When you think of Carvana, it’s likely that one of the first visuals that pops into mind is that of a Car Vending Machine. Since 2015, Carvana’s Car Vending Machines have been a staple of our brand, as the towering all-glass structures have provided some alluring eye candy near freeways in dozens of markets across the U.S.
But aside from being eye-catching, fluorescent structures that house used cars awaiting pick-up from customers, what do these buildings do and how do they work?
It’s a question we get more frequently than you might think; one that prompted us to pop the hatch and bring car buyers under the hood of one of the most unique brand assets in existence.
To help navigate the exciting and multi-faceted world of the Carvana Car Vending Machine, we met up with David Briggs and Chris Penner – two of Carvana’s foremost experts in the rarified field of Car Vending Machines – who served as our personal tour guides at the Tempe Car Vending Machine.
One of the biggest questions people have about Carvana’s Car Vending Machines is how we determine which markets and which locations within those markets get the Car Vending Machine treatment. The decision-making process is multi-factorial, but ultimately it boils down to choosing locations that are ripe for grabbing attention.
“We have a team of experts that go out into the field and travel all over the United States and find the best locations that they can,” says Briggs. “They’re looking for some place that’s near a freeway, and some place that has a lot of traffic where a lot of eyes are going to see it.”
While the motivation behind where we build our Car Vending Machines remains consistent, the actual architectural design of the Car Vending Machines has evolved over time. For example, the original Car Vending Machine design used an industrial design robot vacuum type of delivery system where a car was put on a robot and driven down the corridor to get vended into a deliver bay. Since then, things have changed quite a bit.
“As you can see in this Tempe Vending Machine, we evolved to the next version, and we had a more tracked delivery system, so it was less of a free-wheeling robot, and more of a train, if you will, where the car goes down a corridor and gets vended into a delivery bay,” said Penner. “After that we decided to really bring the customer more into the experience, make it more immersive. In our Version 4 of the towers, the corridor was removed altogether, and the delivery bays are all on ground level, and the lobby glass for the customer is right next to the tower, so as the car is coming down, the customer gets the full experience of the car getting vended for them.”
“Part of that evolution that has taken us between all the different Vending Machines is the fact that we’ve simplified the process and made it even more reliable,” added Briggs. “The first edition of the Vending Machine had laser sensors and guided itself. It had a computer system that would operate it. The 3.0 design – the track system – basically just has three motors, so we reduced it down even more and had a lot less sensors. The final 4.0 design that we have right now is a single motor, and I think it’s one sensor or two sensors that actually guide that, so it’s a lot simpler and a lot easier to take care of.”
The cumulative changes in the operational design of the Car Vending Machines has also made the vend time for customers who elect to pick-up much more efficient, as well. Vend time can vary, of course, depending on how many stories a Car Vending Machine has, but on average, it takes less than five minutes for a customer’s car to be retrieved.
“Often times, the Advocates like to load more current customers or upcoming customers on the top floor because the experience is best when the car is coming down from the very top, so they like to load the top ones for the customers that are coming up,” says Penner. “From there it’s about four minutes, but other towers that don’t have the corridor, for example, that time will be cut down because they don’t have to wait for the car to be transported down the hallway.”
“We’ve increased reliability, but also the vend times have decreased,” Briggs added. “As we go along, and you go to a 4.0 tower that has much less of the sideways movement, customers can receive their cars just a little bit faster, and they get to see the car a lot closer.”
The evolution of the Carvana Car Vending Machine hasn’t been limited to fundamental changes in mechanics and function, however. Our Car Vending Machines have also changed appreciably in terms of architectural aesthetics over the years, as the markets we operate in have more input in what the Car Vending Machine looks like.
“We decided to go away from some of the industrial looks [with the Car Vending Machine],” says Penner. “Like in Philly, for example, we leaned into the Fishtown aesthetic and included a lot of brick and all the palettes are black. We’ve evolved the lighting systems as well to include more lights, different kinds of lights, just to better highlight the cars and make the Vending Machines look fantastic at night.”
“We give the cities an opportunity to have a hand in what the Vending Machine is going to look like in their area, so we actually offer them a selection of options and additions that they can have on their Vending Machine,” Briggs added. “We have a brick facade that looks really nice, we have different colors of brick, we have a tile one I believe in Frisco (Texas) that matches more of that community there…so yeah, there’s a lot of ability to customize and really make the Vending Machine fit in where it’s at instead of just sticking out.”
Sticking out, however, is kind of what the Car Vending Machine does best. According to Penner, across all of Carvana’s Car Vending Machine locations, there are a combined over 4 million lumens of light, over 10,000 feet of chain, over 4,000 megapixels worth of cameras, over 80 delivery bays, and over 900 display cases spread over 250 stories. And to add to the techno-wizardry of the buildings, Briggs and Penner have the ability to monitor the Car Vending Machines remotely.
“We have the ability to remotely view into all of our Vending Machines and collect statistics from them,” says Briggs. “We can see how often they’re used, we can see their maintenance schedule, and we can also control lighting systems remotely. We have the ability to light up special themes for the Phoenix Rising, for example, where we can light it up red. We create a stacked light system that goes up and lights every five minutes when they’re having a home game…things like that.
“I think my favorite tower of all our Vending Machines is in Vegas. We invested a lot of money and put a lot more lights into that system and we can make it do some amazing looks. Through that iteration process of building that one up, we’ve actually discovered that we can backport a lot of those cool lighting looks into other towers. We haven’t quite gotten there yet, but it’s going to bring a lot of cool features.”
While Carvana’s Car Vending Machines are sure to light up the night, the process of erecting a Car Vending Machine is far from overnight. In fact, it typically takes roughly nine months for one of these stunning structures to make its long-awaited debut.
“If everything goes well in construction – which nothing ever goes well in construction – it’s possible that a Vending Machine could be built in six to seven months, but yeah we’re talking about bringing in dozens of different companies all under one roof and organizing them together and getting things done and hoping the weather there is perfect for the entire time during that build,” says Briggs.
“The parts for our original Vending Machines were shipped over from Europe, and everything from the steel to the glass to the very last bolt were shipped from Germany and assembled here. As we’ve moved forward, we’ve brought all of our processes in-house, and that includes obtaining components from the United States and having local steel companies actually erect the towers and build out the steel.”
There’s also a method to the madness when it comes to filling the Car Vending Machines with cars. Contrary to popular belief, Carvana’s Car Vending Machines are filled with vehicles that have already been sold to customers on Carvana.com, meaning that sexy orange Chevy Camaro you see on the top floor isn’t for sale.
“We do have certain slots that we like to fill up first when we’re putting cars into the Vending Machine,” says Briggs. “There’s a chart that the Advocates can use to load it up and try to make it look the best that it possibly can. It’s not to say that we don’t place cars necessarily. When a Vending Machine is first opened up, we usually do a photo shoot and try to capture the beginning of this Vending Machine for the press.
“We have a team that goes out and tries to find the brightest, more colorful cars they can, loads it up in a very specific pattern to get all those colors matched around, and we always get the comment that it looks like a gumball machine.”
Yet, Carvana’s Car Vending Machines are far from your customary snack dispenser. Just like Carvana, our iconic Car Vending Machine locations evoke an innovative and pioneering spirit that offers both style and substance not often found in the car buying process. And with our Car Vending Machines only scratching the surfaces in terms of their technological capabilities, the future of these phenomenal facades is as bright as our neon lights.
