Car vending machine drives into KC skyline with Carvana’s launch off Southwest Boulevard
May 9, 2019 | Austin Barnes and Tommy Felts
Towering over Southwest Boulevard, Missouri’s first Carvana location has been parked in Kansas City and it’s finally ready to rev its engine, Amy O’Hara confirmed Thursday.
“It’s a beautiful location and we’re looking forward to showing everyone our signature car vending machine experience and the new way to buy a car,” said O’Hara, Carvana associate director of communications.
Initial plans for the location — which sits at 1700 W. 29th Street just off I-35 and Cambridge Circle, south of the downtown skyline — were filed with the city last spring.
Click here to checkout Carvana in action.
A disruptor within the automotive space, customers insert a special novelty coin into a slot and watch as one of the machine’s 27 cars is delivered from the eight-story, glass enclosure — which serves as a dramatic show-piece, O’Hara explained of Carvana’s eye-catching appeal and whimsical delivery process.
“Customers can go on Carvana.com, shop more than 15,000 vehicles, finance, and then select next-day delivery or car vending machine pick up of that vehicle. All in as little as 10 minutes from the comfort of home, on the go,” she said.
Keep reading below the photo gallery from inside Carvana.
Next-day delivery has been available — and successful — in the metro since last year, O’Hara clarified.
In addition to the Kansas City vending machine launch, Carvana also on Thursday rolled out next-day delivery in Topeka.
Kansas City’s vending machine is the 18th U.S. location for the Phoenix-based Carvana since it was founded in 2012. Other site locations include Tennessee, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, the company said.
“We’ve found that area residents appreciate our new way to buy a car, and as we grow our presence in the Midwest, we’re proud to add a car vending machine to Kansas City’s skyline … ” Ernie Garcia, founder and CEO, said in a press release.
While she couldn’t speak to future plans, O’Hara noted that Carvana continues to expand quickly, when asked if a second metro location was possible.
“We have opened up more vending machines this year — so far — than we have previously,”
O’Hara said. “As long as we see an opportunity to be a member of the community and be part of the market, we’ll certainly explore options.”
Kansas City’s Carvana will be open Monday through Saturday and offer free pickup for customers, the company said.
2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
In second term, Mayor Q says he’ll help get City Hall out of entrepreneurs’ way as they build a more diverse economy
Creating economic equity in Kansas City goes hand in hand with building a sustainable city, said Mayor Quinton Lucas. “We will not be the city that we need to be — we won’t have the workforce, the entrepreneurs that we need — if we’re not actually investing in equitable tools in any number of ways,”…
Sandlot Goods takes a swing at a brick and mortar; new JoCo storefront expected to be a home run with brand’s fans
Sandlot Goods — Kansas City’s only local hat manufacturer — is hoping to score big with its first, dedicated, standalone retail space. The new location at Park Place in Leawood — 11530 Ash Street — is slated for a soft opening Aug. 15 and a grand opening Sept. 16, shared Garret Prather, Sandlot vice president…
‘Oppenheimer’ actor says new Missouri tax incentives could bring investors, more film productions to KC
David Dastmalchian’s screenplays for movies set in Kansas City now have a realistic chance to be filmed in and around his hometown, said the acclaimed actor, writer, and producer who grew up in Overland Park. Recently-signed legislation paves the way for increased film production in Missouri by reauthorizing — and strengthening — tax credit incentives…
She witnessed short-staffed hospitals as a COVID patient; How her ‘Airbnb for health care workers’ could save lives like hers
After her own hospitalization with COVID-19, Shapree’ Marshall set out to make sure local hospitals have adequate staffing to care for the community, she shared. In February 2022, Marshall — now a 2023 Pipeline Pathfinder cohort member — founded A Traveled Path Homes, which she describes as Airbnb for the medical industry. She plans to…