en480c4
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
I just figured I would post my Vroom story here to let people understand the risk when buying from Vroom (and by extension Carvana, based on the press lately). And then others can add to it as well as I'm sure I'm not alone. When searching the site, I didn't see a lot of negative experiences, but what I experienced aligned with a lot of what I read in other forums, articles, etc.
Background: Sold my 2005 LJ mid-August, and a week or so later, found my 2018 JLR. It had everything I was looking for, including low miles (8,200), a premium soft top, 7" U-Connect, cold weather package, steel bumper package and was a 6-speed. Vroom had just knocked another $1,000 off, so I pulled the trigger and bought it on 8/22/21. I got great financing terms going through Vroom, so to keep things simple, I didn't utilize my own financing. And the Jeep was delivered on 9/2/21 with a 45 day TX plate.
As I approached the TX plate expiration mid-October, I was able to reach out and get a new 30 day plate sent out. It arrived in plenty of time, and while I would've liked to get my plates on and get the vehicle inspected, I didn't worry about it a whole lot. My town hall received the paperwork from Red USA, who handles titles and registrations for Vroom, on 11/3/21, about two weeks out from my next temp plate expiration. They had miscalculated the sales tax and the amount exceeded the pre-authorized paperwork, so I spent hours on hold over the next few weeks with Vroom trying to get revised paperwork out. They finally sent me a new 30 day plate and I received it a few days after mine expired. This wasn't trending in the right direction.
Fast forward to mid-December. I wasn't getting any updates of note. Hours were spent on hold trying to find someone who could move my case forward. On 12/13/21, a week before my 30 day plate expired, I requested a new plate be sent. I made it clear that my plate expired on 12/20/21, and I need the vehicle for work. When I followed up on 12/17/21, I was told that the request for new plates had been submitted and that updated registration paperwork had been "sent to the DMV, and I would receive my plates by the end of the month." This was worrisome because a) the DMV does not handle registrations in Maine and b) I was transferring my previous plates. But I was assured everything would be OK.
Well, long story short, I did not receive a new 30 day plate. And Vroom essentially lied to me, as they (or Red USA) had not sent anything to the DMV or town hall. I drove the Jeep with an expired temp registration for a few days before Christmas, and parked the Jeep during my entire vacation. Multiple calls to Vroom led to people assuring me that all requests were in process. Finally, I bypassed Vroom and contacted Red USA. Because I had my transaction number from town hall, I was able to convince the person who took my call to try to fix the issue. They confirmed they received no request from Vroom to revise the paperwork. That said, they were able to authorize the additional sales tax with the town clerk and I was able to register my vehicle on 1/3/22. The soonest I could get it inspected was 1/5/22, so I took care of that and finally was able to drive my vehicle again legally last night.
Lesson learned. Because of their sales model and outsourcing of titles and registrations, they can't really be held accountable for a failure to act. I was fortunate to find someone who was able to step outside of their lane and do what needed to be done. Otherwise I would still be left getting lines of BS fed to me by representatives from Vroom assuring me that completion of my registration was imminent. Some say to buy from Vroom, but line up your own financing so you are reliant on them to handle registration. I would caution against that because the same people who handle the registrations handle the title, so if there are any issues, you still won't be able to complete the paperwork required to register your vehicle. The in-person dealer experience may not always be great, but at least there's some resource.
The icing on the cake is I'm finally receiving a new 30 day TX plate via FedEx today, more than 2 1/2 weeks after my last one expired and after I finally was able to register the vehicle.
Background: Sold my 2005 LJ mid-August, and a week or so later, found my 2018 JLR. It had everything I was looking for, including low miles (8,200), a premium soft top, 7" U-Connect, cold weather package, steel bumper package and was a 6-speed. Vroom had just knocked another $1,000 off, so I pulled the trigger and bought it on 8/22/21. I got great financing terms going through Vroom, so to keep things simple, I didn't utilize my own financing. And the Jeep was delivered on 9/2/21 with a 45 day TX plate.
As I approached the TX plate expiration mid-October, I was able to reach out and get a new 30 day plate sent out. It arrived in plenty of time, and while I would've liked to get my plates on and get the vehicle inspected, I didn't worry about it a whole lot. My town hall received the paperwork from Red USA, who handles titles and registrations for Vroom, on 11/3/21, about two weeks out from my next temp plate expiration. They had miscalculated the sales tax and the amount exceeded the pre-authorized paperwork, so I spent hours on hold over the next few weeks with Vroom trying to get revised paperwork out. They finally sent me a new 30 day plate and I received it a few days after mine expired. This wasn't trending in the right direction.
Fast forward to mid-December. I wasn't getting any updates of note. Hours were spent on hold trying to find someone who could move my case forward. On 12/13/21, a week before my 30 day plate expired, I requested a new plate be sent. I made it clear that my plate expired on 12/20/21, and I need the vehicle for work. When I followed up on 12/17/21, I was told that the request for new plates had been submitted and that updated registration paperwork had been "sent to the DMV, and I would receive my plates by the end of the month." This was worrisome because a) the DMV does not handle registrations in Maine and b) I was transferring my previous plates. But I was assured everything would be OK.
Well, long story short, I did not receive a new 30 day plate. And Vroom essentially lied to me, as they (or Red USA) had not sent anything to the DMV or town hall. I drove the Jeep with an expired temp registration for a few days before Christmas, and parked the Jeep during my entire vacation. Multiple calls to Vroom led to people assuring me that all requests were in process. Finally, I bypassed Vroom and contacted Red USA. Because I had my transaction number from town hall, I was able to convince the person who took my call to try to fix the issue. They confirmed they received no request from Vroom to revise the paperwork. That said, they were able to authorize the additional sales tax with the town clerk and I was able to register my vehicle on 1/3/22. The soonest I could get it inspected was 1/5/22, so I took care of that and finally was able to drive my vehicle again legally last night.
Lesson learned. Because of their sales model and outsourcing of titles and registrations, they can't really be held accountable for a failure to act. I was fortunate to find someone who was able to step outside of their lane and do what needed to be done. Otherwise I would still be left getting lines of BS fed to me by representatives from Vroom assuring me that completion of my registration was imminent. Some say to buy from Vroom, but line up your own financing so you are reliant on them to handle registration. I would caution against that because the same people who handle the registrations handle the title, so if there are any issues, you still won't be able to complete the paperwork required to register your vehicle. The in-person dealer experience may not always be great, but at least there's some resource.
The icing on the cake is I'm finally receiving a new 30 day TX plate via FedEx today, more than 2 1/2 weeks after my last one expired and after I finally was able to register the vehicle.
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