Does Carvana wait for the cars to reach the location before they inspect them, or do they prefer to have reports on the cars or send someone to Hertz to inspect them before they are shipped? If some cars are going directly to auction, they would potentially be shipped to a different location than those intended for retail sale.

It's an assumption, but I think it's a safe one that probably the cars coming in from Hertz are split about 50/50 between wholesale and retail. This split depends on their inventory levels. Some cars designated for retail might be deemed too much work or have other issues, making it not worth the time. So, they decide to sell it wholesale. Including that metric, it probably breaks down pretty close to 50/50.

I was listening to a podcast, and someone from the Carvana team mentioned they initially wanted everything delivered free of charge. They realized this had a negative effect, creating backlogs and bottlenecks. By applying the delivery fee, it freed up many nodes in the system, ensuring a better customer experience and generating more volume. This seems to align with what you're saying.

The biggest operational change was removing the 72-hour target. They no longer stage cars for transport until the deal is fully funded. Previously, by the end of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, they would start staging the car once the customer was 70% to 80% through the purchase portal. Many of those deals fell through, clogging the system with unsold cars, while others waited for customers with full trucks.