Caramel: Car Checkout Platform

I had a truly frustrating experience with Drive Caramel. I listed my car on eBay with the option for full payment within 3 days. By the 7th day, I had received zero communication from Caramel, so I decided to reach out. They informed me they were still waiting on the buyer to make the payment, which was disappointing, but it got worse. When I asked if there was a deadline for payment, they told me there were no deadlines—this immediately raised a red flag. Thanks to eBay providing the buyer's email, I decided to take matters into my own hands and contact the buyer directly. To my surprise, the buyer told me they no longer wanted the car. If I hadn’t reached out, Caramel would have kept waiting indefinitely with no deadlines in place. This lack of urgency and clear rules is unacceptable. I lost potential buyers on other platforms who were ready to purchase because I was waiting on Caramel to process a payment that never came. I will never use Caramel again and will avoid listing cars on platforms where it's an option for payment. Their approach is unprofessional, and I would not recommend them to anyone.

Won an auction on BaT and their verified checkout is drivecaramel. I knew better after my first bad experience a few months ago, but thought I’d give them another try. Bad execution top to bottom. The buyer and the seller have to constantly email their support team to get things done, so be ready for that. I picked up the car a week late because it took them that much longer to get temp tags to me and for them to get the title picked up from the random FedEx location. I thought I was done… four days later I get a check, the title, and some paperwork left at my door by FedEx (no signature) and instructions to go to the DMV for registration, taxes, and title transfer. I paid $149 for that service two weeks ago! So their response is, send it back and then they’ll take care of it. Not willing to refund me my money, no just take them at their word they won’t goof it up again or that the title won’t get lost. If they had any integrity they’d issue me an immediate refund and an apology. Use anybody else, hard to imagine it being worse.

Terrible experience. Bought my car in August, it’s now almost November and I’m no closer to getting my registration and plates

Link to bank won’t work. On app or online. Emailed support and they said they forwarded to clerq and then I got nothing back. They are holding up my transaction.

The idea is fantastic. Execution is clunky. The app has almost no value. You must log into their website for a more detailed status of your transaction. Even with that you really have no idea how long the transaction or step in the process is going to take. Expect the entire process to take at least a week. Longer if you do not have the title. The peace of mind this service brings is worth three stars alone. The frustration of not knowing how the process is playing out or when you can transfer the car is beyond irritating. The big kicker is there is no call in number to speak with someone. Everything is done through their customer service email. I will the say the customer service reps are quick to respond but I wish you could just call and get the full rundown on the process from an expert.

They pretty much did everything just asked a few questions and photos of documents and that’s it

I'm thrilled to share my very satisfying experience with Caramel! Initially, I was skeptical due to limited feedback, but I took a chance and trusted their service - no regrets! I primarily used their website and interacted daily with their efficient customer service, receiving prompt answers to all my questions. It's essential to trust the process and let them do their job. However, I did encounter some challenges. With a negative equity on my car loan and a tight deadline, I was pushy. I wished they provided more updates on the process and supporting paper for each step. I had to ask questions about temporary registration, license plates, car pickup, payments which weren't immediately clear. Caramel relies on seller-buyer communication, but this can be tricky since they're strangers. Honestly, I was concerned about potential scams, especially during the car pickup. The buyer had the same concern 😅, he told me. While my experience was overall positive, I believe Caramel can improve by providing more guidance and reassurance through simultaneous communication to both seller and buyer. With some refinements, their service can be even more exceptional!

I’ve had issues with the process since I started my purchase and honestly I am really regretting not just doing a private sale. The vehicle I purchased was in a different state so I thought it would be easier to go through a company for safety and efficiency. Boy, was I wrong about it being either of those things! I am now on my second temp tag and my bank has yet to receive the title from Caramel so I may get charged extra. I find the lack if answers from Caramel concerning and really can’t condone them as a business period. Having said that, the app is awful as well. It crashed constantly when I was going through the steps to purchase a vehicle and now I can’t even log in with Google to contact support AGAIN since nothing has been done in MONTHS. If you are considering doing a private sale, I suggest not using this company/app. While some team members were helpful along the way, the app is glitchy and nothing has actually been done to rectify my situation. I am regretting using this app and company BIG TIME. Please please please consider going a different route if you can. I wish I had just driven over the state line and done all the DMV paperwork myself for reference…so yeah, it’s pretty bad. I cannot recommend this app or company to anyone in good faith; please try to find a different route.

Using Caramel was a dream. I had to sell my late fathers car for my mother and the Caramel app and team made it incredibly easy. Customer service was extremely responsive and everything went as planned. Where do I invest in this?!

5-Star Customer Service! The primary reason to recommend! Andrew smoothed out the entire process and assuaged any buyer concerns. I am so thankful for Caramel, I can’t believe in this day & age that private auto sellers (whether still leasing or title in-hand) have been relegated to FB Marketplace listings and Cashiers Check scams… until Caramel! Caramel, a free vehicle escrow middle-man, made my auto sale above-board, legal, legitimate, and financially secure. No trips to the DMV, bank, or shady uncertain meet-ups required. I posted my listing for free on Cars.com and created a free unique-URL DriveCaramel.com “listing” which I then shared on Cars.com & AutoTrader, which allows interested parties to verify the vehicle’s VIN & legitimacy and make an offer. There’s so much confidence & assurance to be had by bringing a 3rd party to the table, for both buyer and seller. Once my car listing generated interested party emails, I then forwarded the buyer to Caramel via my unique URL to initiate the purchase. Caramel had me take many photos to verify my car, it’s condition, and legitimacy, DocuSign some legal paperwork, send them my current lender’s information & loan payoff quote, then the buyer got to see the listing’s legitimacy, make the offer I then accepted, then sent Caramel their bank information & customer service phone number, and Caramel stepped in and coordinated the rest! The buyer’s bank wanted to send physical paper 2-party Checks via snail-mail, and Caramel was able to act as the escrow middle-man and essentially buy my car from my lender, sell it to the buyer’s credit union, and direct-deposit me the equity difference. All went as I was promised. It did require a few quick phone calls to Caramel’s customer service, which they answer the line directly & immediately (with very broad working hours!). Andrew was amazing, 11/10! Their customer service agents are excellent communicators, quick-learners who care to understand the situation of both buyer & seller and actively & efficiently work to ensure the legitimate & secure transaction runs smoothly… and it did! Both banks were happy, all legalities were handled, and both buyer & seller were happy—although routinely surprised by the novelty of this private-sell transaction system. Caramel truly brings modern-dealership process & procedure (ie technology, financing, legal know-how, & escrow legitimacy) to the 21st Century private-sales market! They are going to take off, it’s only a matter of time bef