Carvana to open reconditioning facility in Bay Area
An omnichannel platform for buying and selling used cars is expanding production capacity and inventory in the greater San Francisco market.
Carvana plans to bring inspection and reconditioning center (IRC) capabilities to its existing ADESA Golden Gate wholesale auction site. Located in Tracy, Calif., a suburb of San Francisco in San Joaquin County, the more-than-150-acre site with nearly 25,000 parking spaces has served wholesale customers for more than five decades.
The company has been announcing plans to expand the auction and reconditioning capabilities of existing ADESA centers around the country. Recent examples include Dallas-Fort Worth, Seattle, Nashville, Colorado Springs, Phoenix (where company headquarters are located) and Manville, N.J.
Carvana has already begun hiring in the area and expects to create approximately 100 new jobs across entry-level and skilled roles in inspection, reconditioning, and fulfillment over time.
“Bringing IRC capabilities to ADESA Golden Gate not only strengthens Carvana’s nationwide network but also drives specific benefits for our retail and wholesale customers in the region,” said Brian Boyd, senior VP of inventory at Carvana. “We are excited to unlock faster delivery options for local car buyers and a more comprehensive offering for our wholesale auction customers while building our team and presence in Northern California.”
With this integration, Carvana is expanding its total reconditioning capacity and establishing a new pool of retail inventory in the Bay Area, in an effort to support faster delivery times for local customers. Wholesale customers will receive enhanced on-site capabilities and access to ADESA’s in-lane and digital auction platforms.
The Bay Area site will also adopt Carvana’s proprietary CARLI software, which is designed to enable efficiency, scalability and consistency across its IRC network.
The site’s efficient transition to an IRC-enabled facility is supported by Carvana’s proprietary software platform, CARLI, which drives operational consistency and scale across the company’s national reconditioning network.
How Carvana’s e-commerce model works
All vehicles in Carvana’s national inventory come with a seven-day return policy as opposed to a traditional test drive. According to Carvana, this ensures customers have the right amount of time to determine if the vehicle fits their needs.
Customers can also sell their current vehicle to Carvana and receive an offer in as little as five minutes, without having to purchase a vehicle. To sell a vehicle, customers enter their vehicle identification number (VIN) or license plate number on Carvana.com, answer a few questions, and then Carvana can pick up the vehicle and pay them as soon as the next day.
The e-tailer offers same-and next-day delivery of vehicles. In addition, in select markets Carvana offers "car vending machines" which enable customers to select and purchase a vehicle from its site and schedule a time for pick up.
[READ MORE: Carvana expands ‘car vending machine’ format in California]
Founded in 2012 and based in Phoenix, Carvana provides as-soon-as-next-day delivery to automotive shoppers in over 300 U.S. markets.
