Is Carvana Legit? An Honest 2026 Review of Buying and Selling

If you’ve ever considered buying a used car from an online car dealership and snooped around the Internet for information on where to start, you’ve probably come across Carvana. But is Carvana legit and can it be trusted?

The short answer is “Yes, it is legit”, but the longer answer is a bit more complicated. Carvana is a publicly traded online used-car retailer with an extensive inventory of vehicles in various conditions. It offers amazing convenience and safe transactions to millions of customers, but people online seem to have mixed experiences regarding the quality of the vehicles. In terms of buying a used car online, Carvana is a good place to start or to find a great deal, as long as you know what you are looking for.

Who should use Carvana?

There is a steep learning curve when it comes to buying or selling a used car online; there’s a lot to know about how to identify a good deal just from photos. But if you have the experience, websites like Carvana are just the right place for you. As a retail online car marketplace, it attracts all sorts of people. The ones that would benefit the most from using Carvana are both seasoned car buyers and people brand new to this niche. If you are looking for a specific type of car, chances are you will find it - its condition might be questionable.

Who should avoid Carvana?

The people who are best to avoid Carvana are people who have no experience buying cars whatsoever, let alone online car purchasing. It’s also best to stay away if you are looking for a brand-new car since most of the listings are for used cars and therefore would be a waste of time. 

Carvana wouldn’t be a good place for people who are looking for a 100% guaranteed reliable car, since there are lots of different quality cars on the site. There is an abundance of salvage or rebuilt title cars that have hidden faults and issues, which can be a problem for an inexperienced car buyer.

What Is Carvana and How Does It Work?

Carvana is an online retailer focused on giving visitors near-limitless access to used cars. The website is used for selling, buying, and trading used cars, with a supported 7-day money-back guarantee, a safe checkout, included financing and trade-in options, as well as extensive safety support for customers, with each car passing a 150-point inspection process, guaranteeing that each car is free of frame and flooding damage. The service also includes a free CARFAX vehicle history report, which helps visitors get the full picture.

Buying a Car Through Carvana

Buying a used car through Carvana can be completed entirely online, from inspecting the vehicle to finding finance options to even signing the contract. A car buyer has the option to browse through the large selection of available vehicles, with multiple categories and options available to make the search a lot easier. Once a buyer has found the vehicle they want, they can request information about it, including a free CARFAX vehicle history check. They can either find financing online or buy or trade in a car they own and get the model they prefer from Carvana.

Selling Your Car to Carvana

Selling a used car to Carvana is extremely easy and can be done entirely online, except for the process of handing over the vehicle to Carvana. You can get an instant offer from Carvana; all you have to do is input some basic information about the car’s condition, trim level and any existing auto loans on it.

You can start by inputting the car’s license plate or VIN number. Once the info is logged, the service will get back to you with an offer. If you accept it, you will be asked to upload photos of documents like:

• The car’s title;
• Current registration;
• Your driver's license.

After that, you’ll have to choose between pickup and drop-off. Carvana allows you to select the method by which you hand over the car - you can request a service to come and collect the car from your address, or you can drop it off at a pre-specified location. Then all that is left is to get paid.

How Carvana Makes Money

Carvana is very transparent with how they make money - it generates its revenue through three main streams - a markup on the sale price of the vehicle, auto loan financing spreads, and add-on products like extended warranties and different insurance types. The core business model of Carvana is the Buy-low-sell-high model, which is why purchased vehicles from customers are sent to reconditioning centers to get fixed up. They also offer additional services like vehicle inspection and vehicle delivery, which are taxed extra.

Pros of Buying or Selling Through Carvana

Convenience

By far the biggest pro of buying or selling through Carvana is the convenience that this service offers. You won’t have to deal with the hassle and haggling reality of physical retail dealerships, but rather can easily and painlessly sell or buy a car through a trusted service. For buyers, it's super safe because Carvana cars come with a certificate that they are not damaged of flooded, meaning they are a safe choice. For car sellers, Carvana offers almost same-day selling options, which are perfect for someone looking to quickly cash out.

Wide Vehicle Selection

Since Carvana has many locations and it is mostly online-based, it has a tremendous amount of vehicle selection options. This makes it both quite popular and very convenient for car collectors or people looking for a great deal on rare models or trim levels. Unlike physical dealerships, Carvana cars are spread all around the U.S., stored in safe locations.

Financing Options

Carvana allows customers to easily get financing online without having to physically apply at a bank for an auto loan. This means that the threshold and time-to-own are very low.

Common Complaints About Carvana

While Carvana is a very popular and widely used service, it, too, has some drawbacks, as noted by its users. As a future or current user, you might be pressed to learn about what sort of common complaints Carvana users have about the service, to avoid disappointment.

Delivery Delays

Carvana offers car delivery services for customers who’ve purchased a car. As happens, there are issues with delivery deadlines, and some users report having issues with delays for their deliveries. Those can be due to many reasons, as Carvana uses 3-rd party delivery companies, the issues may be with the company or a particular driver. The most often cited reason for a delay is due to bad traffic or carrier unavailability, which can be resolved if you book your own car shipping company.

Registration Issues

According to news reporting by NBC 5 Chicago, some users have reported having issues with waiting months and even years for their permanent car title or license plates. This happens due to the quick turnover rate of cars that Carvana has to offer, and sometimes it sells cars without having the physical title available for the customer. To resolve this, Carvana has started issuing temporary, out-of-state tags so car owners can legally drive their vehicles. The issue there is that driving with an expired tag or one that is not recognized by local authorities can result in being ticketed and cited by local law enforcement.

Vehicle Condition

As Carvana is a huge service that offers millions of vehicles nationwide, it's possible to find vehicles in all kinds of conditions. Since the service does offer a free CARFAX check and each vehicle passes a detailed 150-point inspection, most vehicles are in relatively good condition. However, there is an intrinsic risk in buying a second hand used car online. Despite the promised 150-point inspection, some users report that the cars they receive have significant mechanical issues that are undisclosed or overlooked by the inspection. Most of the complaints about Carvana are about undisclosed cosmetic damage to the car, which, while not as serious as mechanical defects, can be quite expensive to resolve at times, depending on the car and the damage.