Carvana averts suspension of its dealer license in Florida

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles indicated it will not move to suspend Carvana's dealer license in the state after the company made "significant progress" in processing outstanding vehicle title applications before a key Jan. 31 deadline.

The online used-vehicle retailer shrank the number of title applications it had not filed within 30 days from nearly 400 to 29, according to a Feb. 1 letter from the department to Carvana. Of those 29 transactions, 11 customers received buyout offers that "include compensation for all of their payments made, plus 15 percent over the purchase price of the vehicle," and the remaining 18 customers were either unresponsive or "failed to provide missing documents."

That won't mark the end of the agency's investigations into customer complaints made against Carvana, according to the letter signed by Robert Kynoch, the department's director of motorist services.

"Additionally, the department believes Carvana's change in customer service delivery and business practices, including no longer selling vehicles until the vehicle's title is in your possession, will reduce similar issues moving forward," Kynoch wrote.

In December, the department threatened to pull Carvana's dealer license if the company did not, by Jan. 31, submit title applications for all vehicles sold in 2021 before Dec. 1.

Carvana will stay in a regular review schedule with Kynoch's office to "ensure ongoing compliance," he wrote in the letter.

The used-retail giant has four vending machine facilities in the state — in Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando and Tampa.

"We regularly have proactive and constructive dialogue with FLHSMV officials who share our goal of making car buying and selling as easy and fun as possible for customers," a Carvana spokesperson said in a statement. "As evidenced by our industry-leading customer experience ratings, we, and our many Florida teammates, remain committed to delivering even more exceptional car buying experiences to our Florida customers. In conclusion, we can confirm that we are in good standing."