‘Either rebuilt or salvaged from a junk yard’: Customer claims Carvana did not disclose issues with her Dodge Journey
A mom claims that Carvana neglected to mention a litany of different issues she had with a car she purchased through the popular car buying website—ones she only discovered upon trading in her vehicle and buying the used car.
Charlene (@charlennneeeeee) states that she had to drive five hours to pick up a Dodge Journey, only to receive a vehicle with a broken headlight, a battery and coolant line that was not properly secured, a key fob with a dying battery that prompts a warning message every time she starts the vehicle, and an undisclosed accident. Upon bringing the car to her local mechanic, she also discovered that the car's original motor wasn't in the vehicle, suggesting that it had been replaced.
@charlennneeeeee I have not contacted @Carvana yet because I’m just so upset. But they will be receiving a phone call tomorrow. This vehicle reported that it was never in an accident. My mechanic found that it did NOT have the factory motor in it, either rebuilt or salvaged from a junk yard. Also the air bags have been deployed indicating what??? Oh THAT IT WAS IN AN ACCIDENT. The car has been completely repainted and repaired where it was damaged. I drove 5 hours to pick this car up one way because Carvana does not deliver where I live. I also traded in my car. This car started overheating when I was still 2 hours from my house. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it home! I was able to put coolant in it and luckily that did the trick..or so I thought. I got home and the coolant is completely gone, but we don’t know where too!! I trusted this company and now I don’t know what to do. I can’t drive it back there because I’m afraid it won’t make it. Help me get this story out there! This mama needs a working car. #carvana #viral #pissed #help #cars #dodgejourney #fyp ♬ original sound - Charlene ♈️
Charlene says in a TikTok video she posted about her experience, "To say I'm pissed is an understatement. I drove five hours one way today to pick up this car from Carvana. So 10 hours in total, five hours there, five hours back. I picked it up and it looked like this."
She proceeds to pan her camera over the interior of the car, which is covered with various dirt and grime stains. "The dirt, I don't mind. It's fine. But there's other issues."
The TikToker then takes the key fob for the vehicle and places it into the ignition. It appears to start without issue. But an error message for the key fob begins to beep along with a message on the dashboard that reads: "Key has left vehicle."
Charlene goes on to say: "I can clean the dirt. But I can't fix stuff that my mechanic says is structurally unsound with this vehicle. First of all, when I picked up this car the person that gave us the car from Carvana, battery is dying in the little key fob and he was gonna fix it, but apparently he couldn't. So, anytime you open the door to leave, it says that a key is missing."
She then pulls down one of the seat armrests that features cupholders embedded into the back of it. The interior of the cupholders appears to be stained with a viscous grime. She notes: "And then look at this. That's disgusting. They didn't even clean that."
On the exterior of the car, there appears to be moisture trapped in one of the headlights of the vehicle, something that Charlene says wasn't reported in the write-up for the vehicle.
The camera then pans up beneath the driver's side wheel well of the vehicle, revealing a torn piece of plastic: "Also this part down here? Broken. Also that battery right there—not secured."
She popped the hood of the car and tapped the coolant line for the reservoir for antifreeze/coolant, stating that the line wasn't secured either and that the line came out and her vehicle "overheated" while she was driving it.
But her problems with the vehicle didn't stop there: Charlene says that her mechanic discovered the car's motor wasn't its original one and that the car was in an accident, which wasn't reported by Carvana: "I have not contacted @Carvana yet because I’m just so upset. But they will be receiving a phone call tomorrow. This vehicle reported that it was never in an accident. My mechanic found that it did NOT have the factory motor in it, either rebuilt or salvaged from a junk yard."
She added that she discovered it was in an accident because the vehicle's airbags had been deployed, and further explained that she would be following up with Carvana about the incident: "Also the air bags have been deployed indicating what??? Oh THAT IT WAS IN AN ACCIDENT. The car has been completely repainted and repaired where it was damaged. I drove 5 hours to pick this car up one way because Carvana does not deliver where I live. I also traded in my car. This car started overheating when I was still 2 hours from my house. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it home! I was able to put coolant in it and luckily that did the trick..or so I thought. I got home and the coolant is completely gone, but we don’t know where too!! I trusted this company and now I don’t know what to do. I can’t drive it back there because I’m afraid it won’t make it. Help me get this story out there! This mama needs a working car."
One user urged her to return the car utilizing Carvana's 7-day money back guarantee: "That’s been wrecked. Return it."
Another chastised her for taking the vehicle in the first place and the fact it was covered in dirt and grime was indicative of the car, or rather lack thereof, that had been put into the vehicle: "I would said he’ll nah I’m not taking this even with the dirt you pay money for it i better be decent." Someone else echoed the sentiment, stating: "Why you leave the lot with it? I would address the issue immediately."
One TikToker who said that they used to work with Carvana commented that the vehicle was full of red flags: "I worked at Carvana. This definitely shouldn’t have passed detail or photo. Return that immediately"
Someone else strong advised against purchasing a Dodge Journey, stating that they had owned two separate ones and experienced transmission problems with both: "I have had two Dodge Journeys - both had transmission issues. 1@85k miles and 1@75k miles."
The Daily Dot has reached out to Carvana via email and Charlene via TikTok comment for further information.
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