Update: Here is a response from Carvana: “Carvana considers the matter resolved as Mr. Scott has been refunded all monies paid towards the vehicle. Carvana has no knowledge of any impending litigation. Carvana attempted to work with Mr. Scott’s attorney yet we did not receive a response.”

Original reporting:

Finding out that Carvana sold you a stolen car is bad enough. But that was only the beginning of the mess this Army veteran went through after purchasing a Maserati Levante. The car was a birthday gift for his wife but became a nightmare for them both.

This began in November when Jason Scott paid $68,000 for the Maserati. After the joy and excitement that went with the car, he took it to a dealership for service the following February. That’s when the joy quickly left.

Did the police arrest the Carvana buyer?

The dealer found discrepancies with the title, starting with the model year. Scott was told it was a 2021. But the dealer tech found parts that weren’t on the 2021 Levantes. Checking further, the dealer found it was a 2017, not a 2021. “When they checked the VIN number on the chassis, that’s when they saw that it was a stolen vehicle. VIN on the car on the window and the car door was different,” Scott told ABC11 North Carolina.

Police got a call from the Maserati dealer and had questions for the owner. He showed the police the paperwork he got from Carvana; with that, he was no longer a suspect. Unfortunately, the Levante would need to head for impound until a determination was forthcoming. 

Has there been a Carvana response?

Scott made a beeline for the Carvana lot, where he got the stolen car from. They said they would need to have the Maserati before anything could happen. He explained the police had the car and presented the police crime report. 

Then, he told them he would need his down payment back plus the two payments he already made. Since then, he has not heard back from Carvana despite numerous efforts to get his money back. “They weren’t responding back to anything at all.”

When ABC11 tried to get information from Carvana, it said it didn’t discuss anything about pending litigation. But many news services have been asking similar questions. So here’s their statement: “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.”

Has this been resolved or not?

Scott now has a lawsuit where he’s asking for $1 million for losses and a public apology. He says the compensation also covers issues involving his reputation beyond monetary losses. Carvana, in its response, is offering to pay back Scott’s money or a trade for anything of equal value and will also give him an additional $1,000 for goodwill. 

“I know they say they have 150-point inspections,” says Scott. “I want them to have 151. Check to see if the vehicle is stolen. The last thing I want anybody to do is to get caught late at night on some strange road in the backcountry, and they can’t verify it, and they look at that person as a criminal.”

Now, the North Carolina Attorney General is investigating Carvana and its practices. It told ABC11 it has 130 complaints against Carvana, though none involve stolen cars.