Not everyone is happy about visiting a car dealership every time to buy a vehicle. For many, the experience is sometimes quite stressful, tedious, and a person leaves feeling like the salesperson took them for a ride. If you’re among those who wish there was a less complicated and fun way people could buy vehicles, Vroom is a great option to consider. Vroom allows you to search, inspect, and purchase a car online with just a few clicks. Instead of negotiating with salespeople and being forced to make a rash decision based on impulse, you can always compare quotes at times most convenient to you.
How Does Vroom Work?
Vroom is an online car-buying website where consumers can purchase fairly old and like-new vehicles. You don’t have to check-in a dealership or negotiate with pushy salespeople, everything is handled online to enhance every customer’s shopping experience. To place an order for your first vehicle on Vroom is very simple and straightforward. Simply go to Vroom’s official website, select a car, pay a $500 cash deposit, and then clear all the outstanding balance or wait for financing.
After you’re through and all set, the vehicle will be delivered straight to your specific location. Sometimes you can find a way to pick the vehicle yourself if you happen to live nearby. It’s important to note that you’ll also be charged a $599 non-refundable delivery fee. You’ll also be required to make a few phone calls, sign a few documents, and send those files to the company. Vroom also has a great reputation, in fact, more recently, Vroom received an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. However, the company still has a long way to go in order to start getting impressive rates from its consumers nevertheless.
Warranty
Each vehicle bears a seven-day return policy and it shouldn’t exceed 250 miles, which gives you sufficient time to return the car if you don’t like it. Unless you provide some evidence that the vehicle didn’t match the description or had some worrying issues, Vroom will charge you a restocking fee of $599 for returning the car.
Some vehicles also bear a free 90-day, 6,000-mile limited warranty which allows consumers to send in their cars for fixing, which is usually done by either some dealership or ASE professional mechanic. This specific warranty also has a $50 deductible every time you take your vehicle to a mechanic.
Vroom also provides its consumers with one year of free roadside support if they get a flat tire, people get locked out of their vehicles, or the battery wears out. The company also frequently updates its website with superb deals every time, so make sure to check out its site to see if you’ll find more attractive packages suitable for your car.
Selling Your Vehicle
Vroom also arranges vehicle exchange dealings (trade-ins) between customers and usually adds the value of their current vehicle to their new purchase. A person can also sell their vehicle to Vroom without even purchasing a single item. All you have to do to get started is go to the company’s official website and fill in the vehicle’s details, such as its mileage and VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). Then Vroom will present you with an offer within 30 minutes.
It’s important to note that this particular offer expires after 10 business days and covers about 250 miles. If you both agree on price within this period, the vehicle will be collected by Vroom at a specified time and location. Every transaction is made at pickup via cashier’s check. Otherwise, after exchanging the vehicles, you can’t return the new car so you may get your old vehicle back. Vroom adheres to a very strict policy, though you may still get a refund for the value of your old vehicle nevertheless.
Vehicle Selection
Vroom has a wide variety of cars to choose from—a hybrid, gas-powered, and luxury vehicles. You can even buy a standard Ford F-150, or a Maserati depending on your specific preferences and goals. All vehicles have low miles, capping at around 50,000 miles. The car selection experience isn’t as extensive as Carvana’s, a huge competitor of Vroom by the way. Carvana has a wider array of options available than Vroom when it comes to the selection of different car models. Carvana also provides vehicles with higher mileage counts, with the highest limit being around 100,000 miles which means they’re also sold at a competitive price.
Financing
Like Carvana and any other dealership, you can place a purchase through Vroom or choose a lender of your choice. Vroom has partnerships with big banks like Ally, Chase, and Capital One to mention a few. To view rates, you should first select a specific vehicle and then go to the payment calculator found below the screen.
Next, enter your vehicle’s exchange quote, partial payments, and estimated credit score as well as the term length. After you’re through and everything is all set, Vroom will then determine both your payment and APR. It’s a good idea to always get pre-approved via a third-party lender, as you’d be able to view prices before placing a deal with Vroom.
Vroom vs Carvana and Actual Dealership
Before, people had to walk into a dealership to purchase or finance a vehicle. Nowadays sites like Carvana and Vroom have made things easier, at least now people can buy a vehicle without leaving the comfort of their space. Vroom process takes about two weeks, which may sometimes vary should any financing issues occur.
On the other hand, car-buying services like Carvana and Vroom have their share of downsides as well. You can’t test drive a vehicle unless you purchase it first, and you can’t ask a third-party mechanic to inspect the vehicle on your behalf either. But this would be possible if you decided to buy a car from an actual dealership. If the mechanic found anything suspicious, you’d either walk away from the vehicle or negotiate prices further with the salesman.
This is a very different experience with car-buying services like Carvana and Vroom. If your vehicle develops some issues shortly after delivery, you have to negotiate with these services in order to get a refund. Sometimes the refund process can take longer than usual, as you’d have to make a series of calls and gather some solid evidence before you receive a full refund. This can be quite overwhelming and also a real nightmare for people who lack patience.
Pros
- Vroom is a great way to purchase a vehicle without going to a local dealership in person
- Prices are fixed, so a person always knows how much a car is worth
- Delivery is fast and quick, it only takes about 10-14 days
- Vroom also has a wide array of attractive packages and support programs, all of which are provided to all its consumers for free!
Cons
- Vroom may sometimes delay sending a person’s vehicle’s registration details, which means being issued a ticket and late fees is very likely
- You can’t inspect or ask a third-party mechanic to check your vehicle before making a purchase
- Vroom may refuse somebody a refund if they lack any strong evidence to serve as proof.
Final Thoughts
So Carvana vs Vroom, which one is worth it? Although Vroom has more attractive rates than Carvana, the many negative feedbacks from customers tell people another story. Unless you’re tired of checking-in a dealership nearby or you simply hate dealing with salespeople, you should look for other options. If purchasing a car online is something that appeals to you, at least Carvana has more positive feedbacks from consumers and also appears to have a more solid reputation. Before you decide which is the best option between Vroom vs Carvana, do some research first on each company in order to choose a service that most fits your needs. Also, some little caution may save you considerable time, money, and major headaches down the road.