You know when you are on the hunt for something and you see something and it just clicks? That is what I found with this car. I just happen to be on Carfax.com because I was reading the report on one car and I wondering if Carfax actually had a search feature for cars. I happen to be strolling down the list and there it was. It was located in Minnesota and I'm immediately thinking do I even want to bother with it because how in the heck would I even get it.
Buying a car on Carvana is one thing.....that was easy because the car was delivered to me. Yet THIS car?! It's being sold by a dealership that doesn't have Carvana or Carmax options of free or cheap shipping. Yet despite this obstacle I contacted their dealership and someone by the name of Trisha reached out to me. She did answer my questions about shipping, it would have been about $800-$1200. The other 2 options to me were to either drive up there or fly. So I spoke with Trisha for about 5 days before I decided to go through with the purchase. My sister was cool enough to fly up there with me and Trisha picked us up from the airport.
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| My Arrival to Minneapolis |
Upon our arrival to the airport I noticed that it had been snowing, ALOT. So that had me a bit nervous as Trisha drove us to the dealership. It took us about 40 minutes to arrive due to the weather. After we arrived, my sister sat at a different table while Trisha and I were prepping to do paperwork. Yet before all of that she took me to see my car. When I tell ya it is a thing of beauty, I'm not lying. This was actually the car I was looking for when I was looking for a car last year with my purchase from Carvana. So after checking out the car, we proceed with the paperwork and everything was wrapped up within less than a hour.
After thanking Trisha, my sis and I make our way to Mall of America. We ended up staying there for around 5 hours. So we hit the road to drive back to Saint Louis. Unfortunately we dealt with the snow the whole way back and Google Maps took us through some backwards weird as farmer town for 100 miles. When I tell you that I was scared shitless you have no idea. I saw one of the biggest Trump/Pence signs EVER while we were in Iowa making a gas stop. I refilled the car and told my sis lets haul ass so we can get out of there.
I was so happy when we hit Hannibal, MO I almost felt like crying. Overall I did all of the driving. My sis did offer to help but I wanted her to rest. The entire drive was over 13 hours. I mainly went about 35 mph because the snow was so bad through all three states. I was so happy to be home. Yet my body let me know that I had pushed it to the limit. The stress that I had been holding in my body finally started to release and as soon as my head touched a pillow, I was down for the count. Hell my body is still recouping on Sunday during the evening. I'm thankful that we have MLK holiday tomorrow because I still am trying to get myself together and know I need to take care of business pertaining to my car.
So to think I have experienced buying 2 cars within less of a year. There are definitely pro's and con's to buying on a website such as Carvana vs a Dealership.
Carvana
Pros
Luxury of buying from the comfort of your laptop and/or cellphone and having it delivered to your house.
You have (if I recall) 7 or 10 days to make sure you like the car or you can return it or get something else.
If you bank with a credit union you probably will get a lower rate for a loan that can be used at this site.
Their fees at the time of my purchase were super low. I think they have gone up since then.
Cons
Everyone knows about the site so if you see a car you like, you better hop on it.
No Negotiating on costs.
Their customer service can be a nightmare to reach especially if you want to possibly use your car as a trade-in.
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| This is the Customer Service number for Carvana. That is how long I waited on hold to speak with someone......Yes you are reading that correctly....4 hours 9 min and 2 seconds. I feel like I should have received a plaque for that amount of dedication. |
Dealership
Pros
I assume you can negotiate on price. I didn't because I knew I had a steal already.
Great customer service (for me)
You are dealing with one salesman from start to finish.
Cons
Delivery of a vehicle can be expensive as hell. Which is why I flew to pick up mine.
If you are an out of town buyer you are at the mercy of the dealership when it comes to financing. I was hit with a 7.8 interest rate and was going to walk away from the deal but thankfully the manager with my Credit Union suggested I still buy the car because I know that I would receive a significantly lower rate when I re-finance.
Extended warranties I have heard are normally higher with a dealership than with a bank. Yet with this warranty I decided to purchase because for the bumper to bumper protection it provides for 10 Years/150,000 miles it is pretty impressive.
So overall my lesson is this. Sometimes a tragedy is actually a blessing in disguise. Had that careless man not hit me I wouldn't have been able to get the car I really wanted. Yet in all honestly I would have been just fine with my other car. I felt like I went through hell when I found that car. With over 3 months of research, it was a challenge. Yet I like to think that because I went through all of that with my previous car, the fact that it took me less than a month to find my present one, meant that I was prepared to know what to do in a shorter period of time.
Bottom line, keep searching until you find what you want or close to it. Don't let location stop you if possible. Negotiate if you can. Factor in everything and if you can get a low interest rate from a credit union or bank. Go for it.
