PITTSBURGH — When Haley Blackburn needed a new car, the busy, working mom of two says she knew where to go.
“When I found out about Carvana - everything is online, the car can be delivered to you - it sounds easy and painless,” Blackburn tells 11 Investigates.
She found a 2017 BMW X1 within her family’s budget of $20,000. No pushy car salesmen, no hours of paperwork.
“While I’m sitting here right now, though, I do believe that I made a mistake,” Blackburn said. “I’m a working mom with two kids and I’m already knee-deep, thousands of dollars with this car.”
Blackburn said it wasn’t long until the car had issues. Significant ones.
“The first time was probably two months after purchase, and I could just hear rattling,” Blackburn said. “I took it right away to get repaired and that was over $1,000. Since then, every two to three months, I’m putting money into it, and now I’m over $15,000 in repairs.”
That’s almost the price of what she paid for the car.
These are just a handful of the repairs she kept a record of and paid out of pocket for:
- $800 for mounts and struts, the same month she bought the car
- Nearly $14,000 for brakes within two months of buying the car
- Nearly $2,600 for a new thermostat and check engine fix
- Nearly $1,600 to replace gaskets, a cracked valve and another check engine fix
“Now here we are a few months after that, and I need a whole new engine,” Blackburn tells 11 Investigates.
She said the car started to fill with smoke while her kids were in the back, strapped in their car seats!
“It made me feel super worried and uneasy,” she said. “I stopped the car and said we need to get out of here. Can’t take any chances.”
Now, the SUV is in total engine failure and can’t be driven. It’s been parked outside Blackburn’s home for months. Carvana paid for one repair, but nothing else. Blackburn said she’s offered to trade the car in and pleaded with Carvana to help.
“I’ve reached out in good faith to try to get this situation resolved, and they did want to kind of sweep it under the rug and say they’re not liable for it,” Blackburn said.
In documents to the Better Business Bureau, Carvana said Blackburn is, “beyond the 100-day/4,189 miles limited warranty and has surpassed their Carvana care coverage of 24 months/24,000 miles.”
Only after 11 Investigates got involved did Carvana agree to replace the engine and write Blackburn a $500 check to cover other expenses.
In a statement to 11 Investigates, Carvana said they’re working with Blackburn, adding: “customer experience is Carvana’s top priority, and we stand behind the quality of the vehicles we sell. Carvana’s pre-owned vehicles undergo a thorough 150-point inspection and are backed by our 7-day money-back guarantee and 100-day limited warranty for added peace of mind. We understand the stress unexpected repairs can cause.”
Blackburn has open cases with the Better Business Bureau and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General tells 11 Investigates: “currently, we are receiving consumer complaints regarding issues with pre-sale inspections, the sale of unroadworthy vehicles, the failure to disclose defects and the resulting denial of warranty claims. Consumers are always encouraged to file complaints.”
Blackburn says she wants other consumers to be informed before making such a large purchase while holding Carvana accountable.
“They think they can get away with it - people aren’t going to come after them,” Blackburn tells 11 Investigates. “People don’t have the resources or time to keep trying to get better answers when you keep getting told no. That’s why I reached out to you guys to try to get other people to advocate.”
Carvana says its goal is to get Blackburn back in a safe, reliable car.
We asked Carvana for a response to the statement from the Attorney General’s Office about consumer complaints they’ve received. Carvana declined to comment.
Blackburn says this isn’t the resolution she hoped for, but she needs a car to get to work and take care of her children.
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