anyone have any experience to share in buying a car from Carmax? their no haggle prices seem better than used car dealerships but not as good as private sellers

do they really inspect their cars carefully and stand by their guarantees?

11/2/2011 9:46:45 AM

My parents bought their current car from carmax, though it was quite a while ago (2003 IIRC). They were happy with the experience. I thought the price was a little high, but it wasn't a rip-off. They also purchased a warranty on the car, which came in handy in a big way when the transmission blew up prematurely at only 33K miles (Ford Crown Vic, not exactly unheard of for that car). Transmission was replaced without hassle. They've said they will likely go to Carmax again for their next car as they generally buy a couple of years old.

Other than that, and looking for a car there once (a pleasant enough experience though I didn't find anything I was seriously interested in so it went no further than casual interaction), no personal experience though.

[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 11:52 AM. Reason : typ]

11/2/2011 11:51:55 AM

Carmax is good in its chapstick form. But it gets a little messy when you get the tub where you have to apply it with your finger.

11/2/2011 12:01:39 PM

Both my girlfriend and I bought our cars from Carmax within the last year. She got a 2008 Lexus ES350 and I got a 2005 Mazda3 hatchback. I know she was really happy with the selection and service. I paid a little bit more than what I thought the car was worth, but it was worth it to me because I couldn't find a manual Mazda3 hatch anywhere within my price range. She paid for the extended warranty on the Lexus, but I didn't on the Mazda.

I don't think you can beat the convenience: in one trip, I sat down in or test-drove a Mini, Mustang, GTI, and both the Mazda3 sedan and hatchback. This particular hatchback I had transferred from their Greensboro location with no trouble at all.

11/2/2011 12:05:43 PM

I've never actually seen a cool car at Carmax, and I don't get the impression that you'll get a very good deal there.

Of course, if you want an appliance car, and value convenience more than getting it for a good deal, then I guess Carmax makes sense.

11/2/2011 12:36:25 PM

in 2008 i bought a 2005 buick lacrosse for $11k (13k with financing and warranty) from carmax. if i didn't have that warranty I would be extremely upset because i had problems almost immediately and i had problems that cropped up again and again and again without being truly fixed. Because of the warranty though, that all cost about $1750 (the majority being the initial warranty, maybe $1500) for at least $3500 of work they've done plus the warranty is still in effect and will be for at least another full year if not more.

so my advice is yes, if you get a warranty but don't expect to not have problems.

11/2/2011 12:51:27 PM

A warranty is just like any other insurance product.

Warranty providers don't offer them out of charity--they aren't in the money losing business. Odds are, you will lose money on a warranty. If you can't afford a catastrophically large repair bill, then a warranty can still make sense.

11/2/2011 1:00:06 PM

Quote :

"I've never actually seen a cool car at Carmax, "

I mostly agree with that...though one day I drove an E55, a 370Z and a 335 in the same trip. Just depends on what they have in stock. Think I've seen the occasional 911 there too.

If nothing else Carmax is good for driving a bunch of different cars in a single visit.

11/2/2011 1:19:56 PM

If you are buying a used car and do not have a trained eye, Carmax is the place for you. You are paying their premium in price for them to inspect the car. They are extremely choosy about what ends up on their lot. I would wager than 90% of the cars that they buy go to auction and only 10% end up being sold there.

That being said, you can find some deals. My brother bought an '04 Nissan Frontier that was listed as a 4x2 (but was actually a 4x4). He only paid for a 4x2 truck and ended up saving about $4k over what the truck would have cost elsewhere.

I purchased an '00 F-150 from them as well and put 130k miles on it in 4 years. I never had a problem with it.

11/2/2011 1:24:41 PM

Quote :

"their no haggle prices "

Doesn't this mean they won't work with you to get a lower price?

11/2/2011 4:13:31 PM

Quote :

"You are paying their premium in price for them to inspect the car."

Quote :

"My brother bought an '04 Nissan Frontier that was listed as a 4x2 (but was actually a 4x4)."

[Edited on November 2, 2011 at 4:32 PM. Reason : Seems like they would've caught that]

11/2/2011 4:31:27 PM

my 1999 Corolla was purchased from Carmax by my dad back in 2003. It had one owner with 24,000 miles at the time. It's been a good car... currently has 204k miles.

11/2/2011 11:05:55 PM

Agreed on what everyone has says -- they're more of a safe bet than your average used car place but you pay for it. Depends how much texa$ you place on that security. Finding a like for like car, on paper, will be more expensive at carmax but you know that some of the easy/immediate fixes have been done and that there's not some disastrous history (that can be discovered by a dealership).

11/2/2011 11:17:04 PM

One nice thing about Carmax is they offer to ship a car to your local dealer if you express an interest (no fee as long as the other dealer is in-state). Combined with their large dealer network, you get access to a LOT of vehicles.

11/3/2011 1:28:49 AM

I've read of a few people who bought cars at carmax thinking they had a clean vehicle (carfax, etc) when it was obvious the car has been in an accident at some point in its history. Depending on the car, I may be cautious...

11/3/2011 8:15:25 AM

Quote :

"I've read of a few people who bought cars at carmax thinking they had a clean vehicle (carfax, etc) when it was obvious the car has been in an accident at some point in its history. Depending on the car, I may be cautious... "

That can happen buying any used car from anyone. Sometimes people get in accidents and pay out of pocket or fix it themselves.

I bought a 2003 4Runner from Carmax. The price was decent (definitely not a deal) and the process was very easy. Like others have said, if you don't like the bullshit that comes from a used car salesman's mouth and you don't mind paying a fair to slightly expensive price then go with them. I couldn't find what I was looking for but Carmax got me a vehicle from another place.

The warrenty is pretty damn expensive at $1500 or whatever it was. I figured I'd take the gamble. If I got the warrenty and the transmission went out (in't this the most common big repair?) then I would have paid for half of it. If I got it and the transmission didn't go out I would've lost the money. Now, 2 years later, it looks like I might need a new transmission.
But, if I had to do it again I probably still wouldn't have gotten the warrenty because 4th gen 4Runner transmissions are supposed to be close to bulletproof.

The 30 day warrenty that comes with every car was handy. I had a broken seat bracket that showed up close to the end of the warrenty and they replaced it.

[Edited on November 4, 2011 at 6:04 PM. Reason : ]

11/4/2011 6:03:25 PM

I should have said two and not a few. Both times, the owners took the car back to carmax (I believe both were within the first 30 days), and carmax gave a refund no questions asked. So props to them on final customer satisfaction...

11/4/2011 7:27:48 PM

haggling is half the fun of buying a car

11/4/2011 8:34:03 PM

^ to that point, I came in here to point out that if you're not the negotiating type you'll probably be hard pressed to do better than carmax prices. I looked at them for 3 series a few years ago and their prices were decent. They're not going to sell it to you for a steal or anything, but they were always 2-3k lower than the dealers were trying to start at.

11/4/2011 9:01:38 PM

Have you people that bought from them paid the exact sticker price? I've always wondered if they wouldn't actually haggle a little bit.

11/5/2011 8:27:04 AM

As in whether it include tax,fees, and tag?

11/5/2011 11:36:43 AM

Quote :

"Have you people that bought from them paid the exact sticker price? I've always wondered if they wouldn't actually haggle a little bit."

Can someone answer this question?
I found a car I really like in their selection, but I don't know if I agree with the "no haggle" thing. The car is $12,998. According to their financing calculator, fees would be:

Sales or use tax: 3% 
Title: $40 
Registration: $28 to $59.75 
Plate transfer: $15 
Additional fees: CarMax processing fee $199 (not required by law) 
Total: $675 to $775 

1/4/2014 8:12:33 PM

that's all govt taxes except for the $199 carmax fee. i'd tell them i wasn't gonna pay that bullshit.

1/4/2014 8:15:05 PM

They didn't haggle at all when I helped my brother buy a truck from there 3 years ago

1/4/2014 8:17:09 PM

Carmax does not haggle at all. You pay the price on the car plus all fees or you go elsewhere.

1/4/2014 9:02:06 PM

Yep. No means no. It's the entire foundation their dealership is built on, they're not going to change that just to get a sale.

1/4/2014 9:40:26 PM

Thank you for your inputs. I will most likely go elsewhere unless I just can't find a match for what I want.

1/4/2014 10:43:39 PM

I wonder if they discount them after they've been on the lot a certain period of time? It wouldn't make sense to hold a car indefinitely if it's not selling. If so you could at least put the bug in the salesperson's ear to call you for an easy sale if it drops to a suitable price.

1/5/2014 3:42:16 AM

The price drops max 1 grand after a 2+ weeks, if it doesn't sell its sold in the wholesale auctions. Its very rare that a car doesn't sell within 14 days at carmax, unless its a really expensive car.

1/5/2014 9:35:41 AM

Bought my wife's car there last summer. No complaints.

1/5/2014 11:56:07 AM

Maybe I'll give the salesman a head's up since the car is in W.S. and they could move it for a test drive. I doubt it would drop in price before it sold like ^^ said.
By the way, the salesman was pretty terrible and used the words "swag" and "pimped out" at different points. About the only option he HAD to bring to my attention was Bluetooth. I never mentioned a preference for it either way.

1/5/2014 1:12:18 PM

bought my car at the one in fayetteville at the end of 2011. Had a good experience..no complaints and no issues with my car either.

1/5/2014 2:57:30 PM

Quote :

"By the way, the salesman was pretty terrible and used the words "swag" and "pimped out" at different points. About the only option he HAD to bring to my attention was Bluetooth. I never mentioned a preference for it either way."

In that case I'd let another salesman know.
Or just check the website daily until it's discounted or gone. Set it to your home page for a couple weeks.

1/5/2014 5:08:27 PM

prices seem terrible online. My wife has a 2011 Honda Civic that she has been leasing from a local Honda dealership. She'll have a chance to buy it from them for like 11.5k in April. A comparable 2011 Civic(with alot more miles) on carmax's website is like 14-15k.

Sheesh

1/6/2014 1:37:05 PM

how much total did / will you pay if you bought it for 11.5k - or at least how much have you spent already?

1/6/2014 2:07:28 PM

I think it was around 16 k in 2011 when she started leasing it. But still. I have a 2011 with <30k miles on it for 11.5 grand. Carmax has a 2010 with 32k miles on it for 15 grand right now. A 2011 with 47k miles for 14 grand. A 2011 with 20k miles for 15 grand. It just doesn't really seem like a deal. Hell, they have a 2009 with 70k miles for 13.5 grand!

1/6/2014 2:17:39 PM

I bought my 5 series at carmax this year. It's our 4th car from carmax.

Because they are willing to transfer cars between their stores, I was able to pick exactly the one I wanted, and have it transferred to charleston.

I prefer their no-haggle approach. I hate the "game" you play at most dealers, when it's all the same. Carmax is a little more expensive, but I've also never had a problem with a car bought from there.

I also bought the carmax warranty on the 5 series, it carries a $50 deductible if I take it to the BMW dealer, and a $0 deductible if I bring it back to carmax. I think the guys there do a good job if you need service, and they have a lot of experience on a range of vehicles.

1/6/2014 2:18:17 PM