Carvana vs Dealer Sold Used Cars
Carvana’s most popular cars are likely different than yours.
Last week Carvana published their Trend Setter report, sharing the top models and makes of their audience. And it seemed at a glance to be different than what we have seen in other parts of the market so we asked our data team to pull together a comparison.
Here’s what they found. Dealerships were indeed much closer to what is seen in the new car market overall.
Top Makes 2019
| Top Five New Cars | Top Five Used Cars Dealerships | Top Five Used Cars Carvana |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ford F-Series | 1. Chevy Silverado | 1. Nissan Altima |
| 2. Ram Pickup | 2. Honda CR-V | 2. Honda Civic |
| 3. Chevrolet Silverado | 3. Ford F-150 | 3. Nissan Sentra |
| 4. Toyota RAV4 | 4. Toyota RAV4 | 4. Hyundai Elantra |
| 5. Honda CR-V | 5. Toyota Camry | 5. Chevy Equinox |
| Source: Car and Driver | MAX Digital | Carvana |
Top Used Car Body Styles 2019
On the body type front there were also differences that underscore the Carvana users preference for sedans, driven by a millennial shopper who was five times as likely to purchase a sedan than a Baby Boomer, according to Carvana, which may explain why their body style graph for 2019 looks like the one above with dominate sedans.
While the same graph with dealership data has larger truck and SUV data. Likely driven by Baby Boomers and potentially some Gen X pick up traffic. We mapped out their numbers as close as we could from the graphic, but they are approximate as they only shared the graphic, so we had to get our rulers out to match up the numbers.
Our conclusion: Carvana is appealing to segment of buyers who don’t exactly mirror the general market. At the very least they have a notably different set of automotive preferences. Something for all dealerships to keep an eye on as Carvana’s audience continues to grow.