Vending machines have been around for ages and through the years, it is only known to dispense sodas, coffees, or candies. But what if you can also buy a car from it? It sounds impossible but one company called Carvana just built one!
The firm was established just two and half years ago, but it already achieved something big by introducing the world's first car dispensing machine. Prior to this feat, the company is very reputable in the area of used car sales. It offers many services that have never been tried before, like the car delivery service, so its customers grew so much in a short time.
And now, Carvana is offering another ‘first' by opening a game-changing innovation — a five-tier glass car vending machine that can hold up to 20 cars. The building is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and it was constructed after the company was able to raise the funds needed. The initial funding already reached around $50 million.
On his previous guesting on USA TODAY podcast, Ernie Garcia, the co-founder of Carvana, related his reasons for building the machine and sell cars in this method.
"We wanted to create something that would be inexpensive long-term so we could keep our prices historically low and then do something on brand metaphorically where customers are in complete control of the experience and making car buying fun," says Garcia.
Garcia also explained through a phone conversation that since some costumers feel inconvenienced when a car dealer delivers in their backyard, his company came up with this way of selling cars. He said that it is their solution to the issue.
Moreover, the CEO stated that the use of the vending machine is actually a cheaper alternative for their business.
"Offering these vending machines is actually less expensive for us than delivering cars to customers as long as we're getting a certain volume of customers, so it's easier to invest in these vending machines in larger markets where we'll have more sells," he said
In addition, when they built the machine, the company made sure that customers will not have a hard time using it. Thus, they tried to keep everything simple.
"Carvana's mission is to create a better way to buy a car, and this new Vending Machine will be a one-of-a-kind experience that mirrors just how simple and easy we've made it to buy a car online," Garcia said in a statement posted on ABC News.
A customer can visit Carvana's website and once he picked which vehicle he would like to purchase, he can now go to the Carvana vending machine. Inside the tower, there is a kiosk where he must look for his name. He would then be handed a huge Carvana coin which needs to be inserted in the coin slot. The machine will proceed to process his request.
Robots will deliver the car and the buyer has one week to test drive the vehicle. If he decided to buy it, the company will prepare the documents for the sale. Prices of the cars in the vending machine range from $7,000 to $90,000.
