Selling to Carvana

[Michael Phipps]

As I've posted here I've just taken possession of my new 2026 PW, and so my previous truck had to go to both make room in my driveway and my budget. This was a black 2018 PW level 1, on which I'd added: a lighted headache rack, a frame mounted grille guard, a decked system, several lights with an SPod system, a quality dashcam, and the new tires off my 2026 PW. I took it to several dealers and the best offer I could get for it was 31k, which came from 2 separate dealers. Others were south of that. Then I considered selling to Carmax. They offered 33 sight unseen, but the total offer would be amended if necessary when they came to pickup the vehicle. Then I tried Carvana. At first they offered 34k, but then when I didn't immediately take that offer it dropped to 31k a week later. the day my 2026 came in I received an updated offer for 35,600. I jumped on that offer and immediately went to sell the truck. Oh, I owed nothing on the truck, and of course wasn't trading it in, this was a one way direct sale.

They walked me through a whole bunch of questions about the truck, it's condition, and its history. For me all of those questions were boring because it was in great condition with just over 50K miles. They asked for photos of the truck and my ID. Then they said they had to process the data and would get back to me.

About 2 hours later I received an email from them that the truck was acceptable and they reiterated their offer at 35600. They invited me to pick a time to have the truck picked up, or I could deliver it to them about 25 miles away. I let them come and get it. It cost me $40 for the privilege but I didn't want to drive to north St. Louis to deliver my truck to them. I picked a date about two weeks out because at that point I still needed to clean it out, swap wheels and tires, and generally prepare it for sale.

Once I'd cleaned it out I paid a local detailer to come out and clean the truck up. It hadn't been washed in too long, and my dogs left their hair all over the truck so it needed a good interior detail too. I invested about $250 into that effort.

I did it because online I read horror stories after the fact of people getting their vehicle picked over by the Carvana rep and ultimately having their offer significantly change at the point of sale. So I was totally honest and pointed out every flaw on the truck and then decided to have it cleaned up. I've detailed every truck I've sold or traded in- I find I get more money that way.

The night before they were due to come, Carvana sent me two items to sign via docusign. First was a confirmation of the deal, which was no big deal, and then the second was a power of attorney over the truck. It was from Texas and it only allowed for an amended odometer statement. I thought that was pretty benign and signed.

They were supposed to pick it up last night but something happened and they moved the appointment to this morning. They came out in the big rollback truck you see in the ads. The lady asked for my ID, took my picture with my id, asked me a few confirming questions, and then took the title. Didn't even have me sign it, which I asked about twice. She said the power of attorney covered that.

Then she handed me my check and said she's all done. I was free to go as soon as I handed her the keys. So I did and headed back into the house. She called me from the front yard a few minutes later and said she wasn't going to take the truck now because she was afraid as big as it was she'd scratch it on the rollback. She said they'd come pick it up later today and would I mind if she left it here. I had her park it down by our barn and told them to take all the time they want. She slapped a lockbox on the window and left.


So pros:

-this was super easy. literally almost no paperwork or time investment from me
-I had a solid offer that was better than several others by a couple thousand dollars
-I didn't have to sell it on facebook, craigslist, or cars.com or any of those other nightmare swamps

Cons:

-I got nothing for the aftermarket accessories. I know I likely wouldn't have gotten anything from dealer either, but that was alot of free stuff I wasn't reimbursed for
-the power of attorney makes me a little worried
=I now have a truck I no longer own still sitting on my property for who knows how long.

Overall I'm thrilled with how things went. I'd say having it detailed was likely unnecessary. The lady just didn't care. She walked around it and took pictures of every flaw and the truck as a whole, but she had no complaints. I'd even driven it after they made the offer and they didn't take off for the additional 50 or so miles on it.

I'd do this deal again in a heartbeat.

 

[HEMIMANN]

As I've posted here I've just taken possession of my new 2026 PW, and so my previous truck had to go to both make room in my driveway and my budget. This was a black 2018 PW level 1, on which I'd added: a lighted headache rack, a frame mounted grille guard, a decked system, several lights with an SPod system, a quality dashcam, and the new tires off my 2026 PW. I took it to several dealers and the best offer I could get for it was 31k, which came from 2 separate dealers. Others were south of that. Then I considered selling to Carmax. They offered 33 sight unseen, but the total offer would be amended if necessary when they came to pickup the vehicle. Then I tried Carvana. At first they offered 34k, but then when I didn't immediately take that offer it dropped to 31k a week later. the day my 2026 came in I received an updated offer for 35,600. I jumped on that offer and immediately went to sell the truck. Oh, I owed nothing on the truck, and of course wasn't trading it in, this was a one way direct sale.

They walked me through a whole bunch of questions about the truck, it's condition, and its history. For me all of those questions were boring because it was in great condition with just over 50K miles. They asked for photos of the truck and my ID. Then they said they had to process the data and would get back to me.

About 2 hours later I received an email from them that the truck was acceptable and they reiterated their offer at 35600. They invited me to pick a time to have the truck picked up, or I could deliver it to them about 25 miles away. I let them come and get it. It cost me $40 for the privilege but I didn't want to drive to north St. Louis to deliver my truck to them. I picked a date about two weeks out because at that point I still needed to clean it out, swap wheels and tires, and generally prepare it for sale.

Once I'd cleaned it out I paid a local detailer to come out and clean the truck up. It hadn't been washed in too long, and my dogs left their hair all over the truck so it needed a good interior detail too. I invested about $250 into that effort.

I did it because online I read horror stories after the fact of people getting their vehicle picked over by the Carvana rep and ultimately having their offer significantly change at the point of sale. So I was totally honest and pointed out every flaw on the truck and then decided to have it cleaned up. I've detailed every truck I've sold or traded in- I find I get more money that way.

The night before they were due to come, Carvana sent me two items to sign via docusign. First was a confirmation of the deal, which was no big deal, and then the second was a power of attorney over the truck. It was from Texas and it only allowed for an amended odometer statement. I thought that was pretty benign and signed.

They were supposed to pick it up last night but something happened and they moved the appointment to this morning. They came out in the big rollback truck you see in the ads. The lady asked for my ID, took my picture with my id, asked me a few confirming questions, and then took the title. Didn't even have me sign it, which I asked about twice. She said the power of attorney covered that.

Then she handed me my check and said she's all done. I was free to go as soon as I handed her the keys. So I did and headed back into the house. She called me from the front yard a few minutes later and said she wasn't going to take the truck now because she was afraid as big as it was she'd scratch it on the rollback. She said they'd come pick it up later today and would I mind if she left it here. I had her park it down by our barn and told them to take all the time they want. She slapped a lockbox on the window and left.


So pros:

-this was super easy. literally almost no paperwork or time investment from me
-I had a solid offer that was better than several others by a couple thousand dollars
-I didn't have to sell it on facebook, craigslist, or cars.com or any of those other nightmare swamps

Cons:

-I got nothing for the aftermarket accessories. I know I likely wouldn't have gotten anything from dealer either, but that was alot of free stuff I wasn't reimbursed for
-the power of attorney makes me a little worried
=I now have a truck I no longer own still sitting on my property for who knows how long.

Overall I'm thrilled with how things went. I'd say having it detailed was likely unnecessary. The lady just didn't care. She walked around it and took pictures of every flaw and the truck as a whole, but she had no complaints. I'd even driven it after they made the offer and they didn't take off for the additional 50 or so miles on it.

I'd do this deal again in a heartbeat.

Thanks for posting your sales experience. Most guys I know around here use Facebook Marketplace, along with all the cautions about scammers. I sold an RV and an old SUV direct that way, but it was a lot of work, to your point.

This said, I also had the time, being retired, to research True Market Value thru Edmunds (Kelly Bluebook is too high, NADA Bluebook is too low). And I got the EXACT private sale valuation each time. The private sale valuation is in-between the dealer trade-in and dealer retail prices, btw, so it benefits both the seller and the buyer.

And yeah, going to get it cleaned and detailed is the only way to go, IMO. I'm done trying to scrub trucks myself!

 

[Mojo88]

As someone who 'used' to buy from private sellers, I'm kinda pizzed off at Carmax and Carvana. Most of the sellers with good used vehicles are doing what you did. A friend of mine just went through same process, and got a great price from Carmax.

This is good for you (you get an easier sale, but likely not higher price than selling to a real buyer), but bad for the market overall, as Carmax and Carvana pay you basically retail and for a shopper like me, the new price is over retail.

Nowadays, when I'm shopping for a used vehicle I try to avoid Carmax, Carvana and similar outlets. I have no problems going to legitimate dealers though. Private sellers OK too.

 

[British Bulldog]

I totally understand selling to dealer or carmax etc.
I have had my share of scams, tricks etc trying to sell vehicles privately. I owed an Audi Quattro in UK. Put it up for sale, fella came to look…….could he take it for test drive. I said, yes, with me. He wanted to drive I said, show me your insurance. He wouldn’t. Left.
That very night, my theft alarm went off, some **** trying to steal it from outside house. Coincidence? I don’t think so. I ran after the fella down the street half naked and no shoes. He got away. Damage to door.

ANOTHER Audi Quattro, years later.
Fella comes around with his ‘mechanic’ we go for drive, he says he’ll have it ( cash sale) but only has £/;()$ on him, would I take £xxxxxx. I wouldn’t deal and hey presto! he suddenly had the extra cash in a brown paper bag in his mates car! I seem to recall it was around £4,500.
I counted that money twice, hoping to hell it wasn’t fake! Gave him a bill of sales, photographed his driving license etc etc. log book to follow. THEN I was so squirrelly about all that cash at home, it was a lot then, I hid it in a plastic bag up in the water tank in the attic in case they came back to rob me! They were decidedly shady. When he left, with my (sold) prestige Audi he screeched off in AWD burning rubber!
Next day, straight down to bank and all was good! Major worry, so I avoid like the plague now lol. Bank drafts, cashiers checks can all be faked too…….

 

[Daw14]

I have sold two cars to Carmax.
They made fair offers for them ,and I did not have to deal with any crazy people .
I have learned I do not want any dealings with them.
I had a neighbor offer a cloths washer and dryer for sale ,asked for $150.00 .
A couple showed up wanting it for free , needless to say they were turned away.
As these two scumbags made their way down the dirt drive , they decided they would light fires on both sides of the road.
It happened to be a very windy morning and those flames spread really fast.
I noticed the smoke ,called the neighbors,then tried to slow the burn until the fire department made it on site.

It burned the fields but we got it stopped just before it got to the woods. It scorched around 10 acres .

I will never sell anything from my house after that, it was not my land that burned , but I got the lesson..
Unfortunately where I’m located we have lots of crazy’s .

 

[04fxdwgi]

Yeah, it is interesting to say the least. Carmax gave me 6k more for my Caddy CT6 Platinum than Carvana offered and 9k more than the Caddy dealer offered. Only difference is Carmax doesn't pick up / deliver.

 

[etbrown4]

Beware of Carvana. The company is no better that the folks behind it... As a seller, will the check be good? As a buyer, will you receive the title?

One major owner pled guilty to a felony bank fraud charge for his role in the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association collapse.

The company and its executives also faced other legal issues during and around 2022:
Failed title transfers: Throughout 2022, Carvana was accused in several states of failing to provide vehicle titles to customers in a timely manner.

In Illinois, the state briefly suspended Carvana's license to sell cars in July 2022 for failing to follow proper procedures.

In October 2022, Michigan suspended the license of a Carvana dealership for causing "immediate harm to the public" due to Michigan Vehicle Code violations.

In Pennsylvania, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the company for improper vehicle title transfers.

Carvana General Counsel was charged with 74 criminal counts related to corporate malfeasance regarding title and registration law compliance. The charges followed repeated offenses of failing to properly transfer titles in states like Illinois.

 

[Coastal WA Gal]

Thanks for this post, if I wind up having to sell my truck for health reasons, I’ll probably go the same route. ESPECIALLY since I live out here in BFE on the Washington coast.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Interesting post. Thanks for the FYI.

Carvana is 'Probably' more stable now. Around 2022 they (and others) got into a post-Covid cash crunch and were sitting on a lot of vehicles they pait more for in the covid and chips used car crunch, than were worth, and were supposedly in dodgy shape for a while ....per numerous articles written at the time. So some of the 2022 factors might be due to old issues.

Here we are almost 2026, they apparently were able to adjust their buisness model and weather the storms.

Glad you got a good price for your tk. Guys rarely recover aftermarket accessory costs. Just how it goes. I think you did the right thing getting it detailed. Or maybe you could have had a less thorough detailing done. I'm sure Carvana has their own people who do that work. It's always easy to look back and second-guess. But now you have a much newer vehicle and didn't have to deal with the inerweb headaches.

I bought a used vehicle for my wife recently and yeah, I deciided it was just easier and less headaches to go to a (decent) used car dealer than deal with the scammers, or be preceived as a scammer.

 

[QwikKota]

I felt more comfortable with Carmax due to it's brick and mortar status and all of the experience people they have working there that can process the title. It takes between 1 and 2 hours but they give you a cashiers check and proper paperwork processing the transfer. Every time I have had people ship a vehicle it was foreigners who barely spoke English and the pick up or delivery date changed multiple times.

 

[04fxdwgi]

When I sold My CT6 Platinum to Carmax, it was 40 minutes out the door. Super fast and easy and got more for it than Carvana or the dealer offered.

 

[Hawkman]

I used Carvana in 2024 when we sold the wife’s 2016 Buick Encore with a 124,000 miles.

Car was in very good condition. I am very picky about maintenance and cleaning.

We went to a dealer and thought about trading. But without even looking at it, they offered a ridiculously low price. Gave the reasoning as due to the high mileage. We didn’t expect retail money for it, but wasn’t going to give it to them. Thought initially about taking it to Mi from SC and giving it to one of the grands.

I decided to go on the Carvana site. Input all of the info they asked for and was honest. With in minutes got a quote that was thousands more than the dealer. I accepted.

They then sent a mechanic out to inspect the vehicle. He was very pleased with the car and sent a recommendations that they select it. Within two days, they mailed us a check for the amount. They scheduled pick up. The only thing I had to do was move it out of the garage and into the driveway for them to collect it.

I would use their services again.