JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – There are new developments in a News4JAX I-TEAM investigation into Carvana and the delays customers have faced in getting their tags and titles after buying a car.
The online car dealer has changed the way it operates — which will allow the company to continue to operate in the state of Florida.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles gave Carvana a deadline of Monday to submit required documentation or face possible penalties.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the state gave the I-TEAM a copy of a letter it sent to Carvana letting the dealer know it will not face consequences at the moment because the company is making progress and changes, including no longer selling cars until Carvana has the title in its possession.
As the I-TEAM has been reporting, customers have complained they have had to wait months to get their car’s title and tags. Under law, Carvana is supposed to submit an application for the car’s title within 30 days of the sale.
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According to the state, there were nearly 400 car title applications that were not submitted in the required 30 days.
Now, the number of outstanding transactions is down to 29. Eleven of those customers have been given buyout offers that include compensation for all of their payments made, plus 15% over the purchase price. The other 18 customers haven’t responded or haven’t turned over the missing documents.
While the department is satisfied with the progress Carvana has made in submitting title applications, the state is still investigating customer complaints. And because of the type of complaints and how frequent they are, state officials will regularly review Carvana’s compliance.
The state also says since Carvana has changed some of its practices, that’s expected to reduce these issues in the future.