Carvana Auto Loan Review: A Ton of Choices!
Carvana Auto Loan Review: A Ton of Choices!

Pros
Cons
Quick Stats
Carvana is our pick for this article, we have listed out its interest rate, financing options, and much more so you can find whether or not it’s the right dealer for you.
You can have a no-haggle car buying with Carvana with the minimum waiting time for getting a preapproval and a decent prequalification period valid for 45 days, allowing applicants to find and weigh their options.
You can also complete the application online through Carvana’s website or Carvana’s mobile application within minutes, and you’ll get prequalified in no time if you meet the requirements. But what documents do you need to provide?
And what about delivery, gas, warranty, and payment options? You’ll find everything you need to know about in our article.
Filters and Features
You might find it a little bit restricted to choose from Carvana inventory, but actually, Carvana allows choosing from 20,000 different cars; all have been tested and gone through a 150-point inspection to find whether or not a car is good enough.
Getting prequalified with Carvana will never affect your credit score, but it’s quite essential to find a car that fits your budget and is personalized to what you need.
To search cars easily, Carvana provides multiple filters to help you save time and get right to the options that fit you the best, including:
- Payment and price: Choose your down payment and monthly payment to get personalized results. In case you have an old car, you can trade it in for a new one or sell it directly to Carvana after they do a quick in-site check.
- Make and model: Once you decide on a car make and a specific model, finding the best choice for you can be much easier.

- Body type: Narrowing down your options is never easier with Carvana; it allows choosing among many body types, including Suv, sedan, hatchback, truck, coupe, convertible, minivan, and wagon.
- Year and mileage: More than 20,000 is a wide range of vehicles to choose from, but once you define your needs and what vehicle is the right one for you, options can be narrowed down to what fits the best.
- Carvana has a wide selection of cars dated back in their production to 2009, in good shape and reasonable mileage. But bear in mind that if you’re looking for more than 10 years old vehicles or a car with high mileage, Carvana might not be the right dealership for you.
From the comfort of your couch, you can pick the color, drive type, transmissions, cylinders, and many other features of your vehicle. Other features are also considered to meet everyone’s needs.
So if you are worried about your safety, you can choose a car with blind spots sensors, lane departure warning, park assist, or rearview camera. What if you’re that kind of driver who likes to watch a movie while stuck in heavy traffic?
That’s also not a problem since you can also choose from the entertainment features whatever serves you the best, from a DVD video to premium sound and satellite radio.
Some others might want their car to feel like a bedroom; if you’re one of those people, we recommend checking the comfort features to get results that match your expectations; Cooled seats, heated seats, leather interior, sunroof, and more filters are there on the website to choose from.
Get a Competitive Interest Rate!
Financing and Prequalification
Let’s get to the financing terms; in order to get personalized results that fit your budget and down payment, you’ll need to apply for a prequalification first.
Once you provide your desired monthly payment, down payment, and loan term, you’ll be able to see each car’s monthly payment and other details to walk you through the buying process.
But first, you need to provide some information to create an account, starting with your:
- First name
- Middle name
- Last name
- Home address
- Date of birth
Then you’re good to go with providing the last two requirements: (Current employment status and annual income). The current employment status tells if your salary or working hours are affected by COVID19, you can choose from:
- COVID19 is not affecting my hours/salary
- COVID19 is reducing my hours/salary
- COVID19 unemployment
- Primary income is fixed

The prequalification allows you to get an idea of the interest rate Carvana might offer and what vehicles can be a good fit based on your financial information. You might want to know that Carvana doesn’t require a minimum credit score. However, you should be aware of the interest rate increase due to the low credit score.
As for Carvana, a low credit score means a higher interest rate. Also, the lowest interest rate is available if you have excellent credit, which means your monthly payment won’t be high, either.
Based on your credit score range, you can know your interest rate and monthly payment using Carvana’s auto loan calculator. It’s simple and requires the minimum information to get the calculation done for you.
Here’s how it looks like and what you need to fill in order to personalize your financing terms:

So basically, the cost of the car you want, your credit score, loan term, and down payment are all you need to get Carvana to do your loan calculation.
Speaking of the loan term, while you might find some other auto loan services provide up to 84 months, the maximum auto loan term allowed by Carvana is 72 months.
This should not be bothering, though, since the recommended auto loan term for used cars is 36 months and 60 months for new vehicles. I mean, the longer your loan term is, the more you owe to the bank.
Weigh Your Financing Options Here!
Warranty and Protection
Whether you choose to finance with Carvana to get a new car or a used one, you’ll need to rest assured that your vehicle is in good condition, and in case of any surprises, you’ll have the chance to get your money back.
With that said, what does Carvana offer to preserve its customer’s rights?
Return policy (money-back guarantee)
Every car in Carvana’s inventory comes with a no accident report and must pass the 150-point inspection. On top of that, all cars come with a 7-day money-back guarantee, which means, if your car comes defective or has any issues, you can get your money back.
The 7-days begins from the moment you get your car keys in hand. But, the driven miles are limited to 400 miles. Make sure not to exceed them to get your money back for any reason and at no charge.
In case you drive it over 400 miles, you still can get your money back but with a $1 charge for each extra mile.
Carvana’s return policy is flexible so that you can exchange up to 2 times in a row, but the third vehicle won’t come with a 7-day money-back guarantee and can’t be exchanged either once it’s accepted.
In some cases, Carvana doesn’t accept your request to get a refund, including the following cases:
• If the vehicle has been modified.
• If the vehicle has been in an accident or damaged.
• If the vehicle has been altered to a different condition from the one it was delivered in.
Limited warranty
Carvana offers a limited warranty that expires if you drive your car for more than 4,189 miles or after 100 days from your vehicle purchase date, whichever occurs first. But what does and does not Carvana’s limited warranty cover?
The limited warranty covers all repairs on all your vehicle parts except the physical defects that do not affect the vehicle’s safety or drivability, replaceable parts, such as drive belt, brake pads, and tires, and finally, any routinely maintenance such as replacing filters and engine tune-ups. However, it’s recommended to visit the website and read through the limited warranty in detail.
CarvanaCare (optional)
For your used car, you might want to have this coverage as a protection guarantee for your vehicle. Choosing CarvanaCare is optional and will cost you $0 for covered repairs at more than 5000 preferred repair facilities.
If you decide to cancel your CarvanaCare, you can cancel at any time, hassle-free, and you get a prorated refund as well.
You can choose from three different options:
CarvanaCare Essential | CarvanaCare Plus | CarvanaCare Premium |
---|---|---|
Core engine and transmission components.
|
Power steering, fuel systems, air conditioning. Front and back coverage for mechanical and electrical components.
|
Free oil changing and tire rotation. Tire and wheel protection. Plus, everything is covered with Essential and Plus plans.
|
GAP warranty (guaranteed auto protection)
Even if you have total coverage on your vehicle, you might want to have it protected with GAP insurance, it’s perfect in case of care stealth, and it covers what you still owe to the lender after calculating the vehicle’s actual worth and what you have paid of its value already.
Carvana's Customer Support
Your questions and queries can be delivered to Carvana’s customer support in multiple ways:
- Phone support
- Live chat
- Videos and Guides
Conclusion
Carvana is one of the leading companies in the US which offers multiple financing options and flexible solutions to choose from. Its interest rates aren't the best you can get, but you can rest assured that you won't get stuck in a lifetime commitment with the wrong lender.
FAQs
No, it doesn't. However, the interest rate might get higher for poor credit scores.
Yes, all vehicles come with a 7-day money-back guarantee.
Yes, buyers can get a 20-minute test drive, then they choose not to take the car or finalize the paperwork to complete the purchase.
Yes, it offers a 100-day limited guarantee, 7-day money-back guarantee, optional GAP warranty, and CarvanaCare.
Carvana's prequalification lasts for 45-day.
Carvana doesn't require a minimum credit score. However, it requires a minimum monthly income of $833, no current bankruptcies, and no less than 18 years old applicant's age. Besides, people with poor credit scores might get higher interest rates.
You should provide your first, middle, and last name, home address, date of birth, employment status, and annual income.