We sold a 2022 Tesla Y through Carvana. It could not have been easier.
As of November, Carvana now has two employees in central Iowa. They typically each handle 2-5 transactions a day.
Regular readers of this column know Richard and I ordered a Tesla Y in August of 2021, and we were finally able to take delivery the end of February. We immediately took off on a 5,000+ road trip with two destinations out west: a visit to family and friends on our way to the Grand Canyon, a ‘bucket list’ stop for me.
The road trip was terrific. The Tesla Super Chargers were available on the main roads we traveled, and other charging opportunities could be found off-road, too. There are so many cool things about the Tesla and electric cars in general, if we ever buy a new car again, it will be an electric vehicle.
There was just one problem with the Tesla. Periodically, and nonsensically, the car would automatically brake. Once it not only braked, but started to swerve to the shoulder of the road.
We had talked to plenty of Tesla owners prior to ordering the Y and all had glowing things to say, so this was a big surprise.
I kinda got used to what’s called ‘phantom braking,’ and could correct on the fly. We were assured every time we talked to a Tesla technician that the company was aware of the issue and working on it. Also, they would add, the good thing about a Tesla is bug fixes are easily addressed through software downloads. I hope it comes soon, but we’re not hanging around to find out. A software update notice came in yesterday, but by then it was too late.
During our road trip we realized the only real fix for phantom braking was to not use cruise control. It then seemed ridiculous to have an expensive piece of metal, battery and technology that wasn’t as driver-friendly as my VW Bug, with cruise control. Oh, yeah, and Iowa is way behind the times when it comes to offering charging locations throughout the state. Internal combustion engines and fossil fuel dependency reigns.
Still, this wasn’t an easy decision to make, until the very nice support person at Tesla, seemingly reading from a script said, “Elon is working full time on solving this issue.”
The conversation took place during this past week, when ‘Elon’ was attempting to buy Twitter.
That did it. I was done with ‘Elon.’ I am so sick of liars.
Tesla wouldn’t take back that car without going through the used car department that offered to buy it for $15,000 less than Carvana. We actually sold the Y for more than we paid for it due to its popularity.
So, here’s how the process works. You sign on to www.carvana.com and create an account. You click ‘sell’ a car and go through the prompts. Of course, you’ll provide a VIN number, odometer reading, photos of the dashboard and answer questions about the condition. In our case, Carvana made an offer immediately and we accepted. We were given options of when we wanted to have the car picked up, at our home, and it all worked seamlessly.
Our support person, Joshua Chambers, arrived apologetic for being 10 minutes later than the 10:30 appointment. Seriously. I’d blocked off a couple of hours for this new experience. He had texted his approximate arrival time beforehand so communication was excellent.
Joshua loaded the car on his flatbed, we finished the paperwork, he handed me a check and we would have been done had I not peppered him with questions about his job.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced, I asked.
He had to reject a truck purchase once. It was not in the condition the seller had represented, and in fact, Joshua speculated the car might have been stolen based on a few tells.
He did have one customer reject a purchase. That’s part of Carvana’s promise. If you don’t like the car for any reason, you don’t have to buy it.
Those experiences are unusual, however. Most transactions are as easy as ours was, he said.
I was reminded of a speaker we had meet with our Vistage business group in Baltimore 15 years ago. He was a ‘futurist’ and told our members that if their business revolved around being any kind of ‘middleman’ they needed to change course. Technology was going to eliminate the middleman.
And, here we are. It might take a little while, but the Carvana model will win.
If you’ve purchased a new or used car the traditional way it is a frustrating and maddening process. There is the advertised price, then, lo and behold, there are a number of additional fees for this and that. Then, there’s the negotiation, and the sales person has to ‘check with my sales manager’ and leaves you waiting and waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
It’s bullshit. We all know it. Wink wink nod nod.
Traditional auto dealers will try to tell customers not to trust outfits like Carvana, but as more and more of us share our personal experiences, the narrative will change, and the automated, and more convenient process will prevail.
Note to auto dealers: change course now, if you haven’t already. You can’t lobby your way out of this. Consider yourself disrupted.
Julie Gammack’s Potluck column is complimentary. If you would like to support scholarships for the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat, become a paid subscriber. We will soon launch a Monday Zoom Lunch with notable influencers. This will be a premium add-on for our paid subscribers.
Carvana is to brick and mortar auto dealers as the Internet is to brick and mortar newspapers. Carvana's stock ended today at $59.65 down from $376.83 on 8/10/21. Buying Adesa was a bad move.
Love what you said about car dealers. Not to mention they will lie to you & say they didn't say what they did 2 days ago. Plus, I am not a good game player. I have to bring Ryan along to do that. I just don't have the patience. Ry on the other hand, gets a kick out of it. Of course, he knows he will always come out on top!