The Carvana Experience

 I'm a Soul Man!

Car Shopping

Been shopping for a newer car for quite some time...wanted something small, easy to get in and out of and decent mileage...went and test drove a Kia Soul at a small dealer here in 29, however it had a zillion miles on it and was dark blue and they wanted too much money, so started an online search and decided to check Carvana after seeing their TV Ads...

Well lo and behold I found a white one with low mileage and after a price check saw it was a good buy and decided, what the hell...well after I puchased and got the financing approved I found out the car was in Indiana and so I did a carfax and found it had been registered in Ohio and Indiana and knowing that both of those states use a mag/chloride slurry to de-ice the roads which creates instant rust, I canceled the order and got their chat help online and searched for another, found this one with less miles, a few hundred bucks more, same year and an Arizona car...BINGO!

I can see why online purchasing is catching on - no dealer haggles, high pressure shit to deal with, every car I ever bought took most of a day and evening as I walked out and returned and haggled and haggled, having grown up with my Mom working at Wallace Lincoln Mercury and I worked part time there and listened to the salesman stories, I always made the salesman and manager work to get my money...too old for that much fun anymore. This was way easier and if you do your homework and know a good price for the year, model and mileage, then find one that fits and hit enter!!

Twentynine Palms is out of their delivery area and wanted to charge me $500.00, but when I switched cars the delivery dept. got me on the phone and said if I can get it close will you go pick it up, of course I said how close - Ontario, CA - NO, Palm Springs - Maybe, how about Yucca Valley - 21 miles away - YEP - saved $500.00. Met at the post office, they dropped it, took a short drive and checked it all out...signed a few pieces of paper - gas tank was full and drove home!

The delivery!

The Drive Home!

My first concern was how peppy the car was, hating being behind a Toyota Prius getting on the highway, I did not want to feel like I had to pedal the damn thing, well it is peppy and fast and up to 50 or 60 in short order - car is totally silent, good A/C, radio and bluetooth and a sirius radio system which I need to investigate since there is not shit around here to listen to...very pleasant trip home, rear tires are like new, front still real good but a little less tread, something for my friend Dustin to check when I get to Montana...I'm Happy

HOME!!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest