Business & Tech

Online Company to Pay Ga 400 Toll on Monday

Carvana will pay rush hour tolls, as well as giveaway 200 $100 gas cards.

Take heart, all you who brave Holcomb Bridge each workday - Carvana is covering your toll costs next Monday, March 25.

The online car buying site will present local residents with "Random Acts of Carvana" by paying the northbound and southbound GA 400 tolls - including Cruise Card/Peach Pass lanes - from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and again from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. Additionally, visitors to the Carvana website that day can register to win one of 200 $100 gas cards, according to marketing information provided by the company.

Carvana's Atlanta area distribution center and local offices are in Winder, said Colleen Murphy, a marketing representative for the company.

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"We chose Atlanta as our launch market due to its welcoming start-up environment, central location amongst Southern states and residents’ nature to embrace new and exciting technologies," said Carvana President Ernie Garcia in a press release. "We're hoping that if we can improve the commuting experience for Atlanta residents in a small way, they will give us the opportunity to improve their car buying experience in a major way."

Malika Reed Wilkins of the State Road and Tollway Authority said the agency works with a third-party vendor to solidify sponsorships.

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"If a company wants a pay toll promotion, they work with a group we have, called Travelers Marketing," she said. "They pay the tolls in advance. And there's administrative costs as well."

But this pay toll promotion is a bit different than all previous times, Reed Wilkins said.

"This is the first time we've ever done the two times in one day. Typically it's just the morning rush. But they asked if they could do the afternoon as well."

"Everyone who is coming through the plaza during that time is free. Even the people who go through Peach Pass and all the electronic lanes during the timeframe that they pay for the sponsorship," she said.

An estimated 42,000 cars will go through the toll plaza during the four hours (both north and south for 7 a.m.-9 a.m. and 4 p.m.-6 p.m.). This was based on the Monday traffic for this week last year, said Murphy.

Carvana employees will be at the toll plaza on Monday to personally introduce themselves to local residents as the people behind the website.

As the first-of-its-kind in the auto industry, Carvana helps potential car buyers find, finance and purchase a car entirely online. They then also deliver the vehicle to the customer's door within 48 hours, says the release. Each car is part of an inventory which is less than three years old, includes an Experian Autocheck report and is backed by a 7-day, no-questions-asked Test Buy return policy.

"At Carvana, we believe that car buying should be quick and painless and we’re confident that Carvana.com provides that and more," Garcia said. "From providing our customers with complimentary gas cards to hand delivering each car with utmost care, we understand the need for a personal connection throughout the car buying process and wanted to take this opportunity formally introduce ourselves to as many Atlantans as possible."

For more information about Carvana, visit www.carvana.com or connect to Carvana on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.


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