Frustrated by a second purchase attempt, and another delivery delay

I thought I’d post this as an update/continuation of last week’s post, because my Carvana experience has been so different from others posted here.

Last week I posted about Carvana rescheduling my Highlander delivery at the last minute (30 minutes before delivery), which turned out to be because the Check Engine light came on. I cancelled the order but, after I learned that they’d keep holding my money for at least 10 business days before releasing it to my bank, decided to order a different car from them. (I paid cash for the Highlander and didn’t have the money to pay for a second car at a dealership while I waited for reimbursement.) I went with a 2024 Acadia. I scheduled an appointment for pick-up this Saturday, which was the earliest available.

This morning, I learned that this car will not be delivered until late next week. They said delays like this are rare, but I’m at 2 for 2. Knowing there was something wrong with the first car, I also don’t trust that this one is okay. I don’t trust their delivery date estimates anymore, so cancelling and ordering a third car from them is not an option.

I thought the trade-off with Carvana was that you pay a little more than a dealership, but it’s convenient and you get to avoid the dealership experience. Instead, on top of 3 weeks without a car that I’ve already paid for, I’ll have to wait another 2-3 weeks before getting my reimbursement, and will still have to go to a dealership to actually buy a different car that I’ll probably have to finance. All while paying and relying on babysitters to transport my kids everywhere. If I’d known this was even remotely possible, I would have just gone to a dealership on the front end.