The ordeal of buying a car can be harrowing enough, but for Anthony Williams of Atlanta, it turned out to be a nightmare. A mere year after proudly parking a Ram 1500 Big Horn truck from Carvana in his driveway, local law enforcement arrived with shocking news: his new vehicle was hot property. Stolen, to be exact.
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“I’ve done everything right. I had the Carfax, the title, even my shiny new license plate. And then they just took it,” an exasperated Williams recounted to Channel 2 Consumer Investigator, Justin Gray.
Crooks employed a cunning strategy, using legitimate VIN and title numbers from another vehicle to forge deceptive documents. The ruse was well-executed, as even the Georgia Department of Revenue admitted that spotting the deception in this case was near-impossible. The fraud only began to unravel when two mismatched VINs were discovered on William’s truck – one on the dashboard, the other hidden under the hood.
Alarmingly, this isn’t an isolated incident involving Carvana. Another buyer, Demetrius Howard, found himself in a similar debacle months after driving off with an Audi from a Covington car dealer. Later on, the vehicle was identified as one reported stolen from Ohio.
The smoking gun for Williams’ truck? A bizarre entry in the Carfax report. It logged the vehicle for an oil change in Michigan on the exact day Carvana listed it for sale in Florida—with a discrepancy in the mileage to boot.
The debacle painted Williams in an unfavorable light among his neighbors. “You wouldn’t believe the looks I’ve gotten since. People wonder if I’m involved in something shady. It’s humiliating,” he expressed.
After weeks of futile attempts to recoup his funds from Carvana and the finance firm, Williams turned to Channel 2 Action News. Carvana, taking note, committed to refunding Williams.
Their statement emphasized: “Customer experience is our top priority. Both Carvana and our customer were unfortunately victims of a sophisticated criminal act. We are remedying this rare occurrence and reinforcing our efforts to safeguard future customers.”
However, this doesn’t exonerate Carvana from tough questions. Earlier this year, another buyer discovered a stolen Maserati, courtesy of Carvana, only when a service center flagged it. One begs the question: if regular shops can detect such discrepancies, why can’t a large entity like Carvana?
While the company promises a thorough “150-point inspection” with VIN verification topping the list, William’s case starkly highlights a concerning oversight. A simple check under the truck’s hood would have unraveled the entire ruse.
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