The vending-machine style online car dealer
Carvana made waves in the automotive industry by creating a fun and convenient new way to buy a car. Quickly Carvana became the fastest-growing online car dealer in the U.S. and business skyrocketed in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers flocked toward online businesses. But the brand has also seen its share of controversies, from sending the wrong car to a buyer to even losing its rights to operate in certain states. Illinois is the latest in a series of states that have questioned Carvana’s operations.
What happened to Carvana in Illinois?
Carvana’s license to sell cars was at least temporarily revoked due to issues with buyers’ registrations and titles. The Illinois Secretary of State determined that the company failed to properly tranmit titles on sold vehicles, as well as misusing out-of-state temporary registration permits.
The suspension also halted the construction of a new Carvana vending machine tower in Skokie, Illinois. According to ABC 7
, plans for the tall, brightly lit tower drew dissenters amid concerns that it would disrupt a well-known migratory bird path, potentially killing thousands of birds. Plans for the tower will resume should Carvana resolve its title and registration issues.
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A widespread Carvana controversy
Illinois opened the investigation after receiving over 90 complaints from buyers, and it isn’t the first state to suspend Carvana’s operations. Similar problems occurred in North Carolina when Carvana’s license to operate in Raleigh was suspended for six months. The state cited a failure to deliver titles and sell cars without state inspections as the reason for suspension.
Carvana was also threatened with suspension in Florida when the company reportedly failed to process hundreds of title applications by a certain deadline.
In addition to legal troubles, the online car dealer seems to be struggling to reign in the same profits it grew accustomed to at the start of the pandemic. The company laid off 12% of its workforce recently, and the stock price dropped to around $38 after seeing a high of $370 in August of 2021.
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Hard times for buyers and dealers alike
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