Drive CaramelReviews of drivecaramel.com

1) For the seller, as I was, you do not explain the steps well enough at the outset. You just keep dribbling in more things you want and delays in the process. Make a list and set expectations up front. 2) Your software application needs work. Please see Dave Duke for a total chronology of my messages from you. If you want the actual messages I have them saved. Many were not applicable for the state of progress and were actually alarming to me. Think it through from the eyes of a seller. I would not use it again in its present state.

I’m mid-transaction and trying to get an update on Caramel’s processing of funds. Can’t get answers, keep getting promised that someone will get back to me with an update. Just got hung up on by their “customer service” rep because I was pressing to get an update. Not a good look for any company…

The process was very slow, and response to emails was virtually non-existent. I pretty much had to call them to get anything moving, or information on where the process was. For example - I was due a refund by wire transfer. I provided all of the wire info on a Tuesday, and eventually had to call them the following Friday to get them to actually process the transfer.

Bought a car from a private party via Bring a Trailer. Used BaT’s checkout which turned out to Caramel. They were fine with holding payment from me and title from seller until the car shipped. I stupidly opted to have them register the car in RI for an extra fee. I had the car within 2 weeks and they had all the paperwork/payment they needed to send off to the RI DMV. I kept checking the dashboard and it was never sent. I was told multiple times it was being “prioritized” and “expedited”. 4 weeks later and still not sent out. Then they inform me they needed an original copy of the VIN certification after telling me weeks before an electronic copy was all that was needed. By this time, I’m up against RI’s deadline or face penalties for not paying taxes on the sale in a timely manner. Caramel then suggests they mail me the docs and a refund so I can register it myself. RI DMV requires appointments to be scheduled. I managed to get an appointment 1 day before the deadline but when I get to the DMV, I have to explain that I’m paying the sales tax despite the Bill of Sale saying I already paid it to Caramel. Then I learn caramel has applied the wrong sales tax rate. Communication is all by email and can take 24 hours to get a response. The “dashboard” is useless and is not updated in a timely manner. Fortunately for me the seller was great and we kept each other up to date directly. I Would NEVER use them to register a car again, but might use them to hold title/payment when dealing with a non dealer private party. Not sure who Hemmings.com uses but they were excellent in comparison.

There are few customer reviews for this company online, so it's hard to know what you're getting into for a large transaction like buying/selling a car. Warning up front: There is no way talk to anyone at this company to resolve an issue. That option does not exist. They only have a ticketing system, and you will probably need to use it a lot. I have been working on a transaction now where the buyer and I agreed on a price over a week ago. I have had to open and reopen tickets with Caramel 7 times already. Two times where the system broke and wouldn't let me proceed, places where they were requiring signatures if the wrong place on paperwork, places where the paperwork was incorrect... the only option is to open a ticket, and the half a day or a full day later, they will resolve it. And at this point, they withdrew the down-payment from my bank account 4 days ago, and the status is still "payment pending". I can't get them to move this sale forward. For a transaction that usually takes 30 minutes in a dealership, we are into our 2nd week already, and there's nothing I can do. This delay and complication is not an expectation that they clearly communicate, and seems unnecessary. Only use this site if you're ok with the sale taking multiple weeks.