Carvana, CarMax - anyone buy a car from either of these sites?

[homer]

We haven't had a car for almost two years but are looking to get one. Has anyone bought a car from either Carvana or Car Max and had it delivered?

[homer]

We haven't had a car for almost two years but are looking to get one. Has anyone bought a car from either Carvana or Car Max and had it delivered?

[LouisEly]

Yes, both of those in fact.

 

In 2012, I purchased from Car Max but it was before delivery was an option. I didn't have a vehicle and found a 2009 Lincoln MKX (because I previously had a 2010 Lincoln MKX as a company car and loved it) on Car Max and had them send it to the nearest dealership (75 miles away, $200 for a one-way car service). Since I previously had a very similar MKX I knew what I was getting. Overall, I had a good experience with Car Max and wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again.

 

Last year the power transfer unit on that 2009 Lincoln MKX started going out. It was a $2000 repair and it could last another two months or two weeks before needing repair but if it went out before repair it would cost a lot more than $2000 to fix. I had 125K miles on it and didn't want to put $2K into it, but was scared of going over 60 mph on it (the PTU would hum over 60mph) so I didn't want to risk driving it on the freeway to a dealership to trade it in. Carvana offered me on the low end of trade in, but would come and pick it up and would just drive my vehicle around the block to see if it ran (which didn't involve going over 60 mph). Bought a 2016 MKX from Carvana and they delivered it and took my old vehicle away.

 

The 2016 MKX wasn't in as good of condition as they said it was - more cosmetic damage than indicated on the pictures. Then the battery died 17 days after taking delivery - they covered that with their 100 day warranty. Then the PTU on that vehicle had an issue that needed to be fixed; fortunately the factory powertrain warranty hadn't expired and Lincoln covered those repairs. I purchased an extended warranty which covered the seat belt failure ($500), but I'm still in the hole for the $1600 I paid for that.

 

So, I would recommend Car Max but I don't know about Carvana unless you are buying a vehicle that still has a factory warranty. Carvana has a 100-day warranty so you have some protection, but I wouldn't trust their inspection process because of the excess cosmetic damage and battery issue I had.

[homer]

Cool. Thanks for the response. Very helpful.

[LouisEly]

Almost forgot, I did have one issue with the vehicle I purchased from CarMax - the driver's seat heater didn't work. I purchased the vehicle on Memorial Day, so I didn't have a reason to test it until well after the warranty had expired. (I don't really need it, I run hot enough as is; the ventilated seat function is much more important.)

 

So, test everything, including the climate controls even if it is off-season.

[homer]

Almost forgot, I did have one issue with the vehicle I purchased from CarMax - the driver's seat heater didn't work. I purchased the vehicle on Memorial Day, so I didn't have a reason to test it until well after the warranty had expired. (I don't really need it, I run hot enough as is; the ventilated seat function is much more important.)

 

So, test everything, including the climate controls even if it is off-season.

 

Thanks. They both give you 7 days to test them out which is so much better than a regular test drive.

[homer]

We ended up going with CarMax. Went to the showroom and test drove the vehicle before purchase. After doing some research, there have been a lot of complainst about Carvana not sending registration/plates in a timely manner. CarMax we left with a car, plates, registration...the works. They give you seven days to return it but after a once over at the mechanic we will be keeping it. Good experience overall. Only "issue" is that while they don't haggle on price they still try the hard sell on the extended warranty. But that's a minor quibble on my part.