Carvana continues to give used car dealers a bad name and this time they’ve reportedly been caught selling a stolen Maserati.
According to ABC 11, Jason Scott bought a Maserati Levante from Carvana for his wife’s birthday. That’s one heck of a birthday present as Scott reportedly paid more than $68,000 (£55,657 / €63,220) for the vehicle, but it turned out to be a huge headache.
Scott bought the crossover in November and everything was fine until he took it in for service at a Maserati dealership in February. This is where problems arose as the dealer discovered the vehicle was stolen.
More: Carvana Admits To Breaking The Law Again, This Time In Illinois
While the crossover was sold to Scott as a 2021 Levante, the service tech reportedly found old parts on it. This spurred the dealer to check the crossover’s secondary and real VIN, which revealed it was a stolen 2017 Levante.
Police were called and they had plenty of questions for Scott. However, once presented with evidence showing he bought the crossover from Carvana, he was free to go.
However, since the Levante was stolen, police impounded it. Scott then reached out to Carvana and was reportedly told, “We can’t trade the vehicle back in until you bring the vehicle back.” Of course, that was impossible as the vehicle was taken by police. Scott continued to reach out, but the company reportedly stopped responding after being shown the police report.
Scott eventually got a lawyer involved and is asking for “$1 million (£818,250 / €929,140) in compensation for losses, both financially and reputationally, and a public apology.” That’s probably wishful thinking, but Carvana reportedly sent a letter apologizing for the incident and saying they didn’t know it was stolen either. The letter is also said to have offered Scott a full refund as well as $1,000 (£818 / €929) as a “gesture of goodwill.”
Ironically, Carvana touts a 150 point inspection process and item #1 is “Correct VIN plate and anti-theft labels.” Less than a year ago, the company even bragged that before photos are taken, vehicles pass through a “second 150 point inspection where they validate that all the work was done correctly and is within the Carvana vehicle standards.”
Update: The company released a statement saying, “When Carvana acquired this vehicle, someone had taken sophisticated criminal steps to steal and alter the vehicle and we’re taking all the necessary steps to make it right for our customer in this rare instance.”
