Carvana drives forward with ‘car vending machines’

An omnichannel platform for buying and selling used cars is bringing its newest automated order fulfillment location to Florida.

Carvana is opening a “car vending machine” in Miami. The structure stands eight stories tall and holds 27 vehicles. The vending machine is designed to offer a fast and convenient pickup option for customers who purchase a vehicle on the Carvana platform.

In as little as 10 minutes, customers can shop more than 15,000 vehicles on the site, finance, purchase, trade-in, and schedule as-soon-as-next-day pickup at the car vending site or home delivery of that vehicle. (Area residents can also sell their current vehicle to Carvana regardless of whether they are purchasing a replacement.)

Customers who decide to pick up their car at the vending kiosk are greeted by a customer “advocate” and receive a commemorative, oversized Carvana coin to activate the vending process. They then watch as their vehicle descends the all-glass tower. The process takes only minutes, according to the company. All vehicles come with a seven-day return policy.

Miami is the fourth Carvana car vending machine location in Florida and the 24th in the U.S., joining counterparts in Texas, Tennessee, Maryland, Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, California, and Oklahoma. 

“We launched as-soon-as-next-day vehicle delivery in Miami in 2016, and continue to grow our presence as this vibrant city continues to grow,” said Ernie Garcia, founder and CEO of Carvana. “We are confident Miami area residents will enjoy the unique, one-of-a-kind experience our newest Car Vending Machine offers.”

In addition, Carvana has also recently started providing soon-as-next-day delivery to the California metro areas of Chico, Hanford, Madera, Napa, and Yuba City. Carvana now offers as-soon-as-next-day vehicle delivery in 158 markets across the U.S.