CARMAX: I'm Impressed

[Leatherneck]

Replaced the 2002 Dodge commuter van with 160,000 miles last weekend. Shopped online and found a sweet little 2008 Toyota Highlander for $22k at the Dulles Carmax. Communicated with a sales guy who got it moved closer to us at Woodbridge at no expense. Set an appointment for Saturday morning (his day off, as it happens) and went in and bought it. Great vehicle, great transaction, great business model. No complaints whatsoever.

I think Carmax is a great way to buy good used vehicles. No BS.

TC

[MillCreek]

I don't think that chain has made it out here.  Do they do the flat, no-haggle pricing like Saturn used to?

[Leatherneck]

Yep--reasonable price posted in the window, take it or leave it. No hassles at closing over extended warranties, junk fees, etc. And the cars I looked at all appeared extremely clean and thoroughly checked. Extensive background on each car provided before closing. None of the bad acts one usually associates with used-car dealers. Made me a cash offer in writing to buy the old van whether or not I bought theirs.

TC

[280plus]

Yea, my son worked for them till the crunch hit. They spent a LOT of money sending him around the country for training. Very progressive company.

[Dannyboy]

My roommates have both bought cars from the Dulles store with no problems at all.  I was close to buying there, as well, but went with a motorcycle instead.  The only complaint I would have about them is that their photography skills are seriously lacking.  Some of the pics that get put on the website are so bad that you can't see anything.  That's Carmax as a whole, not the Dulles store. 

[alex_trebek]

Congrats on your deal, my experiences with carmax differ.


The carmax in Indy was less than impressive to say the least.  Granted this was 3 years ago, so it might have changed.

I went there looking for when i was car shopping.  The cars I saw were significantly over book value.  To add to my frustration, they had a '98 civic sitting on the lot ready to go to auction (if carmax doesn't sell a car on the lot, then they send it to auction where other used car salesmen buy it).  The car had literally just been driven there a couple hours before I arrived.

Carmax wanted 10,000 for it, it was worth maybe 8000 at the time.  I offered 7500 cash for it (around what the blue book was).  I figured it was more than they would have got at auction. 

At this point I learned that their no haggle pricing still applies to cars ready to go auction, and still applies to their overpriced cars.

I tried explaining my position to the sales lady, she was too dumb to understand what I was saying.  My point to her was, if I wrecked the car a week after I bought it I would still owe a good 2-3k on it.  It is one thing to be upside down on a new car, quite another on a 8 year old car.  The sales woman just kept jabbering on about their stupid 150 point inspection program, like it was some sort of justification for charging 2k over book value.

[AJ Dual]

I don't know why that happened to alex.

When we bought at Carmax last year, they sold the '05 Honda Oddessey for blue-book, and took our '01 PT Cruiser off our hands for blue-book. Even when we were up front and disclosed it had major cooling system problems. It had rusted up and boiled over. We'd gotten it quasi-roadworthy by taking it to a special radiator shop that had a vibratory flushing machine, but they'd told us even with a complete block cleaning, new radiator, and new heater core and pump for around $4000 in work, it might never be right again.

[alex_trebek]

The quality probably varies with the individual locations.  I am glad you guys had good luck at your prospective carmax locations.

In the end I got a 97 civic for ~6300 at another used car dealership.  I just don't plan to go back to carmax when looking for my next vehicle. 

It seems to me that the whole company is setup to sell almost new cars, I think the only reason they had a 8 year old car on the lot was because it was a Honda, and gas prices were high.  I think they make their money by sticking to new cars with a high turnover rate.

The guy I bought my current car from claimed he bought it from carmax; it had failed their inspection requirements.  I think it failed because of the hail damage (hence why i paid 6300 for a car that booked for over 7000 at the time).  Damage isn't that bad, definitely worth 700 bucks.

[Jocassee]

My mom has bought two identical Toyota Sequoias (known elsewhere in the world as the Prado) from the Carmax here in Upstate SC. Received excellent service both times from the same salesman.

She bought a second one because she wrecked the first twelve days after she bought it...

[norinco982lover]

I have heard that the Carmax's vary in quality by location...however the local one here in ICT has worked very well for my father in law.

~Norinco

[Nick1911]

I have heard that the Carmax's vary in quality by location...however the local one here in ICT has worked very well for my father in law.

~Norinco

Hi!  Welcome to APS.

[BryanP]

I've only dealt with Carmax once, three years ago to buy the '03 Impala I'm currently driving.  I have no plans to get rid of this car anytime soon, but when I do they'll be at the top of the list for replacement shopping.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

I went to the local Carmax here a few weeks ao looking for a 4Runner.  They had friendly folks and good, clean cars.  They had one I wanted to buy, but their "no haggle" price was a couple thousand clams too high.  It's a shame they weren't willing to negotiate, otherwise they'd have made a sale.

[Racehorse]

I've looked at the carmax here several times, and they're fairly consistently overpriced. Not grossly overpriced, but usually $500-$1000 more than I could get a similar car for elsewhere. That, combined with the no-haggle policy, has kept me away.

[Waitone]

Far too much of my money and children's money is now safely with CarMax in Charlotte.  Never had a problem with either the company or the vehicles.  Can't say the same about other dealers in the same area.  FWIW, several years ago the CLT location sold something like 1000 cars a month.

[Stand_watie]

Just bought my wife a new (three year old) Trailblazer at Carmax in DFW. I'd recommend them to anyone who either isn't an excellent haggler, or who actively dislikes the process enough to be willing to pay a couple of bucks more to avoid dealing with "car dealers".

[ilbob]

Congrats on your deal, my experiences with carmax differ.


The carmax in Indy was less than impressive to say the least.  Granted this was 3 years ago, so it might have changed.

I went there looking for when i was car shopping.  The cars I saw were significantly over book value.  To add to my frustration, they had a '98 civic sitting on the lot ready to go to auction (if carmax doesn't sell a car on the lot, then they send it to auction where other used car salesmen buy it).  The car had literally just been driven there a couple hours before I arrived.

Carmax wanted 10,000 for it, it was worth maybe 8000 at the time.  I offered 7500 cash for it (around what the blue book was).  I figured it was more than they would have got at auction. 

At this point I learned that their no haggle pricing still applies to cars ready to go auction, and still applies to their overpriced cars.

I tried explaining my position to the sales lady, she was too dumb to understand what I was saying.  My point to her was, if I wrecked the car a week after I bought it I would still owe a good 2-3k on it.  It is one thing to be upside down on a new car, quite another on a 8 year old car.  The sales woman just kept jabbering on about their stupid 150 point inspection program, like it was some sort of justification for charging 2k over book value.

You apparently like the practice of bargaining with a used car dealer. Carmax does not bargain. They set a price and that is the price. Its a take it or leave it kind of deal. I doubt the sales lady had any choice in the matter.

[alex_trebek]

You apparently like the practice of bargaining with a used car dealer. Carmax does not bargain. They set a price and that is the price. Its a take it or leave it kind of deal. I doubt the sales lady had any choice in the matter.

No, not really.  I like paying $10,000 for a 8 year old car worth $7,500 even less.  It was obvious that the carmax I went to was setup for people who don't bother researching cars, or know anything about them.  The first thing I noticed was you weren't allowed to look at the cars before talking to a sales person.  The second thing I noticed was the emphasis on their inspection program.  Quite frankly, even if the car is in perfect (read assembly line) condition, it was still only worth $7,500. 

Demanding $10,000, because it was in good condition, does not change the value of the car.  There was a reason why they couldn't sell the particular car in the first place. 

The apparent market time for a used Honda at the time was about 1 day.  My parents bought an used accord around the time I was shopping, it had been on the market for one day.  I made a starting point offer for the car I bought before driving 1.5 hours to look at it.  The dealer had just bought the civic and posted the pictures online, once again about one day.  He claimed that the hondas he was buying were selling as fast as he could post the pictures online.

I am just saying that clearly I wasn't the only one not willing to pay Carmax's prices, at least in this example.