Has anyone bought a used car online?

[disneysteve]

I'm starting to look at cars. I absolutely hate the process of car buying so I'm considering doing one of the entirely online processes like Carvana where you buy online and they deliver it to your house and take away your trade in car.

Has anyone here done that? The simplicity of it and lack of having to deal with a sales person at all is greatly appealing. I'd also consider a place like Carmax where you buy in person but it's fixed pricing so no negotiating to be done. I'll be paying cash no matter what so I won't have to deal with the financing folks either way.

Considering how much else we buy online these days, I love the whole idea of just clicking through the transaction online and then having the car show up in front of my house in a few days. Even if it isn't the best possible deal financially, I'm willing to pay a bit extra for that convenience.

[Jluke]

I’ve negotiated new car pricing via email.

Our Toyota dealer was no-haggle. They gave us a good deal on our trade vs the other Toyota dealer that wasn’t no-haggle.


bogleheads are talking of buying from Hertz now that they are going bankrupt.

[disneysteve]

I’ve negotiated new car pricing via email.

Our Toyota dealer was no-haggle. They gave us a good deal on our trade vs the other Toyota dealer that wasn’t no-haggle.


bogleheads are talking of buying from Hertz now that they are going bankrupt.

Yeah, I saw an article about Hertz and other rental companies having a glut of cars. I checked Hertz's inventory for Camry's but they only have SE models and I want an XSE or XLE so that was out as an option.

The main decision at this point is timing. All expectations are that the supply of used cars is going to grow in the coming months and suppress prices further so I don't know if I should jump when I find something I like or wait a bit and see if even more options hit the market.

[mumof2]

we just did with ours but different country so I guess different things to look at and it depends on if buying new or used...ours was used but it had all the checks by our state authority (RAA) etc and that was all sent to me and I could check database to make sure not stolen or had been in accidents etc...not sure if they have that over there and I will buy from car yard rather than individually as i don't trust people

[disneysteve]

we just did with ours but different country so I guess different things to look at and it depends on if buying new or used...ours was used but it had all the checks by our state authority (RAA) etc and that was all sent to me and I could check database to make sure not stolen or had been in accidents etc...not sure if they have that over there and I will buy from car yard rather than individually as i don't trust people

Yes we have a report called Carfax that gives the car’s history.

[mumof2]

Yes we have a report called Carfax that gives the car’s history.

thats good glad they have something similar

[bjl584]

I have not, but a friend of mine just bought a car from Carvana. I don't know any details of how the negotiating went or trade in or anything.

My last car purchase was my current used truck from a dealership.

[riverwed070707]

Be super curious to hear how this goes if you go this route! First time I saw the commercial I thought the concept was wacky but its kind of grown on me. Interested to know if the pricing is good due to needing to break into the sales market or high because its a convenience and there is shipping and haul away involved.

[disneysteve]

Be super curious to hear how this goes if you go this route! First time I saw the commercial I thought the concept was wacky but its kind of grown on me. Interested to know if the pricing is good due to needing to break into the sales market or high because its a convenience and there is shipping and haul away involved.

I've only done a minimal amount of searching so far but the prices seem to be competitive with in-person dealers. I suppose that makes sense because although they have the expense of delivering the vehicles, they don't have the overhead of a physical sales location.

[kork13]

I considered it while we were buying a car for DW this last couple weeks, but DW had no appetite for it. She wanted to see & drive the thing in person, so I let it go. I'd be open to it, though, if the deal is reasonable.

[mo0n]

I've sold a car to Carvana. Other than a couple hoops to jump through, the process was fairly simple. I had to submit a copy of my DL, a copy of the title, and paperwork from the bank saying there was no lien. Once they processed that, I picked a date for them to show up. Date comes, driver showed up, looked over the car, verified the paperwork, loaded the car up and handed me a check. I went with them instead of Carmax because Carvana offered more money.

[disneysteve]

I considered it while we were buying a car for DW this last couple weeks, but DW had no appetite for it. She wanted to see & drive the thing in person, so I let it go. I'd be open to it, though, if the deal is reasonable.

The online places have generous test drive and return policies. I think I’m okay if I’ve got a week to have my mechanic check to out and for me to drive it around for a few days.

[riverwed070707]

My BF has a second car he's thinking about selling. For giggles I filled out the info to see what carvana would offer.... $279 haha I know it's not worth much but certainly even someone wanting to part it out would pay $1000. Think we'll stick to private party selling for now.

[kork13]

The online places have generous test drive and return policies. I think I’m okay if I’ve got a week to have my mechanic check to out and for me to drive it around for a few days.

Interesting. I guess I didn't look too closely at how it works. Yeah, that sounds pretty good. No charges if you decide you don't want that car (or if you strike a couple of them)? Or probably a delivery fee each time, I suppose?

[disneysteve]

Interesting. I guess I didn't look too closely at how it works. Yeah, that sounds pretty good. No charges if you decide you don't want that car (or if you strike a couple of them)? Or probably a delivery fee each time, I suppose?

Carvana has a 7-day guarantee, return for any reason. You just can't have driven more than 400 miles or they charge $1/mile over that. You can exchange for another car up to 3 cars but the 3rd car won't have the 7-day guarantee. If you live in one of their local markets (which I do), there is no delivery fee. If you are not in one of their local markets, you get a refund of everything but the delivery fee.

Seems pretty fair.