Buying a car from Carvana works differently from buying one at a lot. You pick it online, it shows up in your driveway, and you have seven days to decide if you're keeping it.
Those seven days are the most valuable thing in the deal. They're your one chance to find out what shape the car is really in while you can still send it back. Here's what Carvana's return policy says, what it leaves out, and how to use the week well.
What Carvana's return policy says
We read Carvana's own help pages on October 27, 2026. Policies change, so check them again the day you buy. Here is what they said:
- Seven days, starting the day you receive the car. Carvana calls it the 7-Day Money Back Guarantee. To return or exchange the car, you must tell Carvana before 8:00 p.m. EST on the 7th day.
- 400 miles. You can drive the car 400 miles during those seven days. Past that, Carvana charges $1.00 for each extra mile.
- Shipping isn't refunded. Carvana says shipping charges are nonrefundable, whether you return the car or exchange it. Its other refundable charges come back to you, which it says can take 10 to 15 business days.
- Some cars can't go back. A car isn't eligible for return or exchange if it has been in an accident or damaged, altered from the condition it was sold in, or made subject to a lien other than the loan from your purchase.
- Two exchanges, then no guarantee. You can exchange up to two times. The third car does not come with the 7-Day Money Back Guarantee.
- Registration waits. If you keep the car, Carvana says it begins registration after the seven days, if it hasn't already.
- A limited warranty after that. Carvana says every car comes with a limited warranty for 100 days or 4,189 miles, whichever comes first.
What seven days doesn't tell you
The return policy gives you time. It doesn't tell you what's wrong with the car. That part is up to you, and a week goes fast once you count a workday or two, waiting for a shop to open, and booking an appointment.
A car can look perfect in your driveway and still have a problem you can't see from there: an oil leak underneath, worn suspension parts, stored fault codes with no warning light on the dash, or paint that hides a past repair. None of those show up in a photo gallery or a short drive around the block.
And the clock works against you in one more way. If you wait until day six to find a problem, you have one day to decide, and no time to get a second opinion or ask Carvana about it.
Get it inspected on day one or two
The best time to inspect a Carvana car is in the first two days, while you still have most of the week left.
Stephon, who owns Car Pro Inspections, has seen how this goes for buyers. One of our customers bought two late-model Mazdas from Carvana, a few months apart. Both had problems, and she returned both. A recent model year didn't mean a car with no issues. Stephon has also seen Carvana fix items that a buyer's inspection turned up, when the buyer brought them up inside the return window. Either way, the inspection gave the buyer something to act on while acting was still possible.
Carvana describes its own inspection of its Carvana Certified cars. An independent inspection is a different thing: it's done for you, by someone who isn't selling the car, and you get the report in writing.
How we inspect a Carvana car without using your miles
A Carvana car sits in your driveway, so that's where we inspect it. We're fully mobile, and one of our certified technicians comes to the vehicle at your home or workplace, anywhere across the greater Atlanta, GA and Orlando, FL metro areas. You don't drive anywhere, so you don't spend any of your 400 miles getting it to a shop.
Every package covers mechanical and safety systems, the underbody and structure, brakes, suspension and steering, a dealer-level diagnostic scan, and a road test when it's safe and legal to drive. You get a written report with photos by email:
- Essential ($259): our full mechanical, safety and underbody inspection with a dealer-level scan and a plain-English summary of what the scan found.
- Enhanced ($399): adds accident investigation, a panel-by-panel repaint and body filler check, repair cost range guidance and a summary video walk-through.
- Elite ($649): everything in Enhanced, plus a detailed video walk-through and a 30-minute priority consultation.
Essential and Enhanced reports arrive within 24 hours of the inspection, and most go out the same day. Elite reports arrive by 11:59 PM Eastern on inspection day, or we refund $99. On a seven-day clock, that matters. The full list for each package is on our services page.
If a travel fee applies where the car is, we confirm it with you before the inspection.
What to do with the report
Once you've read the report, you have three choices, and the week gives you room for all of them:
- Keep it. The report came back clean, or close to it, and you keep the car knowing what you bought.
- Ask about the findings. Take the report to Carvana while you're still inside the window, and ask what they'll do about what it found.
- Return it. If the findings are more than you want to take on, tell Carvana before 8:00 p.m. EST on day seven.
Whatever you decide, decide it with the report in hand, not on a feeling from a short drive.
Pros and cons of buying from Carvana
What works well:
- You shop from home, and the car comes to you.
- Seven days and 400 miles is real time to live with the car before you commit.
- A limited warranty of 100 days or 4,189 miles comes with every car, by Carvana's own terms.
What to watch:
- You don't see the car in person before it's yours to decide on, so the seven days do the work a test drive and an inspection would do at a lot.
- Shipping charges don't come back if you return the car.
- The clock is short, and a problem you find on day six leaves you little time to act.
Carvana vs a franchise dealer
A franchise dealer usually lets you see, drive and inspect the car before you sign, but federal law doesn't give you a return window. The FTC puts it plainly: "Federal law doesn't require dealers to give you three days to cancel the deal and return the car." Some states and some dealers offer one; many don't.
Carvana flips that order. You commit first, then you get seven days to look. Neither way is better for everyone. What both have in common: the car is worth inspecting by someone who works for you, before your chance to walk away closes. At a dealer, that's before you sign. At Carvana, it's before day seven.
Quick answers
How long is Carvana's return policy? Seven days, starting the day you receive the car. Carvana says you must notify it before 8:00 p.m. EST on the 7th day.
How many miles can I drive a Carvana car before returning it? 400 miles during the seven days, by Carvana's terms. Past that, it charges $1.00 for each extra mile.
Can I get a Carvana car inspected by my own mechanic? Carvana's pages we read don't address it either way. The car is yours to look at during the seven days, and a mobile inspection comes to your driveway, so it doesn't use your miles.
Does Carvana refund shipping if I return the car? No. Carvana says shipping charges are nonrefundable regardless of a return or exchange.
When should I get a Carvana car inspected? In the first day or two after delivery, so you have time to ask Carvana about the findings or return the car before the week runs out.
Bought a car from Carvana in the Atlanta or Orlando area? Call us at 833-644-0800 the day it arrives, or book your inspection and we'll come to your driveway.