Auto selling tech company has roots in the valley

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - For years, Carmax has been the leader in the used car sales market, but coming on quickly in their rear-view mirror are startups like Shift, Vroom, and Beepi, who all want to change the way you buy and sell used cars online.

For Beepi it's as simple as using their app, people pick the car they want, get financing, and days later it's delivered to their front door.

But they are not alone, Valley based Carvana continues to be a driving force in the online auto sales business. Recently they were picked as one of Forbes most promising companies; Carvana believes the entire buying experience should only take minutes, and they have something the other companies don't the first-ever coin operated car vending machine.

At their Nashville location customers can pick up their new purchase by inserting a coin into the machine which dispenses the vehicle to them.

The bay doors open and then the customer goes in, and they get to spend as much time with the car as they like.

If you don't near any vending machine Carvana will ship your used car right to you, they are so confident about the experience that they give customers seven days to return their vehicles no questions asked.

"Every industry has a traditional way of doing things, and it's always been that way until it starts to change, so I think we're bringing change to the industry, and we're really excited about it," said Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia Jr.

Garcia founded Carvana and his roots to the Valley run deep. As a graduate of Arcadia HS, he didn't have to go far to find a home for his company near 40th St and Indian School. His office boasts a gym, ping pong table, and even a basketball court.

"We've been pretty lucky here to build a culture that I think is pretty fun, with a lot of people that are having a good time," said Garcia.

And that approach towards his employees appears to be paying off for his customers.

"We'd figured we'd build a very interesting and fun experience for them to kind of reward them for saving that money for us, and then we can give that money back to them in the form of a great experience," said Garcia.

Carvana has two vending machines in the US, one in Nashville and Atlanta, with more cities to come. It's unclear when Phoenix will be getting its own Carvana vending machine.