Have You Ever Bought A Car From An Online Car Dealership?

The technology of the modern day has transformed how we live our lives. If you’re so inclined, you can get your groceries, prescriptions, tools, and pretty much most other things by making a few taps on your phone screen and waiting for a delivery. The digital era is even transforming car sales. Instead of going to a dealership, you can buy and finance a car entirely online without ever talking to a human. Have you ever bought a car from an online car dealership? How did it go?

In years past, shopping for a used car might have taken multiple days. You’d drive around to different dealerships, look at some cars, get the runaround from a salesman, and then do it all over again. Eventually, often right near the point where you’re exhausted, you pick a car, sign on the dotted line, and drive home.

In my experience, few people seem to actually enjoy the process of buying a car through the traditional method of visiting a dealership. You might have to negotiate with someone who spends each and every day negotiating. You then have to fend off dealer add-ons, market adjustments, and extended warranties. Of course, some used car dealers might not be as honest as they should be, too.

Part of what made Saturn great was that it got rid of some of the major pain points of buying from a dealership. The price you saw was the price you paid, and Saturn dealers at least tried to treat you like a person and not a walking bag of money. General Motors even strongly discouraged Saturn dealers from marking up popular models. It’s no surprise that Saturn dealers consistently rated high in dealership satisfaction surveys.

CarMax would adopt the Saturn model for its own business model, and it works. The Internet has supercharged this business model. What if there wasn’t a physical dealership at all? Companies like Carvana, CarBravo, and Vroom allow you to search for and purchase cars at home. You can even sign the paperwork in your underwear and then have your vehicle delivered right to your door. No haggling, no TruCoat, and not even human interaction, if you don’t want it.

Now, these companies are far from perfect. Carvana has been sued by several states for allegedly not following the law when selling cars. The car that you get from Carvana might also have some bizarre issues that should have been caught by the inspection that Carvana proudly advertises. Carvana also makes it shockingly easy to lock yourself into a loan with horrifyingly bad terms. At its worst, Carvana was allegedly selling stolen cars to people, and even cars that were kosher couldn’t be legally driven because Carvana allegedly didn’t send the vehicle owners their documentation.

Yet, for how terrible Carvana has been, I’m actually a two-time Carvana customer. My wife bought a 2010 Toyota Prius from Carvana in 2021, and I got my 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata from Carvana this year. In both cases, the cars came largely as described, and Carvana’s process was painless from start to finish. Maybe we lucked out, or maybe Carvana has started to clean up its act. I plan on writing about my Carvana experience a bit later, but the short version was that buying from Carvana was one of the easiest car-buying experiences I’ve ever had.

This is not to say that Carvana is perfect today. In my experience, Carvana’s extended warranty is only slightly better than worthless, and Carvana still misses some issues concerning a vehicle’s condition. However, that’s not any worse than buying at a normal used car dealership.

Of course, buying a car online also tends to mean that you sign on the dotted line before you even see the car in person, which might raise some hairs on your body. Yet, people keep doing it. So, that makes me wonder, Autopians. How many of you have purchased from an online car dealership? How did it go?

Topshot image graphic: Mercedes Streeter