MILWAUKEE, Wis. — It bills itself as a new way to buy a car, and Carvana is now serving Wisconsin. The online dealership launched service Wednesday in the greater Milwaukee and Madison areas.

Carvana's been in Chicago the past few years, but it is now available for driveway drop-offs across much of Wisconsin.

"About half of our customers do end up being in the millennial age range, but the average car buyer is the Carvana car buyer," said Amy O’Hara, Carvana’s Associate Director of Communications. "We find that our customers really appreciate the online option; it can give them the ability for them to shop on their own terms."

To best understand Carvana’s business model, think of Amazon but a site that exclusively sells cars. The company’s designed to take the brick and mortar dealership out of the equation. O’Hara said Carvana has 15 car vending machines across the US. None are planned yet for Wisconsin; instead, cars will be delivered directly to the address of the buyer’s choosing.

"Is it totally a different ballgame? No, but is it targeting a different audience? Absolutely, positively," said Jim Tolkan of the Auto Dealers Association of Metro Milwaukee, or ADAMM.

He cautioned buyers should take car purchases seriously.

"It is generally the second most expensive purchase you are going to have," he said. "I think it's extremely important to have a relationship with someone you trust and someone local in case you have an issue."

 Carvana offers buyers a seven-day return policy and a 100-day bumper-to-bumper warranty, but Tolkan warns about issues after those windows close.

"It may end up costing you significantly more if there are issues with the car and you don't have someone local to resolve it with," he said.

O’Hara disagreed with Tolkan’s assessment.

"The auto retail sector is very segmented,” she said. “There are a lot of players doing it a lot of different ways, offering a lot of different products. We are just one of the ways to do that."

O'Hara said many of Carvana’s latest model vehicles are still covered by factory warranties; she said extended warranties are available for purchase.