Coin-Operated Car Vending Machine Opens in Nashville

Carvana wants to make picking up your new car as easy as buying a can of soda. A few years ago, the car dealership moved all of its operations online, eliminating the often-frustrating car dealership experience. But, more often than not, buyers wanted to grab their new wheels in person, rather than having them delivered. So Carvana opened an enormous coin-operated car vending machine to make the pick-up process easy and fun. 

The five-story, fully automated vending machine sits just outside of Nashville, and looks, from afar, like the neatly-stacked display case of an avid Hot Wheels collector. To get their shiny new car, customers simply drop a custom oversized coin into a slot, and watch as an automated robotic arm grabs the car they purchased online and another robot drives the new purchase over to the pick-up spot. Then, customers can take a test drive or get a run-down of the car's features before they take it home. To promote the vending machine, the company is also offering $200 towards airfare and "white glove" service from the airport for anyone who makes their purchase from afar.

"I think it’s going to be an incredible customer experience," Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia told The Verge. "And I think if we’ve got the car that they’re looking for, and we’re selling it for $1,500 to $2,000 less, and we offer a purchase process that takes 20 minutes, and then you get to go to a vending machine and watch your car moonwalk to you? I think people are going to respond to that."

Banner Image Credit: Carvana, Youtube