We are looking to buy a used car soon & I was interested in trying CarMax vs. a traditional car dealership. After reading the current reviews on epinions.com, I'm feeling hesitant to trust a car from CarMax.
Any good/bad experiences with CarMax you'd like to share?
We had a GREAT experience at Carmax. We were able to research online, bring a list of cars we were interested in to the dealership, hand them to the dealer, and he took straight to those cars. DH and I both haaaaate the whole haggling process, so for us, it was a painless process.
As far as the car itself, we've had great luck. We bought a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am GT1--it had ~30000 miles on it at the time. I think we bought it back in 2002, and didn't spend a penny on repairs till this fall, when we had some misc. repairs done. We also opted to pay for the extended warranty (through Carmax) and that ended up covering the entire bill, save the $25 deductible.
We went through a dealer to buy my current (used) car the following year, and I have kicked myself ever since for not going back to Carmax. The process was stressful, the people were unfriendly, and in hindsight, we really got hosed on the purchase price.
Bottom line---there are risks with every used car, but I have every intention that our next car purchase (we'll only buy used) will be back at Carmax.
Geez, I sound like a salesperson--I'm not, I swear!! They were just really great!
I actually sold my car to Carmax in 2001. It was a painless process, and I felt good about the experience. If I were looking for a used car, Carmax would be a place I would look.
I <heart> CarMax! I bought my car from the CarMax in Duarte, CA, and it was the easiest car-purchasing experience I've ever had. I don't think I'll ever buy a used car from anyone else.
DH and I got a car from CarMax a few years ago. I like the car- we've only had a few things that we've had to repair in 5 years (mainly due to age). However, I wish that we had done a more thorough inspection (we purchased at night) before we purchased it, as there were a few things missing (floor mats, owners manual) and a few areas that should have been cleaned more thoroughly prior to the car being sold. Overall, the car was a good buy and was in good mechanical shape. The sales associate was very helpful, and their business office has always been helpful.
I would not recommend the extended warranty because of our experiences with CarMax's service department (long wait, staff that was not as knowledgeable or professional as they should have been). Generally you are required to use the CarMax service center unless you are willing to pay the higher deductible. They also refused to cover a repair that should have been covered under their warranty.
I think if we purchased another used car (particularly another Acura or Honda) I would be more inclined to purchase it from the dealership, especially if they offered the "Certified Used Car" program. However, I think it totally depends on your local CarMax as to the experience you have. I wouldn't totally discount them until you check them out and compare them with other dealerships.
We had a great experience with Carmax. We've bought and sold a car there and had great service. The car we bought from them we've had for almost two years and have had zero problems with it. We were going to try to sell our other car on our own but after our great experience buying a car with Carmax, we decided to sell our car to them, too. We probably could have gotten a little more if we had sold it on our own but since a prominent person in our community was murdered by two people who met up with him to buy his car, we decided a few hundred dollars wasn't worth the safety considerations.
We also had a great experience with CarMax. We bought and sold our cars there and everything was very easy. We have had our car now for 2 years and havent had one problem with it.
I would have a few suggestions re: carmax vs. used cars at other dealerships that mainly sell new cars. I make these suggestions from my own history working for a car dealership (mazda+ toyota) for several years.
You can get a 'certified' car at the dealership yes. Most of these cars are trade ins people make to put money towards a new car.
I did used car inventory inspection accounts for our dealership. What happens is if the trade in is a car the dealership normally deals with anyway (in my case Mazdas) it can be 'certified' because the techs are trained specifically for that brand of car. If it's a different type of car, like a VW or a buick or anything the dealership does not normally sell new, it gets checked out by a jack-of-all-trades that knows a little bit about all makes but not alot. Brakes, a/c, belts, sometime steering columns get fixed and the other stuff is left alone for you to fix later. Anything not critical but needs to be fixed is left alone because the dealership has to make a profit. If too many critical repairs are needed the car is sent to auction. Same for the cars they 'normally' deal with (like if a Mazda has problems, they just fix the really bad ones and if there are too many really bad things to fix it gets auctioned)
Most dealer extended warranties suck. They won't cover electronic parts like sensors or bulbs or wires. Some won't cover hoses or belts that are not regularly changed out due to mait., which at times break and cause problems in bigger components like engines. If you do get a used car from a dealership, read the 'parts/labor NOT covered' on the back of the extended warranty paper. Carmax covers so many things that the only things they don't cover is coolant, accessory belts, and other mait things that you should change out during regular mile intervals anyway.
I have a 2005 toyota highlander that was a short term lease return with 24k miles and I love it to pieces. I have an extended warranty for up to 84k miles. The main benefit I love is that if I have a problem after my 36k mile factory warranty is done with Toyota, I can take my car to any Toyota dealership with this carmax warranty and they WILL honor it. I just pay an additional 25 bucks deductible. Really nice. Dealerships will not readily do that but because carmax is a national significant company, the dealerships will do business with them. Just because you get a Toyota with an extended warranty at one dealership doesn't mean another dealership will honor the extended warranties. Carmax also gave us our hard tages (as opposed to temp paper ones) so I didn't have to do it. That was nice too. The service department is sorta crappy so I just take my car to a Toyota place if I need anything fixed.
Know what kind of car you want first and what fits your budget. Then look around on the carmax site. They will deliever a car to your nearest carmax for a fee if you don't see one you want at the local carmax.
If you have other questions or whatever feel free to PM me!
CarMax - any experiences to share?
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