RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Online used car dealer Carvana is facing more problems in North Carolina after its license was suspended in Wake County until January 2022.

There are issues with its dealer’s license in another location in the state. It involves an investigation by the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, which is the agency that suspended Carvana’s operations in Raleigh.

Carvana has about 9 percent of the used car market, according to Automotive News. Its towering vending machines offer a huge visual reminder that they’re out there.

In Wake County, the company agreed to a 180-day license suspension, which lasts through the end of January 2022.

Bob Glaser is the head of the North Carolina Auto Dealers Association. He said having a problem with a dealer’s license is a big deal.

“In my 25 years in North Carolina, to the best of my knowledge, I’ve never had a new car or truck dealer have his license suspended,” Glaser said.

NCDMV claimed Carvana failed to deliver titles to it, sold a vehicle without a state inspection, and issued out-of-state temporary tags/plates for a vehicle sold to a person in North Carolina.

A copy of the complaint from the Wake County customer at Carvana that lead to the suspension said the purchaser of a 2018 Ford Edge complained that Carvana:

  • Asked him to print a copy of his tag at home when there was no updated tag to print.
  • The bank did not have a title and was having no success getting the title.
  • No one could tell the owner where the registration was.

The auto dealer’s association said it’s important for the state DMV to keep an eye on the car sales documentation.

“They make sure the transaction is open, transparent, and that the consumer clearly has an option to turn to if it doesn’t go as expected,” Glaser said.

Carvana is licensed in four North Carolina locations, including one in Charlotte. Each operates on a different license. Its Charlotte license is currently on probation.

NCDMV said probation is one of several options open to it after investigating complaints. Other options are fines, suspension, and revocation. A Carvana spokesperson said the company would look into its situation in Charlotte.

NCDMV said its License and Theft Bureau found a problem with the issuance of 30-day temporary markers by the Charlotte location, as well as the lack of obtaining required insurance information on a purchased vehicle.

NCDMV said a dealer on probation can still operate as a licensed dealer in North Carolina but could also be assessed civil penalties. Any violation incurred by the licensee during the period of probation will result in the petitioner’s appearance at a hearing.

At that hearing, the dealer will have to show good cause as to why the division should not suspend, revoke, or otherwise take other adverse action against the dealer’s license.

The probation period for Carvana in Charlotte started Nov. 18, 2020, and ends Nov. 17, 2022.