Carvana opens 32nd U.S. ‘car vending machine’
Carvana continues developing automated locations for picking up online vehicle purchases.
The omnichannel platform for buying and selling used cars is launching its 32nd car vending machine, situated in Spring, Tex., a suburb of Houston. The red brick-and-glass structure stands eight stories tall with a 27-vehicle capacity, and serves as an automated fulfillment center for online car purchases.
The vending machine, which follows other recent openings such as a car vending machine Carvana introduced in Richmond, Va. in November 2021, is designed to offer a convenient pickup option for customers who purchase a vehicle on the Carvana omnichannel platform for buying and selling used cars.
Customers can use the Carvana online platform to shop more than 70,000 used cars for sale; secure auto financing; use a digital car loan calculator; and purchase, trade-in, and schedule as-soon-as-next-day vehicle delivery in as little as five minutes. In addition to home delivery, Carvana customers in Houston and other markets with a car vending machine can also choose to select a day and time convenient for them to pick up their vehicle at the automated car dispensing location.
Upon arrival, they will be greeted by a customer advocate and receive a commemorative, oversized Carvana coin to activate the automated vending process and watch their vehicle descending through the brightly lit structure from inside the brick-and-glass tower.
Carvana gives customers a high-definition, 360-degree virtual tour of every vehicle, inside and out. Carvana vehicles have passed a 150-point inspection, have never been in a reported accident and have no frame damage. Features, imperfections, and updated information about open safety recalls are listed on every car’s vehicle description page.
All 70,000-plus 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 a real offer in as little as five minutes, without having to purchase a vehicle. To sell a vehicle, customers enter their VIN or license plate number on Carvana.com, answering a few questions, and then Carvana can pick up the vehicle and pay them, as soon as the next day.
“When we launched Houston’s first Car Vending Machine in 2015, it was only our fifth across the U.S.,” said Ernie Garcia, Carvana founder and CEO. “It has been a long road since then, and now we have 32 Car Vending Machines across the country and five in Texas alone. So, we’re really proud to be back in the city that embraced us back then with a newly designed second Car Vending Machine to bring even more great experiences to customers in the Houston area.”
The newest car vending machine is the fifth of its kind in Texas, and the 32nd in the U.S. Additional car vending machines are located in Utah, Virginia, Nevada, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland, Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Georgia.
Based in Phoenix, Carvana was founded in 2012 and operates in over 300 U.S. markets.