Carvana to open sixth auto reconditioning facility
An omnichannel platform for buying and selling used cars continues expanding its capacity to auction reconditioned vehicles.
Carvana Co. is developing its sixth auction and reconditioning "megasite" in the Indianapolis market. The company has previously announced plans to develop its first megasite in Kansas City, second hub in Houston, third facility in Las Vegas, fourth in the Boston area and fifth in Atlanta.
This will expand Carvana’s reconditioning and auction activities in the Midwest, along with its operations in the Northeast and Southwest.
Carvana will establish inspection and reconditioning center (IRC) capabilities at the existing Plainfield, Ind. (Indianapolis metropolitan area) site of its ADESA wholesale auction subsidiary while maintaining all digital and in-lane auction operations.
The Plainfield site covers more than 100 acres with almost 12,000 parking spaces. Carvana has already started hiring new associates at this facility and expects the integration of IRC capabilities to create approximately 200 new local jobs over time.
"The Indianapolis area has served as ADESA’s headquarters for more than 30 years, and we are proud to deepen our operational presence and team in this market by integrating Carvana IRC capabilities with our existing wholesale auction," said Mike Caggiano, ADESA executive VP of operations. "The megasite integration leverages Carvana and ADESA’s combined infrastructure to improve our offering for local retail and wholesale customers while also creating many new entry level and skilled jobs in the community."
By adding IRC capabilities to its ADESA Indianapolis site, Carvana intends to increase its total reconditioning capacity, which it expects will improve product selection as well as create a pool of retail inventory in the surrounding metropolitan area.
The site will also adopt Carvana’s proprietary CARLI software, which is designed to enable efficiency, scalability and consistency across its IRC 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]
Upon their arrival at the tower, car buyers are greeted by a customer advocate and receive a commemorative, oversized Carvana coin to activate the automated vending process. Customers can watch their newly purchased vehicle descend through the brightly lit, glass vending structure.
Founded in 2012 and based in Phoenix, Carvana provides as-soon-as-next-day delivery to automotive shoppers in over 300 U.S. markets.
