Amazon Of Autos: Carvana Opens Vehicle Vending Machine In Westminster
WESTMINSTER (CBSLA) — A new eight-story glass tower filled with cars along the 405 Freeway in Westminster officially opens for business Friday.
The Orange County location is number 20 for Carvana, a car sales company that takes online orders for low-mileage used cars that the company said undergo a 150-point inspection before being listed.
"It's reminds me of my son when he was little," Cheryl Davidson, of Huntington Beach, said. "He used to play with the little matchbox cars, and they had kind of the same idea."
Once an order is received, the car is delivered to the 30-car tower where a customer advocate, not a car salesperson, meets the buyer. A special coin is used to retrieve the car, which is then transported down the the tower and delivered into a bay for the buyer.
"At that point, the doors open, you walk around, you see your new car," Ryan Keeton, co-founder of Carvana said. "You get the keys, and then your seven-day return policy begins."
Davidson said she likes how the tower looks, but said she prefers to buy cars at locations where she can test drive the vehicle before making a decision on whether to buy it.
"You can go buy a horse, and they'll say, 'Oh yeah, the legs are great! It can run forever,'" she said. "But then you get the horse, and what happens?"
According to Carvana, because the vending machine lacks the expense of salespeople and a large car lot, it can sell its vehicles for about $1,500 less than the Kelley Blue Book value. That, coupled with the experience, has one Westminster mom wanting to know more.
"Now I'm going to have to do more research to see what it's all about," the woman said.
