There’s an old adage in retail that states, “The customer is always right.” Of course, the essence of that phrase speaks to the fact that the customer is the lifeblood of any business, and taking care of the customer and ensuring their satisfaction should be a core tenant of any business’ value system. When it comes to the business of buying and selling cars, the relationship between those making purchases and those making sales has been regarded as tense to say the least.
For decades, the average person has braved the trip to their local dealership to search for their next car only to spend hours of their weekend on the lot wrestling with a salesperson who may not have your best interests at heart. Generally speaking, the end result of this interaction iterated millions of times over the years has created a visceral feeling of dissatisfaction for car buyers. With the age of information allowing for more people than ever to have a platform to share their experiences, the demand for a better way to buy a car has never been greater, and many have taken to social media and other online forums to voice their displeasure with what has been the car buying status quo.
To illustrate the stark contrast between Carvana and your traditional brick and mortar dealership, we conducted a Yelp search for “Car Dealers” in the Atlanta and Nashville areas to find real-life examples of the biggest gripes people have with their dealership experience. Read below, as some of these complaints may hit especially close to home!
“Once purchased, we drove the truck about 10 miles and it broke down. The transmission won’t slip into gear. [The dealership owner] blatantly lied about having the transmission work done. He won’t provide us with any paperwork to prove he actually did have the transmission worked on…He also told us, ‘You signed the ‘As Is’ paperwork, there’s nothing you can do.’ He still has the truck because we drove it back up there to get our money back. We will have to get the truck towed to a mechanic. We’re still waiting on the title. Tomorrow will be 30 days.”
– Atlanta customer A.R.
It doesn’t get much worse than finding out your new vehicle purchase is a lemon. It’s an unfortunate reality that can occur whenever you purchase a car. To ensure your peace of mind, there’s no such thing as “As Is” paperwork when you purchase with Carvana. Every purchase you make comes with a 7-day test drive that allows you plenty of time to drive your car around town and even get it inspected by a mechanic of your choice. Even if there’s nothing wrong with the car and you just feel like returning it, you can do so within 7 days for a full refund of your purchase. No questions, no hassle, no fine print.
“Bought a CPO MINI Cooper from [dealer name omitted] of Nashville. They told me the car had not been in any accidents and that it had a clear service history. I recently did my own CARFAX check after a friend told me the body panels weren’t aligned properly. It turns out that my car was in an accident prior to being certified by [dealer name omitted] of Nashville. My salesman lied about this fact. [dealer name omitted] of Nashville has been unresponsive to my inquiries concerning this.”
– Nashville customer C.C.
When you go to buy a car, there’s a tremendous feeling of comfort in knowing that the vehicle you’re purchasing has never been in an accident. Some dealers are transparent when it comes to the vehicle history of the cars they sell. Others…not so much. Why gamble though and risk buying something with a spotty record? At Carvana, every car that appears in our online inventory is guaranteed to be accident-free and has passed a 150-point inspection conducted by one of our ASE Certified mechanics.
“We came to this dealership thinking the lot was closed and we wouldn’t be ‘upped’ the minute we got out of the car. We were. A salesman quickly approached us, but he didn’t seem to be too happy about working this Sunday. The sticker price on the car was $18,965. He informed us that he could get us much closer to invoice plus incentives…My afternoon was eventually wasted by [dealer name omitted]’s sales manager, whose BS about their interest rate being a ‘good deal’ when it was anything but…[the sales manager] told lie after lie in order to ensure they maximized their profit instead of selling a car at an honest price without hiding behind a multitude of hidden fees, ridiculous rates, the intentional mangling of documentation and smug attitudes.”
– Nashville customer J.T.
The dance that takes place between you – the car buyer – and a dealership associate all too often ends with your toes getting stepped on. Between haggling over the price of the car, to negotiating your financing terms, to finalizing contracts, you can spend what can feel like a month of Sundays at the dealership before ever leaving. Considering the money you’re spending, the experience should be far less soul-crushing. In fact, it should be fun! With Carvana, there’s no reason to ever step foot inside a dealership again. Skip the salesperson altogether and conduct your search, trade-in a vehicle, customize your financing terms and finalize your purchase in less than 30 minutes without having to leave your couch. With pick-up and home delivery options also available, buying a car online with Carvana is stunningly simple!
