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I know some people have had good experiences with Carvana (especially when they already know what they want, and said car that is configured just-so is halfway

I know some people have had good experiences with Carvana (especially when they already know what they want, and said car that is configured just-so is halfway across the country) - but I hate the idea of online shopping for the test-drive phase of car shopping. Seeing a panoramic view of the car's interior isn't enough, I need to feel it. "Oh, don't worry, Carvana has a 7-day money back guarantee" - yeah, I don't want to have to unwind a major transaction just to test-drive a car. Especially if I'm trading in a car as part of the transaction - from what I've read if you trade in a car to Carvana and then decide to return the car you've purchased, they don't bring your old car back. I wish there was a service where you could give them say a hundred bucks and they'd deliver maybe your top 5 cars to your house to poke around and test drive. The Zappos experience (they encourage people to order multiple sizes to try on and make the returns easy) but for cars instead of shoes.

culturestate 4y ago
> I wish there was a service where you could give them say a hundred bucks and they'd deliver maybe your top 5 cars to your house to poke around and test drive. Trying to imagine the logistics of getting this done - profitably - within a Carvana-like model for anything close to $100 just broke my brain.
- lastofthemojito 4y ago
  I live fairly close to the cluster of car dealerships in my area so maybe my perception is skewed, but it doesn't seem crazy to me that 2 sales guys from the Honda dealer would drive 5 minutes to my house to drop off an Accord (and then go back in 1 car), 2 sales guys from the Toyota dealer would drive 5 minutes to my house to drop off a Camry, etc... Seems like they're constantly making little trips to pick up cars from satellite lots, drop off cars for maintenance, fuel up cars, etc. This might only work for dealerships within a certain distance of course. But right, the part about doing it profitably would probably require a dealership that gets a successful sales lead to pay a fee to such a service.
- bombcar 4y ago
  Hertz has (or used to have) a "rent to own" deal with cars. You go to their lot of used cars, you poke and prod them, then you rent one you think you'll like for a week for a couple bills. If you decide to keep it, the rental cost is put against the purchase and you keep the car, if you don't like it you return and try again.
  - toomanyrichies 4y ago
    Is this what you're referring to? https://www.hertzcarsales.com/rent2buy.htm https://www.hertzcarsales.com/rent2buy.htm
    - bombcar 4y ago
      Yep, that's the one! Seems it's 3 days now, or 2 hours free. Not all locations offered it, however, but it can be nice. Even if you don't use it, renting the car or type of car you're thinking of buying can be a good strategy.
      - ghaff 4y ago
        They'll tend to be low-end trim models but a lot of what you're evaluating in a test drive isn't how the heated seats work. I informally did that before my recent purchase but mostly in terms of what I didn't what to buy. One vehicle I knew I didn't care much for. And another, which was the same as I owned, I got hadn't really improved in 11 years, infotainment unit notwithstanding.
  - kylehotchkiss 4y ago
    The problem with buying from Hertz or any rental car dealership is that many people (myself included) take rental cars on the highway and immediately press the pedal to the floor to see what it can do (or how loud it gets). People have zero incentive to drive rental cars nicely and Hertz has no incentive than to do the bare minimum of maintenance to keep the car on the road. They're gonna wear out faster than a privately owned car. See Jeremy Clarkson of former Top Gear glory describe it: https://youtu.be/NYt9DO5WXr8?t=65 https://youtu.be/NYt9DO5WXr8?t=65
CamperBob2 4y ago
I wish there was a service where you could give them say a hundred bucks and they'd deliver maybe your top 5 cars to your house to poke around and test drive. The Zappos experience (they encourage people to order multiple sizes to try on and make the returns easy) but for cars instead of shoes. I think a lot of people end up using Turo for evaluation purposes. I'm a little surprised that no one has attempted to disintermediate/democratize car sales as well as rentals. If I had the option to buy the car I rent on Turo, that would scratch the itch you're referring to, wouldn't it... at least for the used market?
- lastofthemojito 4y ago
  That's not a bad idea. I've used lensrentals.com to rent camera gear before, and they generally also have a price to keep the particular item you're renting: https://www.lensrentals.com/keeper https://www.lensrentals.com/keeper That'd be a neat option on Turo - "ok, I'm looking at buying a Jeep - I want to test-drive one to validate this desire, but ideally one I could buy if I fall in love with".
jeffwask 4y ago
Oh... I used dealerships for the test drives. I had a price from Carvana on each of the models I wanted to try and I went around and tried them. Once, I landed on make and model. I gave the sales guy a chance to beat the Carvana price he didn't.
- jeffwask 4y ago
  Additionally, if the old car is paid off and you don't need it for down payment you could hold on to it for the break in period where you can return the purchased car then just sell the old one on Carvana and they will just come pick it up.

culturestate 4y ago

> I wish there was a service where you could give them say a hundred bucks and they'd deliver maybe your top 5 cars to your house to poke around and test drive. Trying to imagine the logistics of getting this done - profitably - within a Carvana-like model for anything close to $100 just broke my brain.

lastofthemojito 4y ago
I live fairly close to the cluster of car dealerships in my area so maybe my perception is skewed, but it doesn't seem crazy to me that 2 sales guys from the Honda dealer would drive 5 minutes to my house to drop off an Accord (and then go back in 1 car), 2 sales guys from the Toyota dealer would drive 5 minutes to my house to drop off a Camry, etc... Seems like they're constantly making little trips to pick up cars from satellite lots, drop off cars for maintenance, fuel up cars, etc. This might only work for dealerships within a certain distance of course. But right, the part about doing it profitably would probably require a dealership that gets a successful sales lead to pay a fee to such a service.
bombcar 4y ago
Hertz has (or used to have) a "rent to own" deal with cars. You go to their lot of used cars, you poke and prod them, then you rent one you think you'll like for a week for a couple bills. If you decide to keep it, the rental cost is put against the purchase and you keep the car, if you don't like it you return and try again.
- toomanyrichies 4y ago
  Is this what you're referring to? https://www.hertzcarsales.com/rent2buy.htm https://www.hertzcarsales.com/rent2buy.htm
  - bombcar 4y ago
    Yep, that's the one! Seems it's 3 days now, or 2 hours free. Not all locations offered it, however, but it can be nice. Even if you don't use it, renting the car or type of car you're thinking of buying can be a good strategy.
    - ghaff 4y ago
      They'll tend to be low-end trim models but a lot of what you're evaluating in a test drive isn't how the heated seats work. I informally did that before my recent purchase but mostly in terms of what I didn't what to buy. One vehicle I knew I didn't care much for. And another, which was the same as I owned, I got hadn't really improved in 11 years, infotainment unit notwithstanding.
- kylehotchkiss 4y ago
  The problem with buying from Hertz or any rental car dealership is that many people (myself included) take rental cars on the highway and immediately press the pedal to the floor to see what it can do (or how loud it gets). People have zero incentive to drive rental cars nicely and Hertz has no incentive than to do the bare minimum of maintenance to keep the car on the road. They're gonna wear out faster than a privately owned car. See Jeremy Clarkson of former Top Gear glory describe it: https://youtu.be/NYt9DO5WXr8?t=65 https://youtu.be/NYt9DO5WXr8?t=65

CamperBob2 4y ago

I wish there was a service where you could give them say a hundred bucks and they'd deliver maybe your top 5 cars to your house to poke around and test drive. The Zappos experience (they encourage people to order multiple sizes to try on and make the returns easy) but for cars instead of shoes. I think a lot of people end up using Turo for evaluation purposes. I'm a little surprised that no one has attempted to disintermediate/democratize car sales as well as rentals. If I had the option to buy the car I rent on Turo, that would scratch the itch you're referring to, wouldn't it... at least for the used market?

lastofthemojito 4y ago
That's not a bad idea. I've used lensrentals.com to rent camera gear before, and they generally also have a price to keep the particular item you're renting: https://www.lensrentals.com/keeper https://www.lensrentals.com/keeper That'd be a neat option on Turo - "ok, I'm looking at buying a Jeep - I want to test-drive one to validate this desire, but ideally one I could buy if I fall in love with".

jeffwask 4y ago

Oh... I used dealerships for the test drives. I had a price from Carvana on each of the models I wanted to try and I went around and tried them. Once, I landed on make and model. I gave the sales guy a chance to beat the Carvana price he didn't.

jeffwask 4y ago
Additionally, if the old car is paid off and you don't need it for down payment you could hold on to it for the break in period where you can return the purchased car then just sell the old one on Carvana and they will just come pick it up.