Anyone buy from Carmax?

[atgcpaul]

We're thinking of trading in a car (the Nissan with the busted AC) to get a
larger one. I rate buying a car down there with burning in heck or having my
brain eaten by zombies. Our second car was from a fixed-price dealership and
that experience wasn't too bad.

So has anyone bought a used car through Carmax? Would you do it again? I
know I'll probably pay extra for the no haggle pricing and the certified pre-
owned label, but at least it won't be as stressful and I might sleep better at
night.

Thanks,
Paul

[Uncle Cracker]

My neighbor works for CarMax. She says to be advised that they most often do not want your trade-in, unless it is a particularly nice late-model unit (in which case, why would you be getting rid of it, right?). Even still, they can buy inventory at auction all day, every day, so you cannot expect to get more from them than auction wholesale, even on your nice trade, and the amount you can expect to be offered for one that is less-than-perfect will insult you.

Bottom line: CarMax expects to make a profit on both the car they sell you, and on your trade. Not an unusual expectation from any dealer, though. While you may find a nice car to buy there, you will be dollars ahead if you at least try to sell yours outright beforehand.

[SARGE..g-47]

My current 2006 Dodge Dakato is from Carmax. Would I purchase from them again... oh yeah! Frankly I doubt I would purchase a used car from anywhere else and I have been around the car business off and on since 1969. And Ditto what Uncle Crak said about your trade-in. By trading in you are basically donating the car to a company as you will never get more than whole-sale if it's in good condition as the bottom line. You are much better off selling it straight up.

And as UC also stated... they would only be interested in a very clean.. well kept vehicle. That's actually their beauty as they try to avoid any car that has mechanical problems... torn upholstery.. and generally clean both inside and out. And when they get a good used car.. they go over it from stem to stern and fix everything down to minor details.

I got my Dakoto for about $200 over whole-sale as it is not loaded. It was purchased new as a work truck but at 4000 miles the company went down and Carmax got it. No power windows.. no power locks.. no cruise.. etc. etc.. It has AC and a radio which is all I wanted but most customers are looking for loaded. Carmax had trouble selling it because of that even though the interior and exterior was perfect with 4000 miles.

They had it listed for $500 over wholesale.. I told them I would give them cash for $300 less and they jumped on it. I also told them I would go to my bank and get a cashier's check and return the next day. They offered to finance at the same rate as my bank. We started paper-work for the truck and loan.. 45 minute latter I drove out the door with it financed through them for the same rate as my bank.

Again.. would I puchase again from them... You betcha!

Good luck...

[LCHIEN]

I think carmax only is looking for used cars that are real clean (no major problems) and they can sell for $10,000 or more. I don't think they have cars under ~$10,000 which just about means they don't have but a very few cars more than four-five years old on their lot.

If they take tradeins that are older and worth less then they probably wholesale them out to auctions - so they won't be offering much for them.

[dbhost]

We're thinking of trading in a car (the Nissan with the busted AC) to get a
larger one. I rate buying a car down there with burning in heck or having my
brain eaten by zombies. Our second car was from a fixed-price dealership and
that experience wasn't too bad.

So has anyone bought a used car through Carmax? Would you do it again? I
know I'll probably pay extra for the no haggle pricing and the certified pre-
owned label, but at least it won't be as stressful and I might sleep better at
night.

Thanks,
Paul

I bought my 2004 F150 XLT Supercab 4x4 with a bunch of extra bells & whistles in early 2006, including an extended (100K) warranty for $20K, KBB on the truck was $24,000.00, and I have been tickled stupid with this truck. LOML wants a Lincoln MKZ, and I am thinking after getting some bucks saved up, I will probably go with them again. Very good cars, good warranty, although their service dept leaves a bit to be desired. (they simply farm the jobs I have taken in to other shops).

On the warranty, I have had a transmission that was probably the reason the original buyer of the truck dumped it, replaced at 18K miles, and 2 window regulators (pretty common on these trucks). I am fixing to take it in for an AC issue (condensation dripping from the evaporator onto the passengers feet).

[atgcpaul]

Thanks so far for the replies. Learning a lot.

I bought an extended warranty when I bought the Nissan. Waste of money
because nothing that ever broke after the regular warranty seemed to be
covered--like that AC. Anyway, I'm 10 years wiser since then so with
Carmax, is the extended warranty being sold and covered by Carmax or by
the manufacturer? Does it matter?

[SARGE..g-47]

I can't personally answer that as I did not purchase the X-tend but... a quick call will reveal it all!