Carvana customers were reported to have waited months for titles on vehicles purchased online by the retailer.
Carvana, an online retailer of automotive parts and accessories, appears to be in deeper trouble. The Illinois Department of Revenue suspended the company’s sales license due to numerous complaints about vehicle registrations and vehicle titles. Carvana is unable to do business in Illinois until these areas are resolved.
Buyers experiencing delays in receiving vehicle titles are the main concern. Illinois Secretary of State’s Office is currently investigating complaints about these delays. Some cases can take up to six months, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Titles must be delivered within 20 days according to Illinois law. It is not clear how many complaints have been filed.
The Illinois Secretary of States is also investigating Carvana for allegedly issuing temporary vehicle registrations out-of-state to customers whose in-state registrations have expired. Temporary registrations last for 90 days. Some Carvana customers were ticketed for expired registrations. This adds insult to injury as customers are unable to register vehicles they have purchased without a title. Carvana will work with the state to reimburse those fines.
Motor1.com received the following statement from a spokesperson regarding Carvana’s side.
“Carvana has been operating in Illinois as a licensed dealer for many years and is a good corporate citizen. We strongly disagree with the State’s interpretation of the facts and law that led to this action. We are working closely with the State to resolve this matter, and they have agreed to continue delivering vehicles already purchased. We are looking forward to solving this problem with minimum disruption to customers. ”
This is during a volatile period in Carvana’s history. The company posted a net loss in the first quarter 2022 of $506 million despite selling 14 per cent more cars than the same period 2021. The net loss was primarily due to lower profit per car and disruptions in Carvana’s reconditioning network and logistics network. On May 10, Carvana snagged a few proverbial heads by simultaneously announcing a huge layoff HTML2_ of 2,500 workers – 12 per cent of its workforce – and a $2.2 million purchase from ADESA US (an auto auction company).