You aren’t likely to get the best prices from Carvana, according to our research, but the company’s selling and buying experiences are as seamless as it gets
Updated:
Jun 28, 2024
Written by:
Daniel Robinson
Daniel Robinson
Writer
Edited by:
Rashawn Mitchner
Rashawn Mitchner
Senior Editor
Key Takeaways:
- Carvana car prices for both buying and selling are roughly on par with Kelley Blue Book (KBB) averages.
- The biggest strength Carvana offers are its efficient, user-friendly online processes for buying and selling vehicles.
- Carvana can pick up and deliver vehicles to your home, but also has dozens of locations to allow you to pick up and deliver yourself and save on costs.
Online dealership Carvana advertises itself as a modern, easy way to buy or sell a car. In this review, we at the MarketWatch Guides team put those claims to the test. Earlier this year, our team conducted an in-depth study of Carvana’s pricing, processes and reputation. In this article, we’ll show you what we learned and recommend some of our favorite websites for selling a car online.
Learn more about our methodology and editorial guidelines.
How We Rate Carvana
Flip Card
Carvana at a Glance
Pros
Easy, efficient processes for buying and selling cars
Additional products such as financing, vehicle protection plans, and GAP insurance sold in-house
Takes care of paperwork
Cons
May be able to find better buying or selling prices elsewhere
In-house financing rates tend to be higher than other auto financing options
Car shipping charges are non-refundable, even with returned vehicles
Our Take
Carvana is truly a full-service online dealership. The company offers seamless experiences for both selling and buying a car, with processes you can complete from start to finish without leaving your home. Compared to some other options, Carvana can be a pricey option on both sides of the equation. But if you look at the additional expense as fees for the convenience, you may find it more than worth it.
What Carvana Customers Say
People who report positive experiences with Carvana — like us — tend to praise the simplicity and efficiency of the company’s processes. We read many comments from people who marveled at how little time it took to sell or buy a car. Customers also lauded the ease of having a vehicle dropped off or picked up.
When customers do have complaints, they tend to revolve around communication struggles. Issues like paperwork miscommunications, misunderstandings about fees and claims filing are some of the most commonly reported problems. We also noticed several negative reviews related to Carvana’s internal financing rates compared to those from other lenders.
We reached out to Carvana about these negative reviews. In regard to financing complaints, a Carvana representative responded:
“As a pioneer in online car sales, Carvana is dedicated to innovating and enhancing the car buying experience for everyone. Carvana has helped thousands of customers purchase vehicles and offers auto loans to all credit types. 99% of customers who apply for Carvana Financing are approved, pending a final underwriting review.
Customers can complete a convenient two-minute online prequalification form for Carvana Financing, with no impact on their credit score. Prequalifying enables our customers to browse our expansive inventory of vehicles from the comfort of home, with completely personalized financing terms.
Additionally, Carvana encourages customers to make the best financial decisions for themselves, which is why we also support third-party financing options from a range of lenders.”
Is Carvana Legit?
Carvana is one of the leaders in the online car dealership space.The company sold more than 1 million vehicles in its first nine years of operation, and sold more than 300,000 vehicles in 2023 alone.
Carvana appeared to be in trouble at the end of 2022, when its stock value dropped to less than $5 per share. But since then, the company has rebounded significantly, reporting record revenues in Q4 2023.
At the time of writing, Carvana is not rated by the BBB. It has also been the subject of legal issues in California, Michigan and North Carolina related to registration filings and paperwork. Each of these cases has since been resolved. We reached out to Carvana for additional information and a comment about its legal issues, but haven’t received a response.
MARKETWATCH GUIDES TIP
We reached out to Carvana about its BBB rating. A representative responded, “Carvana is committed to delivering exceptional customer experiences, including making it right when we get it wrong. We are proud to see our dedication to our customers reflected in hundreds of thousands of real reviews averaging 4.7 out of 5 stars on Carvana.com. For questions or support needs, please contact our Customer Advocate team at carvana.com/help.”
Overall, we feel confident in stating that Carvana is a legitimate online car dealership. While some issues have come up for the company, Carvana completes hundreds of thousands of successful transactions each year.
Selling a Car to Carvana: Costs
You’ll find a great deal of variation in the overall cost of selling a car between different methods and companies. The main differentiators are the offers companies give for vehicles and the fees they attach to the sale.
Does Carvana Give You a Good Price for Your Car?
Our team conducted a secret shopping survey with four of our vehicles to see how Carvana’s offers compared to Kelley Blue Book (KBB) values — which are typically seen as standard for the industry. Overall, our results were pretty mixed, which you can see in the chart below.
Selling a Car With Carvana: Fees
There are technically no fees for selling your car to Carvana. However, if you want the company to come pick your used car up, you will likely need to pay a shipping fee. To ensure compliance with local laws and regulations, check with your state’s motor vehicle department to see what, if any, fees you need to pay to your government, such as title transfer fees.
Buying a Car from Carvana: Costs
There are also costs to consider when buying a vehicle through Carvana or other methods. Like selling a car, two of the main cost factors are the sales price you’re offered and any fees associated with the sale.
Is Buying a Car From Carvana Expensive?
In our secret shopping study, Carvana’s sales prices were almost exactly at the average of all online dealerships we reviewed. See the chart below for comparisons.
Buying a Car from Carvana: Fees
When you buy a car from Carvana, you’ll be subject to all local registration and title fees. Beyond that, Carvana does not attach any of its own fees for the purchase alone.
If the vehicle you purchase is located near you, you may qualify for free delivery. If you’re not within a certain range, you may be subject to delivery fees. Carvana’s website allows you to sort by vehicles that qualify for free shipping.
After going through the sales portal, however, you will be presented with an “all-in” price. This includes all of the aforementioned fees, along with any additional purchases like gap insurance or vehicle protection plans.
Buying a Car from Carvana: Financing
If you plan to borrow money to purchase your vehicle, you’ll need to consider car finance fees. Carvana offers its own in-house financing option. Based on our research, interest rates for this in-house financing tend to be considerably higher than many other auto loan options. Getting a loan offer from Carvana only takes a few minutes, so it’s still worth a look to compare to other offers.
MARKETWATCH GUIDES TIP: Can You Negotiate With Carvana?
Carvana does not negotiate prices on sales or purchases of vehicles. The price you see on an offer is the price you get, with no wiggle room.
How Does Carvana Work?
Carvana is a full-service online car dealership that buys and sells vehicles through its online platforms. The company takes care of nearly every aspect of the process, including filing paperwork and paying fees.
How To Sell a Car to Carvana: Guide
Selling your car to Carvana is a simple and quick process. You’ll get an offer in just a few minutes, and you can complete your sale and receive your payment within a few days. Here are the steps involved:
1. Gather Necessary Information
Start the process by collecting the information you’ll need to provide Carvana to sell your car. This includes:
- Vehicle identification number (VIN) or license plate number
- Mileage
- Trim options and packages
- Additional equipment installed
- Interior and exterior condition
- Any known issues
2. Enter Your Vehicle Information
The first step in Carvana’s platform is to provide identifying information for your vehicle. You can use either your VIN or your license plate number. Once you do, you’ll see your vehicle’s make, model and year information and move on to the next step.
3. Answer Questions About Your Vehicle
Next, you’ll need to provide your car’s mileage, color, interior and exterior condition, installed equipment and more.
4. Decide Between a Cash Offer or Trade-In
You have the option to sell your car for cash or trade it in toward a purchase. The Carvana platform will ask you to decide between the two options.
5. Consider Carvana’s Offer
Once you receive an offer from Carvana, you have seven days to consider. During this time, your offer will not change.
6. Sell Your Car to Carvana
If you decide to accept Carvana’s offer, you can complete the rest of the process from home. A Carvana representative will schedule a visit to see your vehicle in person and confirm that the information you provided is accurate. If everything checks out, your representative will present you with paperwork to sign. Once you sign the offer, they will collect your keys and issue payment immediately.
Carvana Trade-In Value
In general, you can expect to get a little more for your vehicle if you choose to trade it in rather than take cash for it. That means that if you’re in the market for a car, it’s worth looking through Carvana’s stock to see if the vehicle you want is available.
Our First-Hand Experience Selling a Car to Carvana
One of our team members, web publisher Oliver M., volunteered to test out the Carvana car selling process. He was able to get a quote just a few minutes after taking on the assignment. Here’s what he told us about his experience:
"My experience with getting an offer from Carvana was very simple! All I had to do was provide my license plate and state to get started. From there, I filled in more details about my car such as mileage, condition, and vehicle history. I was able to get a quote emailed to me within minutes.”
How To Buy a Car from Carvana: Guide
Buying a car from Carvana is also a smooth and easy process. Like selling a car to the company, there are only a few steps involved:
1. Determine your budget and wants
The first step to buying a car is to figure out how much car you can afford and what kind of car you want to purchase — in that order. You can find calculators online that use your income and expenses to provide you with a purchase budget.
Once you know how much you can spend, you can identify the type of car you want. The more specific, the more efficient your shopping experience will be.
2. Search the inventory
The Carvana platform allows you to search for vehicles that fit the description you provide, or browse by type of vehicle or certain features. You can use the heart button on each listing to save them. It’s a good idea to select at least three to four vehicles to compare.
3. Do your research
One major perk with Carvana is that they provide CARFAX vehicle history reports for free, which often come at your own expense. These reports detail every service a vehicle has had performed at an official shop or dealership.
You can use this information to get a deeper understanding of the shape the vehicle is in. Ideally, a vehicle will have had all oil changes and other scheduled services performed on time. Be wary of vehicles that have had irregular service intervals or have had persistent problems with one component or system, as these vehicles are less likely to be reliable as they age.
You can also see the vehicle’s accident history. Small damage repairs from minor collisions usually isn’t cause for concern. However, major accidents that have required repairs to the frame or major components are a red flag.
4. Obtain financing
Unless you plan to pay for a vehicle in cash, you’ll have to secure financing to complete your purchase. Carvana offers its own in-house financing as a convenient option, but you’ll want to compare that option to others available to you.
Most banks and credit unions allow you to apply online for an auto loan and get an answer back quickly. Requesting loan approval will impact your credit score, but requesting multiple offers for the same type of loan won’t have any additional effect.
5. Buy a car from Carvana
With your financing in place, you can now complete your purchase. Carvana will offer you some additional products, such as its Carvana Care vehicle protection plan and GAP coverage. Once you decide whether or not to purchase these items, you can choose whether you want to have your vehicle delivered — sometimes for a fee — or pick it up in person from one of the company’s car vending machines.
6. Get your car
If you decide to have your vehicle delivered, you can pick a delivery date within a range the company provides. If you want to pick your car up from a Carvana location, you can set up a time to do that. How long you need to wait for your vehicle depends on where it is located in relation to you.
In either case, this last step in the process is quick and easy. You’ll get the chance to inspect your vehicle, sign off on it and then collect your keys.
Our First-Hand Experience Buying a Car from Carvana
One of our team members, senior automotive journalist David Straughan, purchased his current vehicle from Carvana and took notes of his experience. Here’s what he told us.
“Buying a car from Carvana was really simple and quick, due somewhat to the fact that I knew exactly what I wanted before shopping and had financing in-hand. I think the longest part of the process was researching each of the vehicles I saved.
Although I have two Carvana dealerships within an hour of me, I wanted to see the car delivery for myself. The experience was honestly pretty joyful. My delivery driver contacted me twice on the day of the delivery to update me with a specific ETA and arrived exactly when he said he would. He gave me all the time I needed to inspect the car. Once I finished looking it over, I signed a paper on his clipboard and then he handed me a copy of that paperwork along with my keys and that was it.
Compared to the hours and hours I’ve spent in the past dealing with dealership shenanigans, this was a refreshing car-buying experience. I was able to evaluate my options on my own time without pressure from a car dealer, and I was fully in control of the process the entire time. I don’t see myself ever going back to a dealership in the future.”
Buying a Car From Carvana: What You Need To Know
There are a few things about buying a car from Carvana that are good to keep in mind before making a purchase.
- Carvana offers a 30-day return window on all sales with a money back guarantee. This window is also limited to 400 miles. If you decide to return your vehicle, you may be required to cover shipping costs to send it back.
- Carvana is supposed to handle all paperwork related to the sale, but it’s a good idea to check to see that the company has paid all necessary fees and filed all necessary paperwork with your state government.
- When you purchase a vehicle from Carvana, it comes with a complimentary 4,189-mile, 100-day limited warranty. This warranty covers mechanical failures, and you will have the option to extend your coverage when it expires. See the image below for typical warranty exclusions.
Carvana vs. Other Methods
In the table below, we compare different methods of selling a car to going through Carvana.
| Carvana | Private Sale | Dealership | |
| Price | Similar to KBB value | Potentially above KBB value, but dependent on local market and negotiation | Similar to KBB value, but subject to negotiation |
| Ease of process | Very simple — most steps handled by Carvana | Very involved — requires listing of vehicle, fielding offers, meeting buyers and dealing with money and paperwork by yourself. | Varies, depending on location, personnel and whether vehicle is being used as a trade-in |
| Time to complete sale | 20 minutes plus waiting time for in-person inspection | Varies anywhere from a few hours to several weeks | Several in-person hours |
| Delivery options | Have the vehicle picked up or deliver it to a Carvana location | Agreed upon between you and the buyer | Some dealerships offer delivery, but self-pickup is standard |
| Additional steps needed | None | File title transfer paperwork, change registration, handle loan paperwork if needed, pay taxes if car is sold for a profit | Varies — some dealerships will file paperwork for you, others may not |
Carvana Review: The Bottom Line
Convenience is the name of the game for Carvana. The company offers an all-in-one online experience that is efficient and easy to understand for both selling and buying a car.
That convenience does come at a cost, as you’re not likely to get the most money for a car you’re selling or the best prices on a car you’re buying from Carvana. But while you may be able to get a better deal financially using other methods, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better experience anywhere.
Other Recommended Providers
With a major transaction like selling a car or buying one, it pays to shop around. We recommend checking out a few providers before making a decision, including the following companies:
Peddle: Good for Older Vehicles
If you’re looking to unload an older car that may not be the best shape, Peddle is an option worth investigating. The company may offer better prices and service at that end of the market. Like Carvana, Peddle pays out for cars on the spot and offers a convenient online experience.
Read more: Peddle Review
Wheelzy: Good for Financed Vehicles
Wheelzy is another company that specializes in buying older vehicles, and helps make that process smooth by paying off auto loans for sellers. The auto dealer earned high marks in our latest study for its customer service and strong communication practices. In many cases, Wheelzy gave better offers for used cars than other providers in its category.
Read more: Wheelzy Review
CarBrain: Good for High-mileage Vehicles
If you have a vehicle to sell that’s nearing the end of its life cycle, CarBrain may be a good option for you. The company guarantees its offers for seven days. CarBrain also provides free towing, making it easier to sell a vehicle that is no longer in driving condition.
Read more: CarBrain Review
Carvana Review: FAQs
Below are a few frequently asked questions about buying and selling a car with Carvana:
Carvana is a trustworthy company that completes hundreds of thousands of successful transactions each year. While you will find some complaints about the company, this is a small number compared to the overall volume of car sales and purchases.
The main downside of Carvana is that you may be able to get a better price on buying or selling a vehicle through other methods. In addition, the company’s in-house financing tends to be expensive compared to other auto lenders.
CarMax and Carvana are both strong options for buying and selling vehicles. People who live near a CarMax location and prefer to do business in person may find CarMax to be a better option. Those who don’t have a CarMax location near them or just prefer to do business from home may prefer the Carvana experience.
Carvana pays customers for used cars on the spot, provided everything checks out during the in-person inspection. You can typically choose between receiving funds via a certified check or an ACH bank transfer.
Our Methodology
Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best platforms to buy and sell a car. We collected data on several providers to grade each company in five key areas. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the car sales platforms that scored the most points topping the list.
Here are the factors our ratings take into account:
- Pricing and Financing (30% of total score): To compare providers’ average prices for buying and selling a vehicle, our team conducts a secret shopper analysis for a variety of vehicle types. We look at how they compare to competitors’ prices, consider the fees companies charge to use their platforms and what financing options are available during purchase.
- Support (30% of total score): Companies that offer strong transaction support receive the highest scores in this category. This includes offerings like free pickup and how quickly you receive your payment for car selling services. For car buying services, we look at delivery options, whether the vehicle is inspected and more.
- Platform (15% of total score): Platforms that offer a variety of features, including instant offers and multiple sales options for those selling a car and a wide vehicle selection for those purchasing one, are more likely to meet consumers’ needs.
- Customer Experience (15% of total score): This score is based on customer satisfaction ratings on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot as well as our team’s experience reaching out to each platform.
- Industry Standing (10% of total score): Our research team considers ratings from industry experts and years in business when determining this score.
*Data accurate at time of publication.
If you have feedback or questions about this article, please email the MarketWatch Guides team at editors@marketwatchguides.
