My Carvana Experience - Sold My Telluride

[KYTelly]

I sold my 2020 LX Telly to Carvana this week and wanted to let others know about my experience.

For starters, they give you a decent amount of leeway with the mileage, so I would say shoot low with your mileage if you're going to sell to them. As long as you are within 1,000 miles of that number when you sell your car to them, then you're all good. I initially gave an estimated number 500 miles over what I actually had and when I modified the mileage, their offer went up $500.

Once I received my quote and submitted the info they needed, it only took about 24-48 hours for them to process everything. I was then able to schedule a pickup date about 20 days out from my original quote date (initially you are only given 7 days, prior to sending in documentation).

On the day they were supposed to come to my house to pick up the Telly, they texted me and said a few drivers had called in and asked if I could just bring the car to the nearby Carvana vending machine and they would order me an Uber if I needed one.

The entire process only took maybe 10 minutes. I actually signed everything before they even looked at the car. The guy managing the desk took my keys and walked outside for maybe 5 min but they definitely didn't drive it or anything. Pretty crazy. After that it was just us talking about the Carvana layoffs and me waiting for the Uber. This all occured after 5pm and the money was in my account the next morning.

Final figures - I paid a total of $34,800 in 2020 for my LX and sold my Telly to Carvana (with 18k miles) for $39k. WTF, this car market is insane.

The only bad news is that my new EX trim Telly that was supposed to be delivered a few days ago still hasn't shipped from Georgia yet. Fingers crossed it ships in a few days because we are currently a one-car family. I guess Hertz is my new best friend.

 

[Tellmeride]

These companies are burning through VC funding like its none of my business. Buying used (abused) cars to resell without so much of an in depth inspection is a business model that is destined to fail. Book it.

I had recently done the same with Carmax and I was like WTF, why would anyone sell their cars any another way? It's too easy. It's almost like a joke, for everyone else except for the seller.

 

[Tell22SX]

Pricing may be changing for Carvanna. I tried them on my 2020 Telluride ex. They offered $26K online, dealer gave me $34K. We buy any car offered $35K. With the tax advantage trading to the dealer was the best.

 

[TellmeyourWHAT?]

These companies are burning through VC funding like its none of my business. Buying used (abused) cars to resell without so much of an in depth inspection is a business model that is destined to fail. Book it.

I had recently done the same with Carmax and I was like WTF, why would anyone sell their cars any another way? It's too easy. It's almost like a joke, for everyone else except for the seller.

Yup -- I recently sold my 3 1/2 year old Prius to CarMax and got a nice profit. They went purely by the online data I inputted, and didn't so much as even look at the car when I came in.

______________________________

 

[2020Telly]

It may not be as insane of a market because it can all be explained. Using an online inflation calculator after a google search, $34,800 in 2020 equates to about $38,371 in April 2022 dollars. There is a huge lack of used car inventory so it didn’t depreciate because of supply and demand. You are breaking about even at $39,000 if you factor in the inflation figures. Carvana is going to resell it and if their model is to minimize their costs then whatever markup they get is what they make. In a dealership they will try to do the same but they will throw in a bunch of extras and try to start at a higher price to sell a used car and talk people into a lower trade-in value. Carvana is basically operating between offering more than what a dealer would for offer for a trade-in and turn around and sell it for less than a used car price at a dealership. But they can do that because they have low overhead. The challenge for them is that they are completely dependent on needing used cars and that makes them more vulnerable so they have to be aggressive in their buying offers. Where a dealership has new car inventory and service department revenue. Don’t get me wrong Carvana is a great no hassle experience, but they are responding to market conditions the same as a dealer. When inflation comes down and supply catches up it will all reset.

 

[TellmeyourWHAT?]

It may not be as insane of a market because it can all be explained. Using an online inflation calculator after a google search, $34,800 in 2020 equates to about $38,371 in April 2022 dollars. There is a huge lack of used car inventory so it didn’t depreciate because of supply and demand. You are breaking about even at $39,000 if you factor in the inflation figures. Carvana is going to resell it and if their model is to minimize their costs then whatever markup they get is what they make. In a dealership they will try to do the same but they will throw in a bunch of extras and try to start at a higher price to sell a used car and talk people into a lower trade-in value. Carvana is basically operating between offering more than what a dealer would for offer for a trade-in and turn around and sell it for less than a used car price at a dealership. But they can do that because they have low overhead. They challenge for them is that they are completely dependent on needing used cars, where a dealership has new car inventory and service department revenue. Don’t get me wrong Carvana is a great no hassle experience, but they are responding to market conditions the same as a dealer. When inflation comes down and supply catches up it will all reset.

Makes sense to me.