TikToker Alleges Carvana Accidentally Wrote Her In As The Title Holder On Her New Financed Car

A TikToker who bought a used car from Carvana and financed it through Bank of America was surprised to see that everyone's favorite vehicular vending machine company had listed her as the lien holder on the title and bill of sale for her new vehicle, not the bank. In doing so, Carvana may have handed her a free car, as she has the title and confirmed with the state that their records show no liens or loans on the vehicle. The used car retailer has faced some rough patches over the past few years, miraculously dodging bankruptcy even when facing billions of dollars of debt. Despite seemingly continuous issues with the used car retailer's sales practices, Carvana's stock spiked over 400 percent between January 2024 and January 2025.  

The TikToker @sydneykidneybean shared her story on the social media app five days ago, and at the time of this writing, the video has over 1.6 million views. In a follow-up TikTok, Sydney explains that she does not plan to capitalize on the situation in any way, saying, "luckily for [Carvana and Bank of America] I am not a fraudster."

As it turns out, Sydney was the first person to pick up a car from this Carvana vending machine since Carvana instituted a new electronic vehicle titling procedure. In the video, Sydney says the Carvana employee who was present when she received her car said that the new system rolled out that day, and that it was their first time using the new titling system. Sydney's titling process apparently only took around a minute, and the Carvana employee told her how surprised they were at the speed and ease of the new titling system. She received her car and her title and was on her way.

Months later, Bank of America, the bank that Sydney used to finance her Carvana used car purchase, sent her a letter asking her to send a copy of the title application. That's when she looked over her paperwork and received confirmation from the state that she has the official title for her new car, and that she is clear and free of all liens and loans.

Theoretically, since her name is on the title and bill of sale, Sydney is the sole owner of the car. She could potentially sell the car, transfer the title, keep the money, and default on the loan, but she decided not to. Thousands of commenters urged her to take advantage of the situation, seeing as how if the shoe was on the other foot and she made a glaring omission on paperwork that either company would not hesitate to take advantage of her.

Now if I, someone who's fed up with corporate greed, were in Sydney's position, I might seek legal counsel before making any rash decisions like sending the bank the title. This is not legal advice, and I do not claim to be a legal advisor, I'm just sayin' the mistake in this situation is not the buyer's fault. Is her decision not to take advantage of the situation truly the morally "right thing" to do? Or do you think karma would take into account that both Bank of America and Carvana have harmed the financial wellbeing of countless Americans? Asking for a friend.