Hopefully get a better response than my last thread :P

Just did something crazy and ordered a 2018 V60 off carvana. Former rental with 11 months of service and 19k miles.

Planning on getting a pre purchase inspection in the 7 day window. Do you recommend a dealership? Any other recommendations in the NW Chicago area that know Volvos?

Anything in particular to be aware of with these cars?

Anyway, I hope this works out and looking forward to joining this community. It's great to get back into a wagon after trading in my 03 Passat wagon 6 years ago for our minivan.

 

Not much going on over here...

Anyway, took delivery from Carvana of my 2018 V60 today, just about 3 hours ago. Initial impressions:

• It drives really well. I can definitely feel the difference between regular and ECO+ modes. I prefer regular, of course. Suspension is not firm, but neither is it too cushy. Nice balance. Steering feels pretty precise. Overall, a big upgrade from my 2003 Infiniti.
• Sport seats are really comfortable. Nice power/memory on the driver side. Manual passenger seat. Not a deal-breaker, but the seat recline control in this car has to be the most difficult to reach I've experienced, with the seat belt in the way and jammed in by the B pillar. It's a little baffling that manual seat controls are even a thing in Volvos.
• Also with the passenger seat, it's practically impossible to open the glove box all the way when you're in the passenger seat. Glad we don't use the glove box often.
• Rear seat room is not great. Fortunately, we're not large people. I'm 5'9 with short legs and I have just enough room to sit comfortably in the back. I can't imagine anyone much taller/longer-legged than me feeling comfortable back there are all. Fortunately, I don't ever expect my daughters to get huge.
• I like the digital display showing speed, tach, and other information. The different themes are kinda neat. I still have a lot of playing around to do, but so far, I like it.
• The navi display looked small when I test drove a V60 CC last week, and it's small now. However, at least it's a pretty clear display. I don't understand why they couldn't see fit to bump up the size at some point or as an option. Resolution is good. Controls are not immediately intuitive, though. It took a lot of fiddling around to figure out how to enter basic information/addresses. On the other hand, the rear camera is clear and bright and connecting my phone was simple.
• Speaking of phone, there is about a 1 second lag with bluetooth on my Galaxy S9. It's not as bad as my wife's Odyssey, but certainly worse than the numerous rental Kias, Hyundais, Chevys, Dodges, etc.
• It's a beautiful car. The condition is actually quite good. No curb rash, only a few paint chips/scrapes on the bumpers (which I believe I can get Carvana to pay to fix), and a small windshield chip (which they should also pay to fix). The "detailing" leaves a bit to be desired (that's definitely a Carvana issue), but I can live with that.
• Overall, the main thing I'm still on the fence about is the size. It's a surprisingly snug car. I can feel it a bit more having had more time to explore it, get my kids in it, etc. I still have to bring up our skis/snowboard and see how it fits inside with the middle section folded down. Or if I need to get a roof rack. And a trailer hitch for a bike rack. I'm 90% sure I'm keeping it and living with some of the drawbacks, as the pros are greater. Pre-purchase inspection at the dealership on Monday should help solidify the decision.

 

How was the buying experience? Cost?

 

So far, the Carvana experience has been mostly positive.


Positive:
- Communication from Carvana is actually quite good, between email and phone. They've proactively called me a couple of times. They did seem a bit slow to confirm delivery on day of - it wasn't until about an hour before that they called to tell me they were on their way. Otherwise, really good.
- Delivery was on time, test drive was appreciated, paperwork again very easy and well-explained.
- They give you a bunch of little goodies, like a car wash kit, large plastic cup with lid, and referral coupons ($500 off for you, $100 referral bonus for me if someone actually buys and keeps the car).
- The description of the car was largely accurate

Negative:
- They say the car is detailed, but I found it to be lacking. Yes, they washed and maybe gave the car a quick wax; treated the tires; vacuumed the interior. But I found crumbs in pretty much every seat, cup holder, water marks (likely from rain) on door panels, stains or discoloration on one of the seatbelts, crumbs under and between seats. It's not up to the standard of a real detailing, but I get that they're probably not being super detail-oriented due to the volumes and tight turnarounds.
- They don't indicate every feature. I had to determine, based on pictures, that the car had BLIS, park assist, auto-dimming rearview mirror, front seat heaters, and heated steering wheel.
- They don't indicate all the damage. There is a tiny chip in the windshield which they missed (admittedly, it was hard to see, as it's in the black part low on the windshield. They listed a few paint chips on the rear bumper where, presumably, suitcases caused the damage; but they did not list a couple of more significant scrapes/chips on the front.
- Not sure if this is a normal issue, but the panel with the heating-A/C, radio, etc. controls is loose and rattles at certain speeds. I can pull it back toward me about 0.5-1". I assume it's not supposed to be like that and will note that to the service advisor tomorrow.

Price was quite good, I thought, at $23,700. The other thing I had mentioned is that I could find literally one 2018 V60 within 100 miles of me. Unless I was willing to go to the coasts, it was not going to be easy to find one.

Overall, I'm so far satisfied with the Carvana experience. I have to see how they will react to my requests for compensation to fix certain issues.

 

So far, the buying experience has been pretty positive. Customer service has been really good. They do provide some neat little freebies (cup, cheapo sunglasses, car wash kit, 10 referral coupons for $500 off). Delivery was right on time (I live about an hour away from the vending machine and didn't want to schlep all the way down there).

On the down side, the "detailing" was not that detailed. A lot of crumbs all over the place, water marks from rain on one of the rear interior door panels and seat, undisclosed paint chips and rock chip in windshield.

I'm still in the 7 day test drive window with option to return, but generally good so far.

The real test will be how the address any issues that come up during the pre-purchase inspection at the dealership later today.

Price was $23.7k. It was the only 2018 V60 I could find within 150 miles of me that wasn't a Polestar.

 

If you are interested in a roof rack, PM me.