, for top dollar. Corvettes too. 30-40k desireable cars going sale pending on same day. I've been watching and wait listing for some. Not sure how they are with more normally priced ordinary cars. Carvana is a premium experience and you pay more for that. No rebuilt title junkers or finance games.
 
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