Carmax

[azlatina]

Last edited Mon Jun 24, 2013, 09:27 PM - Edit history (1)

Anyone bought a car at Carmax? I am looking to buy a 2007 Kia Sportage. Would to hear about both. Thx....

UPDATE:

Thanks to all who posted feedback. I ended up buying a car (2008 Kia Sorento - 46k miles) @ Royal Kia in Tucson AZ. Very positive experience, great price, & trade in value. They include a free lifetime warranty on the power train as long as you own the car. No pressure, salespeople are salaried. I'm very happy with my new car!!

[Fawke Em]

1. I have.

Just paid my car off this month, too.

Love my car and it was no hassle to buy. The price is what it is.

[GeorgeGist]

2. I have ...

and my daughter has also; twice. Good experience.

[yellerpup]

3. We are on our second one.

No complaints.

[leveymg]

4. Pricier than a private sale. An alternative to a dealer's used car lot. Basically, the same

experience and quality of vehicle, warrantee, etc., perhaps with a wider selection.

If don't know exactly what you want, it can be a good alternative. Shop around.

[sharp_stick]

5. We did, I liked them

you'll pay more than a private sale or even dealer lot used but they had an incredible variety and even brought one in from another Carmax for us to drive (free transfer because it was close). The sale was quick and hassle free.

They also did a full workup on the car, replaced all the belts/hoses and ran the 60,000 mile maintenance items even thought the car only had 48,000 miles on it.

They did miss some poorly repaired body damage to the rear quarter panel.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

6. They are reputable. As reputable as a car dealer can be.

Car buying and selling, like horse trading, is still a dirty business on both sides. Sellers lie and buyers lie (I spent ten years in the biz).

As others have said, you will pay a slightly higher price than the "best deal" you can negotiate elsewhere. That is, if you are up to "horse trading" elsewhere.

On the flip side, you won't get screwed blue and tattooed by some sharpie if you walk in with your head up your ass. Suckers were otherwise known as a "Larry Doyles" (code for lay downs) or "Grapes" (that needs squeezing).

I've sent plenty of friends there to sell cars. In fact, a friend just sold his jeep there last week.

Carmax pays a little more for trade-ins as they use, IIRC, NADA books (this is from old memory) and dealers use Black Book (auction prices). This means you might pay a bit more on the buy side but it evens out if you are trading.

There are always variables and it pays to shop around. Different people have different opinions on value and it can vary from dealer to dealer. A couple years ago we were trading a tricked out cream puff high mile Mini Cooper convertible and we checked out CarMax. They came in $2000 dollars low because, they said, it was near end of summer. That didn't make any sense to my old car biz brain. We took the Mini to a dealer and the GM was licking his chops. He made the lot guys immediately clean it up and place the car on the front lawn. He also had the kids place a plate on the car so he could take it home for the weekend. End of summer my ass - but that was probably a policy that came from corporate.

I don't mind "horse trading" because I know a dealer will hang himself with his own words and anticipation to make a sale. But you have to be prepared to walk. Time is always on your side.

[Egalitarian Thug]

7. Yep. The manufacturers lie to the dealerships, the dealerships lie to the employees,

the employees lie to the customers, and the customers lie to themselves. An entire industry built and based on lies. It's the American dream.

[masmdu]

8. Seems like a ripoff to me...Set up for people who are scared to make deals for themselves.

I recently sold a car and bought a newer one. I went to Carmax to see how much they would give me on the car I was selling and they offered me $1200. I walked out the door and sold it myself on craiglist a week later for $7000. I then checked them out for car I was looking to buy. They had a lot of choices but I was able to find the exact same car with fewer miles on it (again on craigslist) for $3000 less.

So, I did the leg work myself and it cost me $9000 less then if I had used Carmax. If you have money to burn then Carmax may be right for you.

Edit to add:

I think buying from an individual seller is best. You can see repair and maintenance records (if any), get a sense from the seller and location as to whether of not they were likely to have taken good care of the car. But even if it all seems good, DEFINITELY take the car to YOUR mechanic to have it check out.

[masmdu]

9. Just out of curiosity I searched for a 2007 Kia Sportage on both carmax and craigslist in my zip and

found Carmax had one available for $16000 and the one I found on local craigslist was $9000 or best offer. The craigslist one had higher mileage but this was just a quick comparison to emphasize my point.

[DirkGently]

15. *Selling* to an individual is best.

You'll always get more money on the private market than the auction prices Carmax pays. That's just the nature of dealing with a re-seller. They're either going to auction your car or try to mark it up for resale. Disclosure: I worked there briefly as a second job, basically for a lark. I liked their basic premise of up-front pricing and the fact they didn't manipulate financing.

Buying from an individual can go great, if you get a hold of an honest car nut or the proverbial "little old man / lady who only drove to church." That's where the best cars will be, and the prices can better because there's no middle man trying to make a buck.

But if you get screwed, your recourse is asking nicely, or a lawsuit. Most people aren't good at lawsuits. As a kid, I once had a woman try to sell me what I finally realized was her ex-husband's car. She had no title, but promised to get one after the sale. She mentioned none of this until I was ready to buy and hung up when I asked more probing questions. Someone probably bought that car.

People are sometimes right to be "scared of making deals for themselves." Depends on where you go, of course -- and many new car dealerships have essentially gone to upfront pricing and no-scam financing, but the old school car sales model -- especially used cars -- was as rigged as a carny game. Not just things like chewing gum on the hose leaks, but outright dirty financing, where they make money by "selling" you the worst possible rate, and then manipulation of the trade-in, warranties, payments, etc. etc.

A lot people -- particularly a certain type of guy -- who think they're geniuses at dealing with car dealers, get screwed as much as anyone else.

If you get a lemon from Carmax -- which of course can happen -- you at least have a point of contact, and some motivation on their part to keep customer good will. They also at least used to have a limited no-questions-asked return policy. You won't get that from a private seller or the corner used-car lot. The closest thing they've got to scams are add-ons like extended warranties, leather seats, and the worst thing I ever saw, add-on DVD systems that seemed badly overpriced.

[taught_me_patience]

10. I've had one experience and it was bad

They offered $600 for an old mercedes E420 trade in. I laughed my ass off and sold it within a week on craigslist for $2,200.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

13. In their defense, it's tough to compare what you will get for a $2200 dollar car....

.... with what any dealer can give you for a $2200 dollar car.

I always tell people to sell the cheaper cars themselves. The percentage difference is just too great.

The higher dollar cars make a little more sense to trade when you figure in trade-in tax savings. Not to mention looking for a cash buyer and/or worrying about a buyer's financing higher dollar amounts.

Safety and fraud are also considerations.

I've seen sellers get burned with bogus cashier's checks.

My neighbor bought a late model Jeep Liberty off craigslist and it turned out it was stolen with a fraudulent title. The detectives knocked on her door one evening and left with her car. She had a HELL of a time getting her insurance to cover the claim. Insurance eventually paid but, IIRC, they really weren't obligated.

[DirkGently]

17. Good point on private selling.

I just posted that I thought it was better to trade in a rustbucket than a nice car, but it's also true that getting a private person to come up with more than about $5000 cash can be a hassle.

Carmax will offer more if they think they can actually sell the car, though. Everything else goes to auction where they try to break even.

Saw the stolen car scenario at Carmax once. They didn't catch it when they bought and ate the cost as far as I know.

[LadyHawkAZ]

11. My daughter did

She's been very happy with it.

[SoCalDem]

12. We LOVE Carmax.. You can easily search and compare prices

and you don't have the hassle of a regular dealership or the uncertainty of a private seller..

We bought our comfy-car there for a great price and have never regretted it


Kia Amanti (now called the Cadenza).. we basically got it half price w/less than 20K miles

[Initech]

14. I sold my brother's car to Car Max and we got $1500 more than if we had sold it privately.

[DirkGently]

16. Worked there briefly years ago.

They do what they say. Up-front pricing and no b.s. on financing. Or at least that was the case 8 or 9 years ago.

Whether you'll be happy with the car or the price you paid is a pretty specific and somewhat subjective call. Last I knew, they wouldn't sell anything with frame or flood damage -- and they knew how to check, which is nice. But they are trying to make a profit, so it's never going to be the absolute best price you could get if you found the same car in the same condition on the private market.

Do beware of add-ons. Consider ahead of time whether an extended warranty is something that makes sense to you, because they'll try to sell you one. Bad deal if you never use it, but some people enjoy the sense of security. I wouldn't buy leather, radios, or DVD systems there in most cases.

Check the car out carefully, drive it carefully. Bring a friend if you're not automotively or mechanically minded. Twist all the knobs and push all the buttons. They used to have a pretty generous return policy, so (assuming they still do that) if you somehow get it home and hate it you're usually okay.

As someone here noted, it's not the best place to trade-in if you have a fairly valuable used car to sell. Fine for getting rid of a piece of junk if you're only expecting pennies anyway though.

[steve2470]

18. Try Carsdirect.com, I had good luck with them

http://www.carsdirect.com/redesign-ctrl?

[DJWBlue]

19. Bought a car from Carmax in 2000....

I bought 1997 Nissan Pathfinder from them in 2000 and drove it until 2006. The deal was fair and I never had a day's trouble with it. In 2006, I bought a new Saturn Vue Hybrid and it was in the shop 17 times, often for weeks at a time, in the first three years. GM finally recalled the damned thing. In any case, my experience with Carmax was great.