Denver residents looking to skip traditional used-car dealerships can now turn to an alternative shopping experience, with the debut of the state’s first car vending machine.
When online retailer Carvana entered the used-car business more than a decade ago, it made a splash with its novel vending machines introduced in 2013 — actual towers of used cars that are dispensed like candy bars or cans of soda.
The company’s growth wowed Wall Street and investors, which fueled its nationwide expansion. The new Denver location counts as Carvana’s 34th car vending machine in the U.S. The retailer was “the fastest growing used automotive retailer in U.S. history,” ranked by Forbes last year as the nation’s No. 2 automotive brand behind Ford.
In April 2021, Carvana purchased the land at 4700 E. Evans. Ave. for $5.8 million to build a vending machine. But the tower sat unused, raising serious questions among community members about whether the building would fulfill its purpose as reports began to surface about possible financial instability within the company.
This week, however, Denverites finally received an answer. Carvana opened its eight-story vending machine on Wednesday, with the capacity to hold 27 vehicles.
Head of Carvana corporate affairs Alan Hoffman hailed the opening. “It’s an exciting time for folks in the Denver area who want to do car buying a little bit differently.”
Despite the announcement, questions still linger about the state of the company and short-term prospects for the industry.
Last year saw sales and prices of used cars fall, and that quickly put the heady days of 2021 in the rearview mirror for dealers. As 2022 came to a close, Carvana faced severe financial problems, with media outlets like CNN, Forbes and Business Insider reporting that the company could face bankruptcy if its prospects don’t turn around.
The company recently reported a quarterly loss of more than $500 million, and has laid off 4,000 employees, according to a Jan. 30 New York Times article that also ran in The Denver Post.
But in a statement to the Times in that same article, Carvana said it was confident it had “sufficient” funds to turn the business around. The company told the Times it had $2 billion in cash and an additional $2 billion in “other liquidity resources” at the end of the third quarter.
And so the company celebrated Wednesday’s Denver opening and, Hoffman said, the possibility of more vending machines in Colorado.
Carvana shoppers first buy their cars online, then choose to either retrieve them from the vending machine or request for home delivery. Customers who want to check out the machine can visit the Denver site Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“We are all about disrupting the auto buying process,” Hoffman said in a Tuesday phone interview. “You can buy a car at 2 a.m. in your pajamas at your kitchen table if you want.”
Most of Carvana’s clientele choose the home delivery option, Hoffman added, but the car vending machine offers a unique experience. Patrons are gifted a “commemorative, oversized Carvana coin” to kick off the vending process before watching their cars lower through the all-glass tower.
Carvana’s Denver vending machine, pictured on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, is preparing to open. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Jonathan Virgilio, senior vending machine specialist, shows a token used with Carvana’s vending machine, located in Denver, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Carvana’s Denver vending machine, pictured on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, is preparing to open. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
On Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, Travis Dean, associate vending machine specialist, left, and other members of staff are ready to open Carvana’s vending machine in Denver. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Carvana’s Denver vending machine, pictured on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, is preparing to open. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
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Hoffman pointed to the Mile High City location as about two years in the making. The company has sold about 30,000 cars in Colorado, which he called “an important market for us.”
Hoffman highlighted Carvana’s online system as an easier choice for rural residents, people with disabilities or those who are “just intimidated about the whole car-buying experience.”
Denver City Council didn’t play a role in Carvana’s development of the site, but District 4 Councilwoman Kendra Black “would support almost any business opening there” to replace the motel that formerly occupied the space, she said in a Tuesday phone interview.
She describes herself as “happy that something is happening on that corner” of Evans Avenue.
This story was updated to further clarify the company’s financial situation.
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