CarMax
Approval Rate: 56%
Reviews 47
by rschoel
Fri Aug 12 2011I recently moved abroad and (on the day before my departure) took my 2008 Nissan Altima to Carmax to sell. Based on all the Carmax marketing and a lot of positive feedback, I expected a decent price for a loyal and excellent vehicle! I had done my KBB research and learned that I should expect between $16,000 to $18,000. After a friendly welcome, the car was taken away for a drive - about 30 minutes later, as promised, I was offered the grand total of .......... $12,000!!! The reasons for the low price: a "flood" of 2008 Altimas - also because of a minor scrape on the rear wheel arch that the car had sustained (comprehensively fixed courtesy of a very competent Travelers Insurance), Carmax would "not be able to sell the car on its lot due to safety concerns". As the damage was completely cosmetic, this was a very dubious reason! Happily Carmax has competition - I drove the car 5 minutes down the road to a GMC dealer and was offered $16,500 straight away, an offer within the KBB range a... Read more
by armywife612
Mon Aug 01 2011I went to the Carmax at Easton, Ohio. Upon arrival, I was greeted by multiple salesmen. I had done my research online for about a week deciding what car I wanted and what price I was willing to pay. I actually found the perfect car online, but at the Greensville, SC location. My salesman, Ed B., was absolutely amazing. I told him that I had a car in mind that I had found on Carmax.com and told him that I still wanted to see a similar car in person. I look at a couple, and decided that it was the car that I wanted. Went back inside, filled out all the paperwork, and paid for the shipping for the car. Overall, it was a very pleasent and easy experience. Ed was very charming and personable, and I really enjoyed the lack of haggling. I ended up purchasing my 2008 Nissan Altima that day and have had no problems since. What some people have to understand on here, is that when you purchase from Carmax, you are recieving a USED car, therefore may have signs of wear and tear. That happens every... Read more
by joelstradamus
Thu Jun 02 2011I purchased a 2008 Nissan Titan on April 27, 2011. The sale went smoothly. My only concern was that it had a dent in the passenger side bed(which was fixed), but they put no decal or pinstripes back on. They told me that it had been ordered and they would call when the stripes and decal arrived. I have the pictures from the website showing that the old panel and the stripes and decal, so it's not like they can argue with me. Fast forward to a month later: The very second the 30 day guarantee runs out, the truck overheats. I had it towed to my local garage that I've deal with my entire adult life. My mechanic informs me that the radiator has been rigged to run and that it's so bad that he would recommend taking it to a Nissan dealer because he doesn't even know where to begin fixing it. I have the extended warranty but I do not wish to pay the deductible because in his opinion that 1). They did it. 2). If they didn't do it, they would have seen it in 5 seconds while going through inspec... Read more
by balcanthez
Wed Jun 01 2011Ok, so I went into Carmax in San Diego in Apr 2008 and was looking for an SUV. We quickly went into a 2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited and it seemed like a good price. We did all the paperwork, to include an Autocheck that showed the vehicle was clear of any accidents. I had a great experience with the salesperson, manager and all the steps of buying. I actually love the truck, very solid, but sucks on gas.... Fast forward to 1 June 2011. I'm looking to reduce my bills, get rid of the 2nd vehicle and consolidate debt. So, I know I'm still upside-down on the Sequoia, but ready to take a $2K loss just to be done with the payments and all. I took the truck back to the same dealer I bought it from, Carmax, because they offer a free appraisal. Why not? They seemed like nice people when I bought the truck...... Went into the sales floor in San Diego, told them I was looking for an appraisal, he took the keys, identified the truck with a plastic number thingy, and we sat down. He asked me what ... Read more
by wcfguy7
Mon May 30 2011These guys are in fact crooks! 07 Mini cooper S with 37200 miles. Never wrecked and clean. I took pics of the car before I went into the San Antonio Location. I asked if I could watch the process and was refused. Keep in mind I know every inch of this car. So I sat in this guys office listening to BS...and more ..BS.... Then the offer came in!!!!!! Lower than base with no options at all. They claimed paint work drove the price down. Paint work was never done on this car. Garaged day and night. By the way this car has every option except navigation! I sold the car for $5200 more than Carmax idiots offered me. Beware of these crooks. By the way I did have to have some trim work redone after it was in there appraisal shop. My repair guy said it was tore loose intentionally! Beware! There was finger prints on it but we are not CSI!
by moose76
Sat May 21 2011Good lord they are crooks! I am the original owner of a 2002 Galant LS fully loaded (V6, leather, sunroof etc) Never been in a wreck, although my neighbor backed into my bumper and put a gouge in the bumper cap. Car has only 76,000 miles, fresh svc records, brakes, rotors, tires, etc. The rep really liked my car, I waited an hour and he said the offer would appear on the screen. It comes back with all GOOD reports and a RED! saying the frame had clamp marks and the frame has been straightened!!! WTF? So I was introduced to the inspector (some kid) and he goes on about my car being in a wreck etc... tells me look under the car and he will show me the clamp marks. I refused and he goes on about the marks on the frame... I then let him know I am the original owner and it has never been in a wreck etc. I then tell him how they are selling a Galant DE with 30K more miles and the lowest base model there is, and they are charging $8,849 (3K+ more then retail KB)... he goes on about the cost ... Read more
by thirtyday
Sat May 07 2011We drove our 05 Nissan Quest to their San Gabriel Valley/Duarte Store and it was a big store with huge lot with loads of cars. I went to the lobby and asked to see an used car buyer. But the salesman on the floor told me that sales people are multi-tasking as buying agents as well. That didn't sound quite right and all those positive feedbacks I read online now began to hit the road with reality check. Sure enough the guy hardly even look at the car and didn't even need to look at my service record summary. We walked straight back to his cubicle and he logged into his Kelly Blue Book's web site and clicked on the trade-in value with bad condition (even though my car's condition is more between good and excellent - and he even agreed). Sure enough that came down to the low ball number of $7k. Now the guy began to play the Mr. nice guy strategy of saying that their inspector will take a good look at the van. And if everything checks out ok, they may be able to offer a little hig... Read more
by johnjohnsjohn
Sun Mar 06 2011I just bought a car from the nicest young man! He works parttime for the Carmax in fort worth, TX. His name is Joe Anger and he was straight up with me and my wife. He recommended vehicles that he thought we would enjoy. We ended up buying the Toyota prius that he offered to us. It is an amazing car I want everyone to buy a car from him. Like I said he is part time and his real job is for the US Air Force. If u want a dealer that is honest and strait forward with u go to Joe!
by stein2011
Sat Feb 26 2011I was looking for a specific ford truck and they seem to be going like hotcakes, I finally found one at Carmax. It was in another city, Newport News, VA, but they had it transferred to Virginia Beach where I live which is about 30+ miles at no cost to me. Once it arrived I was able give it my once over. I liked it so I purchased it through my bank. Finalized the purchased 1/18, they even topped off the fuel before I left. I was happy. I returned a few days later because they didn't provide me with the door code, 20 minutes later they reprogrammed it and give me the code. Again I was very happy. They provided a 30 day warranty so I knew if I had any issues I needed to root them out within that time period. I drove it as much as I could, in town and on the highway. Everything seem fine, then one day while in a short acceleration lane it started; hesitation, missing and engine light flashing. It was easily reproducible so on the 2/17 I took the truck in, they scheduled it for ... Read more
by joneaz123
Mon Feb 21 2011DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM CARMAX! I bought my car from them in April 2010. Their "inspection" that they do to all of their cars before they sell, failed to miss the screeching breaks, the rattling hinge on the hatch back and the front bumper that was coming lose. Oddly enough the sales associate I spoke with spotted the bumper issue and promised to have it repaired. Carmax had to order a new front bumper and have it painted so I was without my car or about a week. When I got the car back the engine light kept coming on and the breaks were still screeching. After about 6 calls and complaints to their service department, the service manager finally admitted their was a problem and told me to bring to car in to be fixed. I was without my car fro another week. A few months went by without any issues.Its important to know that I live in Arizona and it hardly rains. After the few months passed Arizona finally got a little bit of rain. Good for the desert that I live in, but bad for the shoddy pa... Read more
by snc4797d
Wed Feb 16 2011ok me and my boyfriend are in the process of buying a 2002 dodge that we had to have shipped to us for around 350 dollars. First off we paid to have the car transferred in and the sales man told us that when he got a shipping date he would give us a call and keep us updated on where the truck is. Needless to say he never called or tried to contact us at all so about after a week and a half i started calling him. He told me the truck was in transit and expected at the lot on a monday and he would call us when it got there and again he didnt call us. So on that monday i called him yet again and he said well i dont know if its here but he did find out that it was in fact there on a truck. Then he told us that the truck had to go through a 125 point inspection even though it came from another carmax where they did one also we agreed and he said he would call us when it was ready we should hear from him within a couple of hours cause it only takes about an hour to preform the 125 point ins... Read more
by geminilady
Sun Feb 13 2011DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM CARMAX!!!!!!. I got a car from Carmax in San Antonio around March of 2010 the first week I had it,I had to take it back to be repaired,they kept it for a week. 3 weeks after I got it home,again I had to take it to the Nissan dealership here where I live. I have called carmax over and over again to no avail. They keep trying to sell me other cars that are more expensive. Since I got the vehicle it has been in the shop 6-7 times,and now to top it off,today it just stopped running,we could not get it started,so we had to leave it where it was. I had always heard nothing but good things about them,boy what a dissapointment it was buying from them,I will never refer anyone to buy from them. I would never want anyone to go through what we have been going thru.
by ajgreen
Wed Feb 09 2011My husband and I purchased a 2003 Toyota Tundra from Carmax in Turkey Creek just before Christmas. After we signed the papers and paid the downpayment, Carmax wrecked the truck in the parking lot while bringing it out of the car wash. They had the vehicle for 5 days while they fixed the dent and scrape on the side of the vehicle. They generously offered us two free oil changes for our trouble. After we picked it up, within two days the truck started leaking oil. We took it back... they said it was a leaky axle and would fix it. Again, they had the truck for days. While driving a loaner car, Carmax actually sold the loaner we had in use and made us bring back the vehicle we were driving. We picked up the truck after they "Fixed it" again. Within a couple days, it resumed leaking oil. They said they would replace the axle. We picked up the truck (again), and after a week and a half, the truck made a loud popping noise when it was shifted into drive. It also began to make a whirring soun... Read more
by david_hershman
Tue Feb 01 2011CarMax is horrible!!! I shopped for a car for a long time and looking for a BMW 750LI with all the options. I found one at CarMax and took it for a test drive. One of the options I wanted was the “Sport Package” which is a $3,300 option. I was told that the car had the option. I then went to other dealers to look at comparable cars. After two days of looking and comparing, I decided to go back to CarMax to buy the one I looked at. However, while at other dealerships, they told me that the car should have a different steering wheel if it has the Sports Package. Once again, CarMax told me that their car had the Sports Package and that year they didn’t change the steering wheel. I went to get the car and once again asked them to confirm it had the Sports Package. They came back and said that it didn’t have it and they wouldn’t change the price. Now, this is after I turned other cars down because of this. The dealership manager, Bill, was supper condescending and rude. I rea... Read more
by 01jeramy01
Sun Jan 30 2011The salespeople were nice and courteous. I was trying to trade my 2006 silverado and they only offered 8 thousand dollars. After checking around the truck is worth 13,375 dollars in fair condition. Don't take your trade-in to carmax they have no clue what they are doing. The salesperson that was helping me hit the vehicle next to it trying to get out of the parking spot. So I though this was a bargaining chip but carmax would not budge on the price. It would have been a easy fix for me to fix.
by charlie_miller
Sat Jan 29 2011I had taken my 2009 Ford Ranger in to CarMax to get an appraisal. I was stunned and more than a little disappointed when the appraisal was for about half of the Kelly Blue book trade in value. The truck was only two years old, totally clean, and aside of the very low miles, like new and in perfect condition. At least the Ford dealer had offered the low end of book value as trade on a new truck. Going to CarMax was a total waste of my time.
by johnyourmarks
Sun Jan 16 2011Carmax is a joke. I am not one to ever write on these things. In fact this is the first time, but if I can save just one person from making the mistake I made - that makes this time more than worth it. CARMAX is a factory. They try to move cars through as fast as possible and make money on volume. The cars they have on the lot look pretty good, but you never know the condition of the engine and parts. We bought a Murano from there. We did drive it and it seemed okay. However, they always start the car and bring it over to you to drive. Because of that, I never realized that on the initial start up of the car, it billows out large clouds of smoke. So what the heck is this supposed CARMAX inspection they put the cars through? Anyone would have noticed this. So either they don't really inspect the cars, or have completely incompetent people doing the inspections as fast as possible. Either way, not a place I want to buy a car much less have my car worked on. The sales guy we worked wit... Read more
by robaustin
Sat Jan 01 2011I purchased a 2007 Mercedes E550 from CarMax in South Austin. I drove an E550 at the South Austin location, but was concerned about a really loud THUNK coming from the right rear. The salesman, who was quite good by the way, assured me that it would be fixed. However, we located the same car in Garland, TX with fewer miles and decided that would be the one. CarMax had the car shipped from Garland (near Dallas) to Austin at no charge - it arrived two days later. When we went to pick up the car, we noticed that the interior had an odd, chemical odor to it. The employees at CarMax noticed it as well and agreed that there was also an underlying odor that we really couldn't place. The Garland CarMax had assured us that this was a non-smoking car, so we all assumed that the odor was something else. CarMax in South Austin made a contract addendum stating that the odor, and it's underlying cause, would be dealt with. With that, we felt comfortable buying the car. The next day when I walked i... Read more
by alamocitynonni_e
Sun Dec 19 2010I bought my second car from CarMax (a volkswagon passat.) They have had it in the shop more then I have had it home. It went in again same transmission problems. They said they couldn't fix it this time and sent it to a volkswagon dealership. Next I hear CarMax is calling saying they have to have $7000 because repairs weren't covered by factory warranty. They also said I authorized the $7000 which never happened. A Volkswagon mechanic told me they voided the warranty by trying to fix it themselves. Then when I asked for a statement from the repair shop-nothing-they said they have to work with carmax alot. So I have a car sitting at carmax and they won't return any calls-went to their website which guarantees to answer you within 24 hours-no answer. I am a widow with a limited income-so I am walking-hitching rides to work and not sleeping.
by garous
Tue Nov 23 2010I have purchased three vehicles from CarMax, I have had a wonderful experience on each of my visits to the Modesto location. The first vehicle I purchased was a 99 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder. It was a manual and I was trying to teach my girlfriend how to drive it, when she burned up the clutch. I had only had the car two weeks and I was sure it wouldn't be covered under the 30-day warranty they offer, however to my suprise it was not only covered but while they were working on my car they gave me a loaner vehicle! Needless to say, I went back for my next vehicle. The second was a 2007 Chevy Silverado, an excellent truck. When I saw it on the lot it had swirl marks from a detailer who got a little crazy with a buffer. They assured me it wasn't within their standards and set me an appointment with a local detail business who took care of a full exterior detail on CarMax's dime. The most recent of my purchases was a 2002 Saturn SC1, nice little commuter car. It had 100k miles on i... Read more
by kmxrules
Mon Nov 22 2010I don't get half of these reviews. YOUR BUYING A USED CAR. People come through carmax complaining about a scratch or a little scuff on the inside. I mean what else do you expect from a used car. Yes they try to make their cars as clean and conditioned as possible but in the end its a used car. Go to any other pre-owned car dealership and you'll see the exact same thing. What other dealership gives you a 5 day return policy and a 30 day warranty on a "as is" used car? NONE! Last car I bought was a 02 trans am from a dodge dealership. I bought it "as is". They didn't clean it, fill it up with gas, they did absolutely nothing. Carmax actually cleans your car after you buy it, fills the tank, and plus you get the FREE 30 day warranty nad offer loaners! I can't believe people bitch about not getting their car back in time well atleast they gave you a loaner car, once again no other dealer does that. The dodge dealer I bought my trans am from, which I paid sticker price for didn't give me sh... Read more
by cooler1234
Sat Nov 20 2010I will never buy a car at Carmax again. I bought a car that had front end damage. When I returned it under the "no questions asked 5 day return policy", they happily took the car back. However, it has been over ten days and I still have not been reimbursed the $18,000 that I paid (in cash) for the car. At this point, they cannot even tell me where they are in processing the reimbursement.
by jsnelmp
Tue Oct 12 2010I HAVE NEVER HAD A BETTER BUYING EXPERIENCE IN ALL MY 57 YRS. IT WAS EASY THEY STOOD BEHIND THE CAR THEY SOLD ME AND I WILL NEVER BUY A CAR ANYWHERE ELSE. THE PEOPLE FROM THE SALEPERSON ,THE SALES MANAGER AND THE SERVICE DEPT. PEOPLE WHERE VERY FRIENDLY AND WENT OVER AND ABOVE WHAT ANY OTHER DEALER WOULD HAVE DONE TO MAKE ME HAPPY AND MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WAS RIGHT WITH MY NEW CAR AND BELIEVE ME I HAVE DID BUSINESS WITH A LOT OF BAD CAR DEALERSHIPS !!!!
by k9shelly1
Thu Oct 07 2010O.K. This may sound familiar if you've read any of the preceding reviews. CarMax feeds on the trust of people. We were in the market for a luxery sedan and didn't know which to buy. My wife and I both work and don't have much time to go to different dealerships to make a selection. We saw the add for CarMax which has several to choose from so we went to the San Antonio (Live Oaks) store. We live in Laredo which is 175 miles away. Sure enough we had several to choose from. We made our choice on a 2008 Lexus ES350. I never expected to go to CarMax and get an "outstanding deal" but I was willing to be reasonable. Sure enough the deal was not bad. Not great either but I felt fair. We were told that the car came with SAT Radio and that we would get three months free just for buying the car at CarMax. Sure enough the car was not equiped with the "SAT module" so I had to purchase it for $300 and then have it installed for another $80. Oh well, my bad right. I get the letter fro... Read more
by chris_maro
Mon Oct 04 2010Bought a 2005 Ford Ranger from Carmax last Tuesday and returned it last Thursday. The whole speech they give you about the testing they do is a load of garbage. They sold me a vehicle with broken motor mounts and a transmission that was close to needing rebuild. The customer service I recievied was absolutly horrible during the return process. They promiced, in writing, I would have my money returned in 3-6 days and here is day 6 and I'm still out over $10k. I will never recommend CarMax to anyone and will make sure people know about how I was treated and lied to as a customer..
by mslimey
Mon Oct 04 2010My one and only experience with Carmax was HORRIBLE. Do not even think about buying a car from them. The car I bought at their Jackson, MS location was, on the face of it, exactly what I was looking for. But, the test drive was a joke, not even half a mile, no highway driving, bumpy roads, so it was impossible for me to judge whether the car was OK. I was reassured by the allegedly thorough pre-sale inspection though, and went for it. What a mistake. Before I even got the car home I could tell it had major issues. They promised to fix everything, and they almost did. However, it took them two weeks, and they used cheap replacement parts, not original equipment manufacturer parts. I know a little about cars, and when I finally got the car back I went through it. Absolutely no maintenance had been performed on the car for a very long time. The car was still what I wanted though, and I spent a lot of my own time and money putting it back to how it was designed to be. It is now a great ca... Read more
by alexmac156
Mon Sep 27 2010Overall, I'm impressed with the selection at CarMax. However, I have a few things I'm not so thrilled about. I recently went to the Virginia Beach location and for once, I didn't feel like 10 people were crowding me and pressuring me to make a purchase. I browsed on my own for a while, then went home. The next day, I decided to go look online, and noticed the finance option on the website. I made a simple inquiry, and in less than half an hour, I got an approval. Thinking I needed a co-signer and being able to do it on my own was pretty fantastic to be honest. Happy with the service thus far, I went back to the store that night to see if I could test drive some. I ended up looking at 3 different cars. The guy helping me was nice and I had no issues with him.. Although he backed up a car into another parked truck, resulting in a pretty scraped up white Jeep. Accidents happen. I'm just glad it wasn't me that did the damage! Anyway, the first car I was approved with (the Jeep) was priced... Read more
by chgonez
Fri Sep 24 2010Buyer Beware! My recent car purchase from CarMax was a major disappointment. The car required major repairs immediately. The car was not thoroughly inspected, if it was even inspected at all. Poor customer service. Would not recommend CarMax to anyone.
by jeffkinc
Fri Sep 24 2010My experience with CarMax recently was easily one of the best experiences I have ever had while purchasing a car. My wife found a car she liked in at a CarMax in another state. They shipped to the location near us without any problem. The salesman kept us updated fully until it was ready for us to see and try the car out. The offer on our trade-in was dead on what I had estimated it to be and purchasing our new car went very smoothly. I have and will continue to recommend CarMax as a place for a great deal and a great experience
by joemcguire96
Thu Sep 23 2010Went to Carmax of Tampa found a car I liked ....when I ask to trade in my Van 2007.... they offered me 40% or $6,000.00 (mileage is 43000 no accidents very good condition and comp vans are selling for $13000.00-$15000.00) of what they were selling comp cars for on there lot... the sales man was OK but the appraiser was a real A......e! He said the transmission when downshifting from 2nd to 1st had a little bump... and they would auction the van that’s why such a low bid. When I asked him how much I could expect if it was perfect he got surely and blew me off. I took the van to a transmission expert and they said there was nothing wrong with the vans transmission.....well you can imagine my disbelief.... is the carmax company making this up ..? no why would they? Well needless to say I will purchase another vehicle and sell the Van but not with CARMAX . Best of luck when dealing with them they are the ones located at Nebraska ave, Tampa.
by kesha1
Mon Sep 20 2010I purchased a 2004 range rover about two months ago. The passenger air didn't work, the DVD player didn't work, the breaks were screaming like crazy & the tires needed to be rotated. Took the car back for repairs, they had my car for 6 days & then they broke my cd changer that was working perfectly. Took the car back after finding leaks in the sunroof. Two months still, my DVD changer has not been replaced & I'm furious. Never will I ever purchase a car or recommend a friend to carmax. What a rip off place. To buy such a luxury vehicle and to hv all these problems. Where's the corporate number? Or better yet the news station. 3 stars "My Life,Your Entertainment".
by girlbright
Tue Sep 07 2010I bought a 2006 Galant from Carmax in Laurel, MD and within a week I was having issues. The car made a ratteling noise when it took off from a stand still. The service tech that was assigned to my car, Corrido, was hard to get a hold of and did not return my phone calls. I was only able to speak with him after I tracked him down, and after I made a call to his supervisor. He was unwilling to give me a loaner car, even though I had only had the car for one week and it was already giving me trouble. I finally convinced the supervisor to lend me a car while my car was being fixed, and she was understanding. Now, almost 30 days (which is the limits of the standard warrenty) after I bought the car, the passenger side door is falling apart!! The service dept expects me to bring my car in and either wait two hours for my car to EVEN BE SEEN, or drop it off and wait for a phone call. I do not have time to wait around for my car, and I deffinitly cannot leave my car there. The service dept ... Read more
by whyme_3051
Mon Aug 30 2010Car max sucks, sucks sucks, they ran my credit 19 times and ruined my credit.. I asked them to run it once and they agreed, but ran it 19 times before i could get them to stop!!!! Do Not buy a car or even talk to these people.. We had to call three different people to even get to bottom of this and they still didnt have a clue... Beware!!! Carmax is a scam and a joke!!!!3 stars Sent from John's iPhone .
by romein112
Sat Aug 28 2010I think that carmax has been wonderful.. No back door deals.. no financing tricks.. no moving the numbers so the dealership can get over even more. Let's face it folks cardealerships need to make money.. it is their business.. but Carmax made it very simple for me. I found the car I wanted.. got financed and the price was the price.. no matter how much down I had or if I had a trade in or what my credit score is. I got financing over the phone.. they never even saw my credit score.. and submitted most all my paperwork over the fax/email. I had my car transferred here and haven't even stepped into the dealership yet. As a single mother.. this was the best - less stressful way to do it. You can bet my next car will be from carmax as well. I have been researching my car purchase for over a month now.. watching prices etc., Carmax excelled over everyone.. I got a new car.. all the options I wanted and a lower price plus a free carmax report. Other sites made me pay for the carmax... Read more
by fahcubeitch
Mon Aug 23 2010horrible !!!!they cut corners to save money and don't honor they're warranty issues... carmax is a joke over priced used cars...do not buy from them join facebook page"don't buy from carmax" and spread the word
by bingobanker
Mon Aug 02 2010I SHOPED YOUR STORE IN mobile pensacola fort walton anderson payless subaru
by captcrazy
Fri Jul 30 2010My mother purchased a PT Cruiser less than two years ago, from CARMAX in Roseville CA. She was convinced to purchase the extended warranty against her better judgment. She maintained the car meticulously and retained all service records. One night on the way to work, her car overheated so she pulled over and called the tow truck. Took it to Pep boys and was told the heads were warped the gasket blown and the water pump failed. The first sign of overheating the vehicle was parked yet they claim excessive driving while overheated caused the damage and refused her claim. The bottom line is she owned the car for two years and had to buy a new engine! Customer service is a joke and they do not care about repeat business. Avoid CARMAX like the plague!
by clements
Fri Jul 30 2010The man who greeted us was very friendly, and seemed relatively confident in what he was selling, including a fancy story about how selling your car privately will involve you in 2 lawsuits. We have a 2002 GMC Savana Explorer conversion van, so Carmax has probably never seen one, and their little computer made no mention of such a trim level (3x as much as std. cargo van new)After queing for 2hrs with him, talking, (never seeing this "pro appraiser") we got our offer (we have it on autotrader and craigslist for downwards of 13k). After the dodgy man reviewed our car, we got an offer of 10,000$ less than it was on the market for. And while we were there, a lady called and offered us 10,000 cash, and we got our CARMAX offer of 2,500$. What a sham. That's an insult to me, and the guy himself said we should definitely sell it ourselves privately and not to them. Their little report showed nothing negative except "ding on passenger door". 2,500$. That should be attempted robbery-if I were ... Read more
by rateinva
Thu Jul 29 2010I bought a used Jeep Cherokee 10 years ago from CarMaxx, my nephew has now inherited it and I am on my way back to CarMaxx for another used car. The idea of paying off a car and having no car payment for 7 years makes a lot more sense than leasing something every two years. I read some of these reviews and they are lame. I realize most people do not take the time to rate something if they are pleased, they only rate something if they are dissatisfied. If you are dumb enough to walk into a car dealership without your financing already in place you deserve to get ripped off. To do this, you go to your bank or credit union, fill out a loan application for a car and they let you know what you can afford and the rate you will be charged depending on your down payment, length of time to repay and amount requested. If you are dumb enough to buy a large purchase such as a used car without setting an appointment to have it completely inspected the moment you drive it off the lot, you des... Read more
by jc8830b4
Thu Jul 29 2010I'm in the process of looking for a used car, and decided to check out the reviews for Carmax, so here I am. I made it through 1 1/2 pages and found myself disgusted and irritated. The thing is, I'm irritated by the people writing the reviews. Sure, some are legit...such as saying their service department sucks, or their financing practices are ridiculous, but to complain that you had problems with a USED car is absurd! Someone else wrote exactly what was on my mind...if you want no problems with a car, buy new. Another thing is, you have to realize the reviews here are only a small percentage of people that have bought or sold to Carmax. If you have a positive experience, you're typically happy and go on with your life, but once you get screwed over (or feel you have been), you're pissed off and want to let the world know. What I'm saying is that there are probably TONS of positive reviews and happy customers that never made it to this page. Here's the thing though, I'm sayi... Read more
by kevint1
Fri Jul 23 2010I would never buy or recomend Carmax to anyone.They prices are excesive and they DO NOT follow guidelines for getting return customers.Their exstended warranties are not worth the paper they are printed on.Trying to get a decent price on a trade-in or resale is a joke with them.IT COST ME $12,000 to find this out.Don't do business with this company,period!
by moni_a
Fri Jul 16 2010I just bought a car from carmax but the first day my fiance noticed that the alarm beep was low. I thought maybe it was just the luxuriousness of an Infiniti, silly me! Two days later I tried to use the horn and there was next to no sound. Also, I felt a vibration under the driver's side whenever I applied the brakes. I took it back to CArmax on the 5th day of my return policy guarantee and signed all the docs to cancel the transaction. They took over an hour to try and locate my trade in so by that time I told them I'd give them a chance to fix the car. That was on Friday. Their techs do not come in until Monday. So MOnday I returned to give them back their loaner and say I wanted my trade in. By then, they said, I had to pay 884 dollars for work that they had put into my trade in already. How could they have worked on the trade in if the techs weren't even there???? It was all a scam so that I would have to pay something. The sales managerr told me that today was my last day to come ... Read more
by bozzzdad
Wed Jun 30 2010Through an Internet search, I located a 2009 Acura MDX at the Orlando dealership. After a couple of E-mails, I drove over 100 miles roundtrip, to view the vehicle. At that time, I also obtained an appraisal on my 2002 Lexus LX470 for $13,000, with an agreement that when I returned with the 3rd row jumpseats in good condition, the amount would be increased to $15,200. The following day, I returned with the jumpseats and to finalize the purchase of the Acura, along with the sale of my Lexus. However, through an attempted "Bait and Switch" scam, I was told that the $15,200 was never promised, even though I had it in writing. Being very angered, I took my car keys back and walked out of the dealership. It should be noted that over the past forty-five years, I've bought and sold more vehicles than I care to recall, but I've never been treated in this manner. I'm a very dissatified consumer and will make every effort to forwarn future Carmax purchasers of these tactics.
by jdb427
Fri Jun 25 2010Carmax is the worst ever car buying experience. I was told I had 30 day Guarantee ( I was scammed) I had different front tires then back tires. I was told this is normal and that the loud noise and vibrations were not bad and also normal from Carmax service department. I had debris in the vent system was told they replaced the filter and nothing else was wrong even though iI can see leaves and grass in there. BTW The vent system that has nothing wrong. After 5 minutes of running A/C has such a bad smell I can hardly stand it. 15k car with smells that make me want to throw up. I can't even take long trips in this car and am embaresed to have anyone travel in the car it smells so badly.
by crippledknight
Fri Jun 25 2010I bought a 2004 Mustang V6 from these ruffians... Worst thign I could have ever done. - I was eager to buy the car "My Mistake" which made me sign fast. I did not look through the options properly and it stated that tyhe car had cruise control on it... when it didn't... I went to them a few months afterwards to claim it but they told me that they would chargme an extra $200.00... an extra $200.00!!! After they overcharge you for the regular car, they charged me for the features, they wanted to charge me again! - The clutch was worn out, the engine had lost horsepower that could not be fixed with any gas cleaners, treatment or filters. Then I went to complain about the clutch, the idiots told me it was engine sound... the clutch. These bastards know NOTHING about cars, they just rip you off and get off with their overly expensive price... - Please, don't buy from them... do your research & look for another used car.... But they charge you extra for doing something they don't do... wh... Read more
by brendab
Sat Jun 19 2010I spoke on several occasions with nearest Carmax (Plano, TX) where I was told that I should expect roughly "trade-in value" for a car that is in pristine condition inside & out without a single scratch, ding or dent & very low miles. There is not a single thing wrong with this car as my mechanic has gone over it with a fine-toothed comb and has assured me that the car is in perfect working order. Having done my research online at Kelly Blue Book, Edmond's, etc. I felt confidant of the values ranging from Certified pre-owned to trade-in as well as private party and was prepared to accept the low end of the spectrum.....I was offered around $1000 less than that even, which was $5000. Upon speaking with the appraiser, I was told that her offer was based upon AUCTION VALUE as she would have to sink $1000 into it! And that the previous owner had taken the car in last September to try to sell it and all she offered him was $4000! She said she thought I would have been very excited that th... Read more
by persianbmw
Fri Jun 18 2010ONE thing I'd like to mention apropos of my pre-purchase research of Carmax... You have to discern and conjecture the objectiveness in the verity that Carmax sells almost 400,000 cars annually...Yet from my countless hours of reading and perusing online reviews and complaints, its blatantly conspicuous that AS IF NONE of their content, happy, proud, thrilled, triumphant, satisfied customers ALMOST NEVER take the time to write a profoundly sanguine, propitious and pleasingly supportive reviews! Withal, another disconcertingly perturbing fact I found was that there are thousands of asininely vapid, vacuous curmudgeon buffoons in the USA, who in sooth, ACTUALLY fathom that they can purchase cars with 100K+ miles and not have to spend any $$$ on subsequent maintenance repairs! HEYYYY! Don't be FLUSTERED cause you bought an American-made piece of excreta doodoo ordure! Even so, out of nearly 400K cars, you're bound by the laws of probability to have a few duds here and there! WELL as for my... Read more