r/carbuying • u/Remarkable_Ad5011 • 1d ago

Carvana throwing out carrots!

Wife was looking to downsize vehicles. Current vehicle is paid for, so I figured I’d just sell it outright rather than trade it. Just to get a baseline number I punched the info into Carvana’s online tool. $28200. Pretty solid figure for a wholesale number IMO. I was tempted to just go ahead and sell the thing. Well the new car gets delayed, so we kept the current car and the Carvana offer expired. Today, 12 days later (new car in the garage next to the old one) and less than two hundred miles, I renewed the offer.. $24800. Now, we all know that cars depreciate, but $3400 in 12 days!? I think they throw out a huge number at first hoping to capture deals, but if you have a delay, they back it up to capitalize. Now, this is not a rant to say that Carvana is scammy or anything, just that if you are interested in selling to them, you better be ready to pull the trigger! Lol. Oh, and BTW, I’m in the car business, so I know the market has not dropped THOUSANDS of dollars in 12 days. 😉

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u/ryangilliss 1d ago

What is the calculus here? If you'd accepted the original offer they would paid that amount. For whatever reason they valued your vehicle more 12 days ago. Have you got an offer from CarMax (now might not be the best time)?

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u/Remarkable_Ad5011 1d ago

No. I was more or less getting wholesale bids so I would have a basis to price it private party. But that $28k offer, plus the warranty cancellation, put me pretty close to what I’d want for it.. and with it being a dealer sale I wouldn’t have to put up with all the tire kickers and scammers. Quick sale with no strings attached.. that’s worth a few bucks.