How is Vroom still in business?
Vroom is terrible. Why?

How is Vroom still in business?

Buying a car from Vroom is simple. It's getting it delivered that can be a nightmare.

I didn't originally go looking for a Vroom-sourced vehicle. I was on another site and found the car I wanted, which just happened to be a Vroom car. So that's entirely my fault ... I should have done my due diligence and looked up Vroom's history of abysmal customer ratings. I deserve all the blame for that, and even now am paying the painful price for this failure.

But back to Vroom itself. Once you have purchased a car from them, they promise delivery within two weeks. In my case, I had originally hoped to get it delivered to a hotel where I was staying temporarily, and so included delivery blackout dates to reflect when I would no longer be available at that location, thinking that would communicate a sense of urgency (my other big mistake). Once I realized this wasn't going to happen, I removed the blackout dates and changed the delivery location. I did all this before I signed the contract with Vroom and finalized the purchase on July 8th.

Vroom, for its part, seemed to understand all this, and the final paperwork reflected no blackout dates. They promised delivery by the two-week point to the revised location. Unfortunately, some other part of their apparatus had already communicated the defunct blackout dates to their contract carrier. Here's where the nightmare began.

Vroom's operators first told me the vehicle was scheduled to arrive on July 20th, two days before the 14-day mark. Hearing nothing, I called back on the 20th and was given an updated schedule of July 22nd. Cutting it close ... but okay. I called three times on the 21st looking for more specific delivery information, and then the fun began.

Before I go on, you should know what to expect when you call Vroom. There seem to be an infinite number of agents in various departments, and you will virtually NEVER talk to the same person twice. There are the operators who answer the phone, something called "delivery support", and something else called "customer support". If you're really lucky you'll get to talk to a "specialist". This seems to be the only place where there might be someone specifically assigned to your case number, but they are almost impossible to reach. If you ask to talk to your specialist they take furious notes and will promise a response in 2-3 days.

Among the dozens of other people I have talked to over the past week, I got to talk to my specialist twice a couple of days ago, but I have since learned that there is no way to ask for that person specifically, and whether you hear back from them is really up to them. I found every other person I encountered to be very polite and virtually impotent to affect my situation in any significant way, or even to give me accurate information.

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This is because Vroom has contracted out its delivery operations. Don't be fooled by pictures like the one above of beautiful little Vroom trucks with your car all by itself on the back. Your car will almost certainly be delivered by a subcontracted driver of a large car carrier. Each of these entities communicates what it wishes to the others, and the only one you will be able to talk to directly is Vroom's seemingly infinite number of interlocutors.

In my case, my vehicle's delivery was contracted to United Road, who had apparently been given the old blackout dates. I learned this on about the 4th phone call with Vroom on July 21st (why previous operators never brought this up was never made clear). The car, it seems, got to Riverside, California but was stopped there due to the bad information. I explained to the operator that I must get that car as soon as possible, as I was approaching a family vacation in which that car was our means of transportation. I planned to leave on July 27th. She took notes dutifully (they all did, really). She said she was unable to call the delivery company (?), but would send an e-mail. The first of MANY.

My phone calls to Vroom grew increasingly urgent and desperate through the weekend. Finally I was contacted by my specialist on Monday. She seemed to bring new energy to the case, and by the time the day was out was able to assure me that the car would be picked up that very day and delivered on Tuesday (July 27th). Whether this was related to my recent threats to cancel the contract for failure to deliver was unclear. Not pretty, but the vacation was not yet dead.

Except it wasn't true.

I called back yesterday morning, and was politely told that actually the car would be picked up yesterday and delivered today. Yes, they saw where it was supposed to be yesterday, but unfortunately it wasn't, very sorry.

So here I sit today, vacation now officially delayed and still no car. The good news is I have been repeatedly assured that it is on the way, but nobody can tell me when it will arrive. There is a driver, but Vroom has no way to call him and the delivery company can't reach him. No problem though, I am assured he must deliver no later than ... 9:00 pm. Did I mention I was supposed to leave for vacation yesterday?

Two more little vignettes:

  1. Another delivery subcontractor contacted me directly two days ago telling me that he was ready to accept the job and get me the vehicle by next Monday. I explained my circumstances and he said there was nothing in the request from United Road about a deadline. He told me that from what he can tell, my case doesn't sound atypical. Moreover, he said, he has seen the snazzy Vroom-labeled delivery vehicles in Vroom's Riverside lot, but they never seem to go anywhere.
  2. Yesterday morning I called the hotel where I had non-refundable reservations for last night and explained my dilemma. The owner was extremely kind and offered to work the refund despite anyway. He also said he had a terrible experience with a Vroom delivery.

Again, I blame myself. It would not have been hard to check Vroom's rating with the Better Business Bureau ("F") or any number of independent review sites.

What I don't understand is how they can possibly stay in business, unless they hope everyone is as careless as I was. Perhaps that's the business model?

Michael Francis

Chief, Logistics Division @ Department of State | Facility Management

3y

Glad I dodged that bullet about a year ago, I was seconds from pulling the trigger (hitting return) something inside made me fight the instinct. Good luck.

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