Carvana opens ‘car vending machine’ in major U.S. metro area

Carvana’s latest automated vehicle pickup location is now operating in a suburb of one of America’s most important cities.

The omnichannel platform for buying and selling used cars is launching its 35th car vending machine, situated in Garden City, N.Y. Located on Long Island in Nassau County, Garden City is part of the New York City metro area.

The steel and glass structure stands eight stories tall with a 27-vehicle capacity. Carvana customers can shop online and then either select a time to pick up their vehicle at a local car vending machine or have the vehicle delivered to their home.

If a customer selects the vending machine, 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 newly purchased vehicle descend through the brightly lit, glass vending structure.

[Read more: Carvana opens second 'car vending machine' in Arizona]

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.

Additional car vending machines are located in Utah, Virginia, Nevada, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Georgia. Founded in 2012 and based in Phoenix, Carvana provides as-soon-as-next-day delivery to automotive shoppers in over 300 U.S. markets.

“Long Island residents have so many different needs when it comes to a vehicle,” said Nicholas Gottlieb, Carvana market operations manager. “We’re proud to offer Garden City a national inventory with thousands of vehicles, paired with as-soon-as-next-day vehicle delivery so customers can easily and quickly get exactly what they want.”

This is the first car vending machine Carvana has opened in New York state, and the 35th in the U.S.