NASHVILLE, Nov. 14 (UPI) — Used-car website Carvana added an alternative pick-up method for their customers, building the world’s first coin-operated car vending machine.
The company first came up with the idea for a car vending machine in 2013 and on Friday the five-story structure opened in Nashville.
The vending machine is fully-automated and can hold up to 20 cars at a time. It also features a slot for a giant coin and a robotic arm that picks up the car and places it in a delivery bay for the customer.
“The experience itself is exactly a vending machine experience,” Caravan founder and CEO, Ernie Garcia told The Verge. “The customer even gets a customized, oversized coin that they drop into a slot.”
When customers arrive to pick up their online order they drop the coin into the slot and pick up the car from the delivery bay. They then have the opportunity to inspect and test drive the car and, unlike traditional vending machines, the transaction is not final until the customer drives the car off of the lot.
The company hopes to open additional vending machines in the future, but for now they are offering $200 toward airfare and “white glove” chauffeur service for any customers willing to make the trip.
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