Would you buy a car from a vending machine?

Triton

Triton

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So I'm sure you have all seen the commercials from Carvana with the giant gimmicky vending machine (they do actually have one of those thing in Nashville and I assume elsewhere). Carvana also has it's competitors like Vroom and I believe Carmax and now even some of the car manufacturers are getting into the selling used cars online space.

The question is would you purchase a car sight unseen? Full disclosure I have already done this and so far so good. I have to admit that I was nervous about the whole concept. Right now is an incredibly bad time to buy a car, especially a used car. However, my oldest son was headed to college and he needed a car. We did the usual tour of the local dealerships and it was about as awful as it always is except thanks to supply chain issues not only was used car selection basically non-existant but but the sales weasels had absolutely no incentive to negotiate on the price. I had one outfit trying to sell me a 2018 Toyota Carolla that had been in a wreck for 19K and they would not budge on the price in the least. (No way I am paying that kind of money for a used car for a new driver)

Autotrader wasn't any particular help, the prices were still in the same price range but the zip codes kept getting further and further away.

So I got on Carvana and discovered that the prices were very competitive. After a couple weeks of looking we picked out a Toyota Carolla that was both low mileage and appeared from the pictures to be in good shape. Filling out the paperwork took about a half hour. About a week and a half later the car showed up delivered to my driveway. I had to sign some documents that took about 5 minutes, I was given some warranty information and the clock started counting down on my week long return period. I took the car to my mechanic who checked through it thoroughly that day. The only thing he didn't like were the wheels on the car (after market items). After the week was up the money went from my bank account. My son has been driving it for a couple of months now and so far so good.

So, no sales weasels, no spending hours upon hours in the dealership dealing with their shenanigans and the end result was a better car than I was able to find locally for a better price. Note that this is NOT a Carvana plug I'm sure there are plenty of online sellers that can / will do the same thing.

Would you be inclined to go this route?
 
My brother had a great experience with Carvana last year when he bought a Tesla Model 3. He tells me that it was a flawless transaction and the car was exactly as described.
 
Do they register it for you, or do you? One nice thing about a dealer...hate going to the DMV.
 
Triton said:
Would you be inclined to go this route?
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Maybe. I'm not a "car guy". I just want reliable transportation. Before Hertz went belly up, my wife and I both bought used cars from them, pretty close to sight-unseen. So, been half-way there already.
 
jlauffer said:
Do they register it for you, or do you? One nice thing about a dealer...hate going to the DMV.
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In my state I've always had to register the car no matter who I purchased it from, so the answer is "no" but it's a wash.
 
No. I would not purchase a vehicle in this way.

I've purchased many cars/trucks/motorcycles in my lifetime and I need to see/touch/feel/hear and test drive a vehicle BEFORE I buy one.
 
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sgt1372 said:
No. I would not purchase a vehicle in this way.

I've purchased many cars/trucks/motorcycles in my lifetime and I need to see/touch/feel/hear and test drive a vehicle before I buy one.
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Yep I absolutely agree with that. That is why I really like that week that they give you to return it no questions asked before cash the check. I used that week to go over the car and more importantly have a mechanic go over the car.
 
It's not for me. I am old fashioned (and old) and I really want to get inside and drive a car before buying it. But I don't think it's crazy and it might work well for some folks.
 
Not for me either. I'm no expert mechanic but I can turn a wrench. I like to do my own inspection before my mechanic looks at it.
 
Too big a purchase to buy sight unseen for me. I’ll leave that for the wealthy.. but a new car is a big commitment for me.
 
Paratrooper06 said:
Too big a purchase to buy sight unseen for me. I’ll leave that for the wealthy.. but a new car is a big commitment for me.
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Well I certainly wouldn't call myself wealthy by any stretch, but I definitely understand where you are coming from.
 
Triton said:
Yep I absolutely agree with that. That is why I really like that week that they give you to return it no questions asked before cash the check. I used that week to go over the car and more importantly have a mechanic go over the car.
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While you consider it an advantage, the problem for me that you have to PAY them before you get a chance to check out the car.

Yes, you can get your $ back if you don't like it but that just ties up your $ unnecessarily IMO.

And, how does this work if you want to finance the purchase? Seems like it would only work for a CUF (cash up front) transaction because no financial instituion is going to commit to paying funding the transaction w/a 7 day right of refusal.

Whatever the case, I'd never do it. Why PAY anything to take possession of a vehicle that you aren't even sure that you want to keep?

That just doesn't many any sense to me.
 
sgt1372 said:
While you consider it an advantage, the problem for me that you have to PAY them before you get a chance to check out the car.

Yes, you can get your $ back if you don't like it but that just ties up your $ unnecessarily IMO.

And, how does this work if you want to finance the purchase? Seems like it would only work for a CUF (cash up front) transaction because no financial instituion is going to commit to paying funding the transaction w/a 7 day right of refusal.

Whatever the case, I'd never do it. Why PAY anything to take possession of a vehicle that you aren't even sure that you want to keep?

That just doesn't many any sense to me.
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With the sequence of events I experienced they did not cash the check until the week was over. That said I was paying cash so I have no idea how the financing part would work...
 
This whole thing is a gimmick and reeks of cheap entertainment for people with a ton of disposable income. We need to also separate the smart actions from the stupid actions here, and not be blinded by the “use every cent of credit I can get” mentality many people operate on.

For most people their house, car, and wedding are typically the biggest single item/event expenditures.. and for many people of average or below average income, the car is top (especially in urban areas). It just isn’t smart to buy a car from a vending machine. With a home, you research the market, do walkthroughs, inspections, read over disclosures, check for termites. Why would a car be any different in level of due diligence?

Know the first thought that came to mind for me when hearing about this? I pictured some billionaire in Dubai participating in some YouTube promo. I can’t for the life of me understand why anyone that doesn’t have money to burn would do this. I can get more excitement for 50 cents with this, and I can give the toy to the kid that watches me win:

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I think this is a great thing for people who already know what they want. The last 5 vehicles my wife and I have purchased, we knew what make, model and approximate year we wanted before we started looking. In most cases, there were only a couple within a 50 mile radius.
 
Paratrooper06 said:
I can’t for the life of me understand why anyone that doesn’t have money to burn would do this.
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I don't "shop" for cars, and I've never had a car that was a luxury or "toy". I search to find the car I want to buy. I don't have money or time to waste. I want to get on the road and move on with life. Waiting for an opportunity and jumping on a good deal is nice if you have time to wait. The last two cars we have bought, time was a huge factor. We only buy Honda or Toyota, and ones with over 100k miles. Those can be tough to find in the condition I want to buy. If I can read about one and see pics, price, get all my questions answered, then I would have one delivered in a minute. As long as I could back out if I find any issues or if the vehicle was misrepresented in any way.

It would even be an easier decision if the car was new. I hate going to dealerships. I don't want service after the sale. I don't want to write you reviews on the internet. I want to lay my money down and drive off. Those vultures make it nearly impossible.
 
Bloodloss said:
I don't "shop" for cars, and I've never had a car that was a luxury or "toy". I search to find the car I want to buy. I don't have money or time to waste. I want to get on the road and move on with life. Waiting for an opportunity and jumping on a good deal is nice if you have time to wait. The last two cars we have bought, time was a huge factor. We only buy Honda or Toyota, and ones with over 100k miles. Those can be tough to find in the condition I want to buy. If I can read about one and see pics, price, get all my questions answered, then I would have one delivered in a minute. As long as I could back out if I find any issues or if the vehicle was misrepresented in any way.

It would even be an easier decision if the car was new. I hate going to dealerships. I don't want service after the sale. I don't want to write you reviews on the internet. I want to lay my money down and drive off. Those vultures make it nearly impossible.
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Do you think you need a vending machine to buy a car quickly? I could just as easily go to a private party, and slap cash in their hand and drive off. When you buy things from a dealer, it isn’t hard to navigate things if one knows how to say “no”. You go in, you ask for their best price. Want to haggle? That takes time. Once you agree on a cost, just say “no” to all the crap the top salesperson pushes (the “finance manager” and all the bumper to bumper/tire/GAP garbage).

I buy a car maybe once every 10 years. For me… it is worth the stress and time of wading through the dealership. They have to make a living, too.
 
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