Business Organization - Narrative (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands						8 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 20, 2019 USD ($)	May 24, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Apr. 30, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 05, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares shares	May 03, 2017 USD ($) vote $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 class $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2018 $ / shares shares
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Classes of common stock, ownership interest | class							2
Preferred stock, shares authorized (in shares)					50,000,000.0		50,000,000	50,000,000
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share) | $ / shares					$ 0.01		$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Conversion ratio							1.25
Exchange Agreement
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Conversion of stock, converted (in shares)			6,900,000				5,400,000	14,200,000
Carvana Group
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Ownership percentage by Carvana Co.							32.30%
Ownership percentage by LLC unitholders							67.70%
Class A Units
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Conversion ratio							0.80
Class A Units | Carvana Group
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Convertible preferred stock, shares issued upon conversion (in shares)					43,100,000			6,300,000
Conversion of Class A Convertible Preferred Stock (in shares)								6,300,000
Class A Units | Ernest Garcia, II
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Investment owned, balance (in shares)					200,000
Interest acquired					0.10%
Class A Units | Carvana Group
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Investment owned, balance (in shares)			8,300,000		18,800,000
LLC price per unit, multiple on initial public offering price less underwriting discounts and commissions (in dollars per share)					0.8
Convertible Preferred Units | Carvana Group
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Conversion of Class A Convertible Preferred Stock (in shares)								100,000
Class A
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Stock sold during period, net proceeds | $						$ 205,800
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)					500,000,000.0		500,000,000	500,000,000
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share) | $ / shares					$ 0.001		$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Number of votes | vote					1
Conversion of Class A Convertible Preferred Stock (in shares)								5,100,000
Class A | Exchange Agreement
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Conversion ratio					0.8
Conversion of stock, issued (in shares)			5,600,000				4,300,000	11,300,000
Class B
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)					125,000,000.0		125,000,000	125,000,000
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share) | $ / shares					$ 0.001		$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Number of votes | vote					1
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)					117,200,000
Conversion ratio					0.8
Class B | Exchange Agreement
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Conversion of stock, converted (in shares)							3,100,000	10,300,000
Class B | Garcia Parties
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Number of votes | vote					10
Class A Convertible Preferred Stock
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Stock sold during period, net proceeds | $				$ 98,500		$ 98,507
Preferred stock, shares authorized (in shares)				100,000
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share) | $ / shares				$ 0.01
Conversion ratio					0.8
Preferred stock initial value per share (in dollars per share) | $ / shares				$ 1,000
Issuance of stock (in shares)				100,000
Conversion of Class A Convertible Preferred Stock (in shares)				100,000				100,000
Class A Convertible Preferred Stock | Carvana Group
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Sale of stock, number of shares issued in transaction (in shares)				100,000
Conversion of Class A Convertible Preferred Stock (in shares)								25,000
IPO | Class A
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Sale of stock, number of shares issued in transaction (in shares)					15,000,000.0
Sale of stock, price per share (in dollars per share) | $ / shares					$ 15.00
Stock sold during period, net proceeds | $					$ 205,800
Follow-On Offering | Class A
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Sale of stock, number of shares issued in transaction (in shares)		4,200,000	6,600,000
Sale of stock, price per share (in dollars per share) | $ / shares		$ 65.00	$ 27.50
Net proceeds from the offering | $		$ 258,800	$ 172,300
Follow-On Offering - Selling Shareholder | Class A
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Sale of stock, number of shares issued in transaction (in shares)			6,100,000
Over-Allotment Option | Class A
Subsidiary, Sale of Stock [Line Items]
Net proceeds from the offering | $	$ 38,900
Sale of stock, option to purchase, number of additional shares, period		30 days
Sale of stock, option to purchase, number of additional shares (in shares)		600,000