JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – There’s an update to a News4JAX I-TEAM investigation into the online car buying company Carvana.
The state of Illinois now has revoked Carvana’s license to sell cars there because of delays in processing vehicle titles and registrations. It’s the same complaint Floridians expressed to the I-TEAM in the winter when state of Florida officials threatened administrative action.
On Wednesday at the Jacksonville Carvana dealership, it was business as usual for the online retailer three months after the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles threatened to pull the company’s dealer license. FLHSMV told the I-TEAM that the company remains on a regular review schedule after ordering the company to no longer sell vehicles until Carvana has the vehicle’s title in its possession.
I-TEAM REPORTS: I-TEAM investigates car dealer facing fines in multiple states including Florida | Complaints mount against car dealer | I-TEAM uncovers state action & federal lawsuit against Carvana | State threatening to suspend Carvana’s license to sell cars in Florida | Carvana faces deadline to submit information to state | Changes by Carvana will allow company to continue to operate in Florida
Problems with the company persist, however, in Illinois, and Illinois Secretary of State spokesman Henry Haupt spoke with the I-TEAM by phone on Wednesday.
“I can confirm that the Illinois Secretary of State Police issued a temporary suspension order suspending Carvana’s dealer’s license in Illinois for misuse of issuing out-of-state temporary registration permits and for failing to transfer titles,” Haupt said.
Haupt said the Illinois Secretary of State Police received approximately 95 written complaints from customers who didn’t receive their titles or registrations after buying the car. The I-TEAM has learned some of the drivers were ticketed by Illinois police for not having valid vehicle registrations or titles.
“There are two issues involving the titles. In Illinois, you are required to transfer title within 20 days, and Carvana is at least four to six months behind in issuing titles,” Haupt said. “Another issue is, involves Illinois temporary registrations to customers, or Carvana was issuing Illinois temporary vehicle registrations to customers, and once those registrations expired after 90 days, which is the expiration amount of time in Illinois that the TRPs last, Carvana would allegedly and improperly replace those registrations, those temporary registrations, from ones from other states.”
Haupt said Carvana’s vehicle sales suspension in the state of Illinois will remain in place until all the issues are resolved.
A Carvana spokesperson on Wednesday sent News4JAX the following statement:
“Carvana has compliantly operated as a licensed dealer and good corporate citizen in the State of Illinois for several years, and we strongly disagree with the State’s characterization of both the facts and the law leading to this action. We are actively working with the State to resolve this issue, and they have agreed that we will continue delivering already purchased vehicles. We look forward to resolving this issue with minimal disruption to customers.”
Meanwhile, an FLHSMV spokesperson told News4JAX on Wednesday that the department currently has three open consumer complaints against Carvana -- two related to late title transfers and one related to a warranty dispute.
“We are working with these customers to ensure their issues are resolved,” the FLHSMV spokesperson said.