first i wouldn't use KBB for getting information like this.
second, i think the wide differential has to do with the fact it's a honda and the kind of car lots of people desire.
third, your confusing i think what you got on it as trade. for all you know, they gave you $1500 for your vehicle (maybe even less), and they'll also turn around and sell it high.
I don't know why people think Carmax is different from any other dealer. They will low ball your trade and then turn it and mark it up for maximum profit. This is typical of what happens at their stores. People hauling in $500 junkers and getting 3 or 4 grand at Carmax just isn't reality.
By the way, a co-worker bought an 07 C-RV a few weeks ago and the dealers would not budge from sticker. I hope you got a good deal.
Anyway, I'm glad it worked out for you and you sound very happy with your purchase and that is all that matters. The C-RV is a nice little vehicle, enjoy !!
^ I lucked out they took $500 off the sticker and then I mentioned the trade-in. I thought the guy would add back to the sticker price but he came back with a figure of $3500 for the trad-in on top of the deal he had already given me. I dont mean to bash Carmax since I know they are trying to make a profit, but it does raise eyebrows when they offer you $2500 for a car and then sell it for $8000. FYI I had to go back to Honda today to return some keys and they had already sold my civic. They only marked it up to $4500. I told them what Carmax was going to sell it for and they laughed and said thats why you avoid carmax if your looking for a "value priced" used car. I think Carmax is pretty good for cars that are 1-5 years old, but just about everything they put in their value mart is over priced.
A few posts back I wrote about the 98 civic lx w/ 62K on it that my FIL sold to carmax for $4500. I just looked it up: here it is.
$10,097 for a nine year old car! I can’t imagine they will find somebody dumb enough to pay such stupid money for a car that was around $13K new nine years ago. I guess it is true that there is a sucker born every day. WOW!! :surprise:
Oh, it gets better. Check this out: a one year old car with 13K miles on it, sells for one measly thousand below brand new 07 MSRP. Wow, I want a piece of that action. Is carmax a publicly traded company?
The used to be unique in this manner. Now everyone in town here is doing it. Now instead of people driving around trying to save $100 on what they are buying they are driving around looking for another $100 on what there selling
I know a guy who is/was a buyer for Carmax. When they first opened here they would give about KBB trade for your used car - maybe a tad bit more. Not a great deal, but if you wanted to unload a car it was quick and easy. You lose the trade in tax credit, however. Most folks seem to be fairly happy with their price quotes.
Later, they started getting nearly all their cars from the auctions so they would only give auction money to buy your car. Their logic - if you are not buying a car from use why would we buy your car for more than we could get the same car at auction? There is normally a lot of difference between trade value and auction value. No one I know has been happy with the current numbers Carmax is giving for buying a car.
I know several folks who have purchased or traded with Carmax. In every case they paid too much - compared to what I could have done for the same vehicle elsewhere with some bargaining. It is like a Saturn dealership - a place for those that can't or do not want to bargain. You will not find any great deals there - if you know how to negotiate prices. A regular dealership in town my have the same ride on the lot for more money, but will accept less once you work on them a bit. At times the Carmax prices are just silly - like a local Kia dealership was running new Sedona vans (with big rebates from Kia) for less than a used Carmax Sedona with lots of miles on the clock. If you pick up the paper and see a new car for the same or less than a used Carmax car, even the math challenged should be able to spot a bad price
No one I know has been happy with the current numbers Carmax is giving for buying a car.
I was THRILLED with what they gave me for my car. They gave me $2,000. Retail for my car is about $5,400. It would have take me at least $1,500 to fix all the problems with it. The very highest offer I got from anyone else was $1,200.
It is like a Saturn dealership - a place for those that can't or do not want to bargain.
Exactly. I think it's probably the best place for the math challenged, the not so bright, the bad negotiotor, the impulse buyer and anyone else easily take advantage of.
Carmax low balls trades because most of their cars are wholesaled out to the buy here pay here lots. They give you $3000 for your car, they wholesale it out to Fast Eddies Auto Sales for $4000, Fast Eddie markes it up to $6999 and finances it on a 16% interest loan. Everybody's happy!! (except the guy who gave it away for $3000.)
I didn't think most mainstream banks would finance a 9 year old car. I wonder what the interest rate on that would be?
I was thinking of going to Carmax to sell my car if I can't sell it privately. What do you think I'd get from Carmax for a Saab convertible 2003, with 54,000 miles, and good condition?
I applied for a Location GM (Mgmt trainee) position and was wondering what they get paid. Is relocating to other stores after training the norm and what does it take to make the next step and become a Regional Vice President/General Manager? Thanks for your help!!
pay is good, but they will make it next to impossible for you to move up, they will constantly promise, very rarely deliver...sneeze the wrong way, and you will be gone. Expect to be bounced around the country, with a what did you do for me today attitude!!!!! good luck!!!
I am current Carmax customer and I thought the Carmax buying experience is great idea. Anyway, I applied three times: twice was full time and last application was for part time. One of the interviews; they were confused on why I wanted to give up my current job. Because I work for good company and they knew it's better job. Personally I enjoy being around Carmax's environment: Customers, employees, and of course cars. I know 100% sure I would love to put on yellow & navy blue each morning and make smaller paychecks than waking up to boring cardboard box warehouse job.
So in August; I will follow through on my promise to apply again after my six month application wait. I thank the management for viewing my application back in February.
I know 100% sure I would love to put on yellow & navy blue each morning and make smaller paychecks than waking up to boring cardboard box warehouse job
andeet, please do not take this the wrong way. If the potential is not there to make more $$ then your warehouse job apply at a different lot.
The main reason to be in the car biz is to make good $$. At first you think it is because of your love of cars and the excitement of dealing with new people every day (canned answer I used to hear in interviews all the time. Not what I wanted to hear) but after working till 9:00 pm 5 nights in a row, not having a day off for 3 weeks and working every Saturday of your life you find you are there for the cabbage, and the excitment of having an unlimited income (the answer I liked to hear). For the most part people who work average hours make average wages, those who work extraordinary hours make extraordinary wages.
The great thing about the car biz is that you can give your self a raise every month by selling one more car, and you always need one more. Don't care if you go 25 out for the month, you always need one more.
If you truly want to get in the car biz and have enough money set aside to cover your obligations for 6 months to keep the monkey off your back so you can concentrate on selling cars and not your bills here is what I would do.
Get up one Saturday morning and start visiting lots. Look at the folks that work there, there inventory, and most important what there traffic is like. Does it look like a ghost town or can you feel the buzz.
Watch the papers every day for a week and see who is spending the money to advertise heavy and who is just taking what they can get from word of mouth.
When you interview ask to have the pay plan explained, is it gross or unit based? You can sell 10 cars with a $1200 average at my store and make more $$ then selling 15 with the same average at one of my competitors.
Ask about the training plan and pay. is it a store where they give you a desk, a pen, and a pad of buyers orders, point at the lot and say go get them. Or do they have a formal training plan.
And most of all, the biggest thing is, once you get hired LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO CAN HELP YOU AND IGNORE THOSE WHO CAN'T!!!!!!!! Don't get caught up with the group of guys who don't sell crap and spend all day complaining instead of getting off the butt and going to work, the old adage "misery loves company is alive and strong at a car lot, and don't get caught up with the bench politics. Those guys could care less if your work there or not. All you will be to them is a Green Pea getting an up they could of had.
I could type 50 pages on the do's and don'ts but I got a pile of paper work to sift through now.
I don't want to go into sales. I'm aware of sitting a desk for 12 hours straight and not once get a single costumer then only get pennies. I know there's Parts, Inventory, and Detailing positions always open at my location. So that's what I'm leaning towards to. Who knows what could be open in August; if they have part time Inventory position available I may go with that route and work 4-5 hours in the afternoon then go to my warehouse job. That's possible since the Carmax here is not even 5 minutes away from my work.
When you interview ask to have the pay plan explained, is it gross or unit based? You can sell 10 cars with a $1200 average at my store and make more $$ then selling 15 with the same average at one of my competitors.
Oh man that is the most important thing once you get to the interview stage anyway. Make sure you really understand the pay plan before you start and get an idea for what an average month is there for the average salesperson. You will most likely be average there for a while.
I forgot to mention about the thanks to management. They mailed me letter stating they want someone else so I wrote them thank you letter for viewing my application and the reason why I want to work for Carmax. What I said was I wanted to give back the same wonderful & great service I recieved as current customer. Then I also stated I am staying as loyal Carmax costumer.
Two days later; I stopped in for something (Can't remember what)and I ran into one of the sales managers. She knows me on good grounds and she always bugs me about employment at Carmax. I said "I don't think this warehouse gig isn't going to last long" and she asked me why. Replied back "I hate sitting on a forklift for 8 hours straight and I can't sleep in the day (I work nights: Worst hours a person can have 6:30pm-3:00am)" She kept telling me "Wait for 6 months" over and over. Then I have someone else who currently work there; he told me the goods and the bad's like how much they start people when they are in Parts. So who knows what's going to happen when I put in application.
I do have question: How many cars does Carmax Sales Consultant needs to be in the "President's Club?" I'm just wondering.
On September 4, 2004, I purchased the subject car from the CarMax dealership located at 45210 Towlern Place, Sterling, VA 20165. I had read about CarMax’s advertised 125 Point Inspections (see attached) and the fact that there is supposed to be a policy in place to weed out cars that have been in accidents, etc.; therefore, I was confident that the car would be a good buy. An added factor to my confidence was that fact that the car I had owned prior to this one was a Mazda as well, a Miata that I owned for 13 years and put 218,000 miles on.
In the 31 months since I have purchased this car, I have spent $6, 146.28 (over 60% of the initial value of the car without taxes and fees) in unexpected (not routine maintenance) repairs, everything from broken door handles that locked me out of the car to a transmission repair that left me stranded in the middle of Wisconsin avenue late at night (see attached). When I buy a car, reliability is a priority and I am willing to ensure that the correct maintenance is performed to keep the car running in prime condition; however, careful maintenance has done nothing to prevent these unexpected breakdowns, to the extent that I no longer have any confidence in this car or for that matter in CarMax.
To put this situation another way, I have averaged $198.27 per month in additional unexpected expenses, which has produced a significant negative effect on my financial well being. If I had been willing to sign up for payments of almost $500.00 per month ($452.59), I would have been able to buy considerably more car than a used Mazda 626. As it is, I’m still making payments and I’m saddled with a car that I don’t trust to take out of town.
It’s a used, car no matter how much work or time you put in to the vehicle the end result is still the same ..IT’S A USED CAR. You could have avoided all of the additional cost that you have acquired if you would have listened to the sales consultant and purchased the warranty they offered you. $450 a month for a Mazda 626, come on that would mean that that car when you bought it, assuming that you didn’t put any money down, was about $25,000 I don’t even think that they were that much brand new. If it was 25K, you could have gotten a much better vehicle for that and you’re a fool.
Where else can you buy a used car and get an additional warranty that will cover that vehicle for damn near 100K???? Don’t put a negative spin on a great company because you were to cheap to front the additional $2,000 and buy the warranty, if you couldn’t afford it then could you really afford to buy the car?
I have bought at least 4 cars from CarMax and I am sure I will never buy a car from anywhere else but CarMax. There’s a reason why they have been #1 in the huge market that is used cars for the past 10 years
a place for those that can't or do not want to bargain. You will not find any great deals there - if you know how to negotiate prices.
I must have missed the class in college where they taught you how to bargain for the price of a car. Would you go in to your local grocery store and “bargain” with the check out lady over the price of the loaf of bread you want? Then why would you expect to do this on a car? There is a reason why they are and have been the number 1 used car dealership in America, and also a Fortune 500 company for years; they must be doing something right.
first off, i feel badly that you purchased a vehicle that turned out to be a lemon. factually though, people purchase BRAND NEW ZERO MILES vehicles that end up to be just as problematic, if not moreso.
it happens.
you know the difference in the two scenarios and the warrenty they carry (or dont), so i won't bore you, but you realize, you could have purchased a used 626 private party, and also had the same or worse outcome. same could be said if your purchase occured at a dealership.
one thing a person can do, and i certainly did this, was i looked the vehicle i purchased at Carmax over very well. then following purchase, i took it immediately to a trusted mechanic to have it looked over during the period i could return it for my money back.
in my scenario, if the vehicle I had purchased from Carmax (a Honda) had a latent transmission problem (i presume this is the thing that contributed the most to your repair bills post-purchase), it probably wouldn't have shown up until after i purchased (as in your case), and after i had my mechanic look at it. so, would i, or anyone else making another purchase have done better?
doubtful.
however, my recourse would have been to contact American Honda for some form of "good will" (even though this was a used car). i do have the transmission fluids in my Automatics changed on a 30K schedule.
and you know what? i wager American Honda would have helped defer some of the cost of the transmission replacement. i know some of the astute readers will conclude that this is because Honda has had issues with transmissions in their V6 models during a period in the early 2000s. actually, in my scenario, we are talking about the 4cyclinder model, so that doesn't apply.
in the end, it's luck, the manufacturer (very very important), having service records during your period of ownership (i have had the ATF fluid replaced on a regular schedule), who and how you go about contacting your dealer and / or the manufacturer, the vehicle's reliability reputation, etc etc.
i remain quite sympathetic, but i think your frustration is mis-directed at Carmax.
in otherwords, if you still have the car, you might try researching the issue to see if 626s had problems in that model year (web, Consumer Reports), then contacting Mazda to see if you could recover some of the expenses of transmission replacement (?).
i presume you had to have a transmission replacement, and that it was performed at a Mazda dealership. i think we need to hear more of the story, because it sounds like you may have been ripped off by the people that serviced the vehicle, but that can't be determined from your post.
Carmax is the wrong place (in my humble opinion) to be dealing with your issue.
I don’t even think that they were that much brand new. If it was 25K, you could have gotten a much better vehicle for that and you’re a fool.
Now that was uncalled for. Allot of people have made buying mistakes over the years.
Carmax is what it is. An overpriced used car lot with great marketing. If they can draw list price more power to them. But they need to quit acting like they are doing you a favor by "letting" you pay full retail.
Yup. I negotiate on ALL major purchases. My washer/dryer? Heck, throw in the pedestal drawers for free and you can consider them sold... which they did. If you're polite, you're no worse off by asking.
(This is why CarMax just doesn't appeal to me)
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"$450 a month for a Mazda 626, come on that would mean that that car when you bought it, assuming that you didn’t put any money down, was about $25,000"
Carroll3 - I think you misread the poster's comment. They said the $198.27 per month that they have been averaging in repairs has pushed their total monthly expense (for the car) up to $452.59. In other words, the actual monthly payment would have been $254.32 + $198.27 in extra repairs, for a total monthly expense of $452.59.
Specifically, reread this paragraph from the poster's original post:
"To put this situation another way, I have averaged $198.27 per month in additional unexpected expenses, which has produced a significant negative effect on my financial well being. If I had been willing to sign up for payments of almost $500.00 per month ($452.59), I would have been able to buy considerably more car than a used Mazda 626. As it is, I’m still making payments and I’m saddled with a car that I don’t trust to take out of town."
and that's fine. hey some don't like public speaking. others don't like beets and broccoli.
joel made comments before on being able to outdo the pricing offered by CarMax. Sure, other dealers could as well. the question is do they, and on all the cars they sell?
i find that very doubtful myself.
one thing that bothers people is they can't objectively know the bottom line before stepping on the lot of a traditional dealer, where they can with CarMax.
this situation is completely unacceptable to a large segment of the purchasing public.
let's face it, we culturally don't have the same history bargaining for luxury items. we go into Macy's thinking, the price is the price. regardless, we are not hastled into paying MORE than the price tag on an item in Macy's. and further, if i see the product at Macy's store1, it is the same price across town.
err.
and these are reasons why I think so many people are seeking alternatives to going to a dealership and haggling. they don't want the hastle, pressure, gaming (insert behavior of choice). they'd actually prefer to pay more than have to deal with that sort of experience.
as for your washer / dryer, i know you paid way way too much. :shades:
I love laundry so much that there is no such thing as paying too much for a "luxury" W/D set like I have Me, if I go to Macy's, I'm not buying anything that's not on sale. Why? Because pretty much everything goes on sale there eventually.
I totally understand why folks shop CarMax because they have a good selection, and I'll bet the whole process is quite smooth. I usually don't mind a bit of minor haggling, so it's not for me.
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i merely meant people can be very quick to judge the sales model there.
while i don't mind haggling, i found myself in a situation where CarMax represented the smarter option (along a few dimensions) for my family and me, rather than going private party or to a dealership.
now let's get back to your "love" for laundry. i think you may have issues.
joel made comments before on being able to outdo the pricing offered by CarMax. Sure, other dealers could as well. the question is do they, and on all the cars they sell? I think what I said was I can crush Carmax prices
It does not matter if other dealers do, it the fact that we can and will if you negotiate a deal. If you don't like the hassle of negotiation then that does not mean you have to go to Carmax. Any dealer in the country will sell you a car at high retail. We will be happy to. We also are a no haggle dealer if you like. Come in and say, "I don't want to haggle, I will pay sticker price. There now we are just like Carmax.
joel made comments before on being able to outdo the pricing offered by CarMax. Sure, other dealers could as well. the question is do they, and on all the cars they sell? I just bought a new '07 Ford Fusion. At Carmax, I could have bought a one-year-old Fusion with 15,000 miles for a whopping $1,500 less than I got my brand new one for!! WOW! I am pretty sure that Fords (or any cars) depreciate a LOT more than $1,500 in the first year of ownership.
So yes, I would pretty much bet that any car dealership can "crush" CarMax's price on any car. Although, that doesn't mean that every dealership will. But it wouldn't take much work to find one.
I took my car for oil change at the dealership. I decided on doing every 3 months not 5k cause I drive too much. And I would have to change the oil every month if I did so. They saw the mileage and saw the maintenance light turned off. So they tried selling me 30k maintenance check up; I declined cause it's 480.00 and I have my car payment to worry about and said I will do it in early June.
All of sudden; they were treating with very rude and became unhelpful. They had the tech come to me and complain to me "You need to take better care of your car. Your tires are bald in the front cause you didn't rotate your tires so you need new tires. If you don't keep up with your maintenance your engine will clog up and cost you 14,000 to fix. And if you don't keep up with 5k oil changes you will void your warranty."
I know I need new tires; I knew that for day one...cause those OEM tires suck in the winter and slide in the rain. My plan is to buy summer tires for the OEM alloy wheels and buy cheapie alloy or steel wheels with winter tires for winter. I was going to do that within a month. Everyone here know how much OEM tires suck!
When I had my xA; I never did the 5k oil changes and only did one maintenance check up. They never told me my warranty was going to get voided.
I may take my car to another Toyota dealership in Illinois cause my co-worker's little brother works there and he's good friends with all the Techs. I know he's very close on becoming Toyota Tech; he might even be tech now. So he will help me out getting deals and better service.
I told everyone who knows some knowledge with cars about this...They all said it was BS and they tried banking it because I'm girl. They should of watch out for any car owners with TRD or aftermarket parts in their cars cause they do have some basic knowledge about cars. I knew they were trying to take advanage of me and I saw right through them. I can't wait for the service department's survey phone call: I'm going to tell my true feelings about the service department
I think they might be upset off at the fact I bought 1,800 or more on TRD parts and only one: Sport muffler was installed at the dealer. I installed the rest. They would of ripped me off for installation and made huge killing.
I'm going to wait for my sales consultant to call me back and see what she thinks about it before making a decision on going back. I know she warn me about them doing this to costumers and I know I could request for different tech.
CarMax kept me dangling for two weeks telling me the car I wanted was being repaired each time I called, and then sold the car to an out of state buyer for more money. I would not trust them.
...CarMax is certainly an attractive place (Roseville, CA) with some really sharp (college folks/summer vacation) employees.......
...but let there be no doubt, Senor (they are business to make money!!)
In my experience, a little TOO MUCH money.
I went in with a five year old Solara V-6 5M. They offered me 6500 (and we'll buy your car right now; we don't usually buy manual transmission cars - - - but yours is truly clean.
Were the truth be known, they'd sell that same car for 12k minimum............ not a bad turn on 6500.
I was taking my '07 Scion tC to Kenosha Carmax in Wisconsin they also are Toyota dealer. Only reason why I was taking it there was they did good service on my trade in '06 Scion xA and Toyota gave me three free oil changes included in sales deal. Since they kind of ruined their great business & client relationship with me...I'll make someone else rich then by taking my car somewhere else. Because of all of this...I might take my car one more time (for the last free oil change) just so I can screw with them cause they need some screwing time.
I actually have an interview there tomorrow. Can you shed any light on the Buyer in Training program and how easy/fast/hard it is to move up through the ranks? At what point is a relocation required on the ladder? Thanks..
How was the interview? Did they give you the department manager and then give you his/her boss?
During my detailer process; I had interview with Detailing Manager; it went great with him and then he said "Wait here for few minutes and I'll bring you Tim; my boss." The second interview with him didn't go that great I guess...but every time I needed to order Scion accessories I had to pass his office on my way to parts department. I caught him staring at me while I was wearing my "Nationally known shipping supply company" uniform. I probably make more $$ than him and yet my current employer jump on the ball to hire me and also offered me 4 bucks more than what I offered when he never took me seriously.
Anyway, I'm still not giving up my Carmax career dreams Last night; I applied part time for Parts Associate position. I've noticed they run parts just like a warehouse; they use "B/O" (Back order), "P/O" (Product order) terminology. When I had to read through job description; they require ability to lift 50 lbs (when my job requires 75 lbs. lol) and required to follow OSHA laws(which I already do at my job and with 30,000 dollars lift machines.)
Carmax uses my warehouse experience for better receiving while my current employer uses the Carmax's experience for their customer service department. Yes! Even if we're warehouse based company...we still have customers coming to our warehouses to pick up their orders; my job would consist of picking their orders for them while they wait. We are the Best Buy for your shipping supplies needs.
I'm thinking about it. Just browsing their website, I'm seeing a lot of three- and four-year old cars with just 12,000 miles on them, which would partially explain the premium price. Cars this young would still have their factory warranties in place.
I've been waiting to be able to buy a car the way I buy groceries for years. I abhor car salespeople and dealerships. I feel like if I do my research and look for a car that's not likely to let me down in the first place, then the only thing to do with a place like Carmax is to wait for a car that has the color and features I want.
My concern would be where these cars come from. What do they have in place that guarantees that they are not from Katrina-struck areas and otherwise flooded and salvaged cars? You don't get that guarantee from dealerships, either, but normally dealers only keep the best stock (and charge accordingly for them).
I applied for a sales job at our local Carmax. It opened a few years ago and there were signs all over the place for jobs. I went to their website and filled and online application. They called me up for an interview a few weeks later and I don't know why they even bothered if they had no intention of hiring a "seasoned" salesperson. The first thing I noticed when I went into their building was the enormous amount of young people working there. And I mean young. Most must have been in their early twenties. So anyway, they sat me at one of their workstations and I did another "document" online. A "SALES MANAGER" came over, introduced himself, and began asking me about the company and what I knew about them. I told them pretty much about their history and the way they did business. He asked me if I could be "re-programmed" as he put it to sell cars the Carmax way. I told him it would be no problem as I had started selling cars under a no-haggle, one-price system. They scheduled me for a second interview about a week later with another manager. This time I even did the urinealisys and this manager told me they were seriously considering me for a job. After this meeting I didn't hear from them for a while, close to a month went by so I decided to stop by. I saw the second manager and he didn't even recognize me. He asked me for my ssn to look up my records and said he would call me. Never did. About two weeks later I get a form letter in the mail stating: "Although your qualifications are impressive. We will continue our search." :confuse: :confuse: The letter wasn't even signed by a person. WoW! If this is how they treat their applicants I wonder how they treat the people they hire. But I realized this was a thinly veiled act or age discrimination which is ok, I guess they want inexperienced youngsters who don't know better so they can pay them minimum wage. All I can say is its their loss. :shades: Mackabee
"Dear Andrea: Thank you for taking the time to submit your employment application for the Sales Consultant position at Carmax. We're had a chance to carefully compare it with the requirements of the position.
We Appreciate you sharing your background with us. Although your qualifications are impressive, we decided to continue our search.
Again, thank you for your interest in Carmax. We wish you success in your job search.
"Dear Carmax Management, Thank you for viewing my application as a part time sales consultant. I will apply once again in six months to continue my ongoing process becoming a Carmax Associate. I personally feel this future opportunity will give me the chance of giving back the same wonderful service I have received as a current customer. Also at the same time; I will share my passion with cars to other current and future customers while building strong “Customer and Business” relationships.
I will continue our personal “Customer and Business” relationship on a good level by bringing my personal future business and service needs.
Thank you again, Andrea"
Well it's six months, I applied twice: One position at Kenosha, WI for Part time Parts offering them my afternoons. Second position at Milwaukee, WI for Full Time Inventory Associate. I received a tip from a Sales Manager to warn the manager about my ongoing process of employment and I might turn it up a little bit more by stating I have Learning Disability... lets see if their "Commitment for Diversity" comes into play then! I may throw it in when asked this question: "What is your biggest regret so far in your life?" My reply: "Accepting my acceptance letter at (My university); since I dropped out due to my high school improperly prep me for the college level courses and having learning disability took major role in that factor. I wouldn't make the multi-thousand dollar mistake"
I just want to see how far they will go until they hire me LOL If they happen to offer me something more than what I'm predicting (11.00 bucks hour), I may take it.
I called Carmax and asked politely for them to be up front and save me the 90 mile drive to their facility if they were simply going to offer me "Trade in Value" for my car.
They insisted though "We are not like other dealers, we don't offer you $4k when your car is worth $8k"
So reluctantly I drove my car up to carmax and the first thing they show me after taking my keys for inspection is a slide that says they consider "wholesale aka Trade In values when making their offers"
Bottom line:
My car: 2006 Honda Civic Ex Coupe with Navigation
My car's Private Party Bluebook: $16,800 My car's Trade-In Bluebook: $14,725
Carmax's Offer: $14,500 Don't expect any different.
One last note though, if you are having trouble selling your car and don't plan to buy one you could trade in on, then it is handy that Carmax will buy your car even though you don't buy one of theirs. Just expect to pay for that.
Comments
second, i think the wide differential has to do with the fact it's a honda and the kind of car lots of people desire.
third, your confusing i think what you got on it as trade. for all you know, they gave you $1500 for your vehicle (maybe even less), and they'll also turn around and sell it high.
myself i think you've over-simplified things
anyway, you got a CRV. good for you. enjoy it.
OK now your just showing off
By the way, a co-worker bought an 07 C-RV a few weeks ago and the dealers would not budge from sticker. I hope you got a good deal.
Anyway, I'm glad it worked out for you and you sound very happy with your purchase and that is all that matters. The C-RV is a nice little vehicle, enjoy !!
A few posts back I wrote about the 98 civic lx w/ 62K on it that my FIL sold to carmax for $4500. I just looked it up: here it is.
$10,097 for a nine year old car! I can’t imagine they will find somebody dumb enough to pay such stupid money for a car that was around $13K new nine years ago. I guess it is true that there is a sucker born every day. WOW!! :surprise:
I know a guy who is/was a buyer for Carmax. When they first opened here they would give about KBB trade for your used car - maybe a tad bit more. Not a great deal, but if you wanted to unload a car it was quick and easy. You lose the trade in tax credit, however. Most folks seem to be fairly happy with their price quotes.
Later, they started getting nearly all their cars from the auctions so they would only give auction money to buy your car. Their logic - if you are not buying a car from use why would we buy your car for more than we could get the same car at auction? There is normally a lot of difference between trade value and auction value. No one I know has been happy with the current numbers Carmax is giving for buying a car.
I know several folks who have purchased or traded with Carmax. In every case they paid too much - compared to what I could have done for the same vehicle elsewhere with some bargaining. It is like a Saturn dealership - a place for those that can't or do not want to bargain. You will not find any great deals there - if you know how to negotiate prices. A regular dealership in town my have the same ride on the lot for more money, but will accept less once you work on them a bit. At times the Carmax prices are just silly - like a local Kia dealership was running new Sedona vans (with big rebates from Kia) for less than a used Carmax Sedona with lots of miles on the clock. If you pick up the paper and see a new car for the same or less than a used Carmax car, even the math challenged should be able to spot a bad price
Dennis
I was THRILLED with what they gave me for my car. They gave me $2,000. Retail for my car is about $5,400. It would have take me at least $1,500 to fix all the problems with it. The very highest offer I got from anyone else was $1,200.
It is like a Saturn dealership - a place for those that can't or do not want to bargain.
Exactly. I think it's probably the best place for the math challenged, the not so bright, the bad negotiotor, the impulse buyer and anyone else easily take advantage of.
I didn't think most mainstream banks would finance a 9 year old car. I wonder what the interest rate on that would be?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
So in August; I will follow through on my promise to apply again after my six month application wait. I thank the management for viewing my application back in February.
andeet, please do not take this the wrong way. If the potential is not there to make more $$ then your warehouse job apply at a different lot.
The main reason to be in the car biz is to make good $$. At first you think it is because of your love of cars and the excitement of dealing with new people every day (canned answer I used to hear in interviews all the time. Not what I wanted to hear) but after working till 9:00 pm 5 nights in a row, not having a day off for 3 weeks and working every Saturday of your life you find you are there for the cabbage, and the excitment of having an unlimited income (the answer I liked to hear). For the most part people who work average hours make average wages, those who work extraordinary hours make extraordinary wages.
The great thing about the car biz is that you can give your self a raise every month by selling one more car, and you always need one more. Don't care if you go 25 out for the month, you always need one more.
If you truly want to get in the car biz and have enough money set aside to cover your obligations for 6 months to keep the monkey off your back so you can concentrate on selling cars and not your bills here is what I would do.
Get up one Saturday morning and start visiting lots. Look at the folks that work there, there inventory, and most important what there traffic is like. Does it look like a ghost town or can you feel the buzz.
Watch the papers every day for a week and see who is spending the money to advertise heavy and who is just taking what they can get from word of mouth.
When you interview ask to have the pay plan explained, is it gross or unit based? You can sell 10 cars with a $1200 average at my store and make more $$ then selling 15 with the same average at one of my competitors.
Ask about the training plan and pay. is it a store where they give you a desk, a pen, and a pad of buyers orders, point at the lot and say go get them. Or do they have a formal training plan.
And most of all, the biggest thing is, once you get hired LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO CAN HELP YOU AND IGNORE THOSE WHO CAN'T!!!!!!!! Don't get caught up with the group of guys who don't sell crap and spend all day complaining instead of getting off the butt and going to work, the old adage "misery loves company is alive and strong at a car lot, and don't get caught up with the bench politics. Those guys could care less if your work there or not. All you will be to them is a Green Pea getting an up they could of had.
I could type 50 pages on the do's and don'ts but I got a pile of paper work to sift through now.
Good luck in what ever you decide.
Oh man that is the most important thing once you get to the interview stage anyway. Make sure you really understand the pay plan before you start and get an idea for what an average month is there for the average salesperson. You will most likely be average there for a while.
Two days later; I stopped in for something (Can't remember what)and I ran into one of the sales managers. She knows me on good grounds and she always bugs me about employment at Carmax. I said "I don't think this warehouse gig isn't going to last long" and she asked me why. Replied back "I hate sitting on a forklift for 8 hours straight and I can't sleep in the day (I work nights: Worst hours a person can have 6:30pm-3:00am)" She kept telling me "Wait for 6 months" over and over. Then I have someone else who currently work there; he told me the goods and the bad's like how much they start people when they are in Parts. So who knows what's going to happen when I put in application.
I do have question: How many cars does Carmax Sales Consultant needs to be in the "President's Club?" I'm just wondering.
Subject: Mazda 626, 2000 CarMax Stock 2535494, VIN
Attention: Operations Manager
Dear Sir or Madame:
On September 4, 2004, I purchased the subject car from the CarMax dealership located at 45210 Towlern Place, Sterling, VA 20165. I had read about CarMax’s advertised 125 Point Inspections (see attached) and the fact that there is supposed to be a policy in place to weed out cars that have been in accidents, etc.; therefore, I was confident that the car would be a good buy. An added factor to my confidence was that fact that the car I had owned prior to this one was a Mazda as well, a Miata that I owned for 13 years and put 218,000 miles on.
In the 31 months since I have purchased this car, I have spent $6, 146.28 (over 60% of the initial value of the car without taxes and fees) in unexpected (not routine maintenance) repairs, everything from broken door handles that locked me out of the car to a transmission repair that left me stranded in the middle of Wisconsin avenue late at night (see attached). When I buy a car, reliability is a priority and I am willing to ensure that the correct maintenance is performed to keep the car running in prime condition; however, careful maintenance has done nothing to prevent these unexpected breakdowns, to the extent that I no longer have any confidence in this car or for that matter in CarMax.
To put this situation another way, I have averaged $198.27 per month in additional unexpected expenses, which has produced a significant negative effect on my financial well being. If I had been willing to sign up for payments of almost $500.00 per month ($452.59), I would have been able to buy considerably more car than a used Mazda 626. As it is, I’m still making payments and I’m saddled with a car that I don’t trust to take out of town.
I don’t believe I got a bargain. Do you?
Where else can you buy a used car and get an additional warranty that will cover that vehicle for damn near 100K???? Don’t put a negative spin on a great company because you were to cheap to front the additional $2,000 and buy the warranty, if you couldn’t afford it then could you really afford to buy the car?
I have bought at least 4 cars from CarMax and I am sure I will never buy a car from anywhere else but CarMax. There’s a reason why they have been #1 in the huge market that is used cars for the past 10 years
I must have missed the class in college where they taught you how to bargain for the price of a car. Would you go in to your local grocery store and “bargain” with the check out lady over the price of the loaf of bread you want? Then why would you expect to do this on a car? There is a reason why they are and have been the number 1 used car dealership in America, and also a Fortune 500 company for years; they must be doing something right.
What planet have you just come from?
No, but I do occasionally get results when I go to the manager.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
So how long have you worked there?
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
it happens.
you know the difference in the two scenarios and the warrenty they carry (or dont), so i won't bore you, but you realize, you could have purchased a used 626 private party, and also had the same or worse outcome. same could be said if your purchase occured at a dealership.
one thing a person can do, and i certainly did this, was i looked the vehicle i purchased at Carmax over very well. then following purchase, i took it immediately to a trusted mechanic to have it looked over during the period i could return it for my money back.
in my scenario, if the vehicle I had purchased from Carmax (a Honda) had a latent transmission problem (i presume this is the thing that contributed the most to your repair bills post-purchase), it probably wouldn't have shown up until after i purchased (as in your case), and after i had my mechanic look at it. so, would i, or anyone else making another purchase have done better?
doubtful.
however, my recourse would have been to contact American Honda for some form of "good will" (even though this was a used car). i do have the transmission fluids in my Automatics changed on a 30K schedule.
and you know what? i wager American Honda would have helped defer some of the cost of the transmission replacement. i know some of the astute readers will conclude that this is because Honda has had issues with transmissions in their V6 models during a period in the early 2000s. actually, in my scenario, we are talking about the 4cyclinder model, so that doesn't apply.
in the end, it's luck, the manufacturer (very very important), having service records during your period of ownership (i have had the ATF fluid replaced on a regular schedule), who and how you go about contacting your dealer and / or the manufacturer, the vehicle's reliability reputation, etc etc.
i remain quite sympathetic, but i think your frustration is mis-directed at Carmax.
in otherwords, if you still have the car, you might try researching the issue to see if 626s had problems in that model year (web, Consumer Reports), then contacting Mazda to see if you could recover some of the expenses of transmission replacement (?).
i presume you had to have a transmission replacement, and that it was performed at a Mazda dealership. i think we need to hear more of the story, because it sounds like you may have been ripped off by the people that serviced the vehicle, but that can't be determined from your post.
Carmax is the wrong place (in my humble opinion) to be dealing with your issue.
good luck.
Simply because thats what the market does. Certain markets allow for it and others don't. Cars sales have been traditionally a negotiation haven.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Now that was uncalled for. Allot of people have made buying mistakes over the years.
Carmax is what it is. An overpriced used car lot with great marketing. If they can draw list price more power to them. But they need to quit acting like they are doing you a favor by "letting" you pay full retail.
(This is why CarMax just doesn't appeal to me)
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
Carroll3 - I think you misread the poster's comment. They said the $198.27 per month that they have been averaging in repairs has pushed their total monthly expense (for the car) up to $452.59. In other words, the actual monthly payment would have been $254.32 + $198.27 in extra repairs, for a total monthly expense of $452.59.
Specifically, reread this paragraph from the poster's original post:
"To put this situation another way, I have averaged $198.27 per month in additional unexpected expenses, which has produced a significant negative effect on my financial well being. If I had been willing to sign up for payments of almost $500.00 per month ($452.59), I would have been able to buy considerably more car than a used Mazda 626. As it is, I’m still making payments and I’m saddled with a car that I don’t trust to take out of town."
joel made comments before on being able to outdo the pricing offered by CarMax. Sure, other dealers could as well. the question is do they, and on all the cars they sell?
i find that very doubtful myself.
one thing that bothers people is they can't objectively know the bottom line before stepping on the lot of a traditional dealer, where they can with CarMax.
this situation is completely unacceptable to a large segment of the purchasing public.
let's face it, we culturally don't have the same history bargaining for luxury items. we go into Macy's thinking, the price is the price. regardless, we are not hastled into paying MORE than the price tag on an item in Macy's. and further, if i see the product at Macy's store1, it is the same price across town.
err.
and these are reasons why I think so many people are seeking alternatives to going to a dealership and haggling. they don't want the hastle, pressure, gaming (insert behavior of choice). they'd actually prefer to pay more than have to deal with that sort of experience.
as for your washer / dryer, i know you paid way way too much. :shades:
I totally understand why folks shop CarMax because they have a good selection, and I'll bet the whole process is quite smooth. I usually don't mind a bit of minor haggling, so it's not for me.
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
while i don't mind haggling, i found myself in a situation where CarMax represented the smarter option (along a few dimensions) for my family and me, rather than going private party or to a dealership.
now let's get back to your "love" for laundry. i think you may have issues.
I think what I said was I can crush Carmax prices
It does not matter if other dealers do, it the fact that we can and will if you negotiate a deal. If you don't like the hassle of negotiation then that does not mean you have to go to Carmax. Any dealer in the country will sell you a car at high retail. We will be happy to. We also are a no haggle dealer if you like. Come in and say, "I don't want to haggle, I will pay sticker price. There now we are just like Carmax.
I just bought a new '07 Ford Fusion. At Carmax, I could have bought a one-year-old Fusion with 15,000 miles for a whopping $1,500 less than I got my brand new one for!! WOW! I am pretty sure that Fords (or any cars) depreciate a LOT more than $1,500 in the first year of ownership.
So yes, I would pretty much bet that any car dealership can "crush" CarMax's price on any car. Although, that doesn't mean that every dealership will. But it wouldn't take much work to find one.
All of sudden; they were treating with very rude and became unhelpful. They had the tech come to me and complain to me "You need to take better care of your car. Your tires are bald in the front cause you didn't rotate your tires so you need new tires. If you don't keep up with your maintenance your engine will clog up and cost you 14,000 to fix. And if you don't keep up with 5k oil changes you will void your warranty."
I know I need new tires; I knew that for day one...cause those OEM tires suck in the winter and slide in the rain. My plan is to buy summer tires for the OEM alloy wheels and buy cheapie alloy or steel wheels with winter tires for winter. I was going to do that within a month. Everyone here know how much OEM tires suck!
When I had my xA; I never did the 5k oil changes and only did one maintenance check up. They never told me my warranty was going to get voided.
I may take my car to another Toyota dealership in Illinois cause my co-worker's little brother works there and he's good friends with all the Techs. I know he's very close on becoming Toyota Tech; he might even be tech now. So he will help me out getting deals and better service.
I told everyone who knows some knowledge with cars about this...They all said it was BS and they tried banking it because I'm girl. They should of watch out for any car owners with TRD or aftermarket parts in their cars cause they do have some basic knowledge about cars. I knew they were trying to take advanage of me and I saw right through them. I can't wait for the service department's survey phone call: I'm going to tell my true feelings about the service department
I think they might be upset off at the fact I bought 1,800 or more on TRD parts and only one: Sport muffler was installed at the dealer. I installed the rest. They would of ripped me off for installation and made huge killing.
I'm going to wait for my sales consultant to call me back and see what she thinks about it before making a decision on going back. I know she warn me about them doing this to costumers and I know I could request for different tech.
...but let there be no doubt, Senor (they are business to make money!!)
In my experience, a little TOO MUCH money.
I went in with a five year old Solara V-6 5M. They offered me 6500 (and we'll buy your car right now; we don't usually buy manual transmission cars - - - but yours is truly clean.
Were the truth be known, they'd sell that same car for 12k minimum............ not a bad turn on 6500.
Nice looking place though......
..cheers..
..ez..
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
During my detailer process; I had interview with Detailing Manager; it went great with him and then he said "Wait here for few minutes and I'll bring you Tim; my boss." The second interview with him didn't go that great I guess...but every time I needed to order Scion accessories I had to pass his office on my way to parts department. I caught him staring at me while I was wearing my "Nationally known shipping supply company" uniform. I probably make more $$ than him and yet my current employer jump on the ball to hire me and also offered me 4 bucks more than what I offered when he never took me seriously.
Anyway, I'm still not giving up my Carmax career dreams
Carmax uses my warehouse experience for better receiving while my current employer uses the Carmax's experience for their customer service department. Yes! Even if we're warehouse based company...we still have customers coming to our warehouses to pick up their orders; my job would consist of picking their orders for them while they wait. We are the Best Buy for your shipping supplies needs.
I've been waiting to be able to buy a car the way I buy groceries for years. I abhor car salespeople and dealerships. I feel like if I do my research and look for a car that's not likely to let me down in the first place, then the only thing to do with a place like Carmax is to wait for a car that has the color and features I want.
My concern would be where these cars come from. What do they have in place that guarantees that they are not from Katrina-struck areas and otherwise flooded and salvaged cars? You don't get that guarantee from dealerships, either, but normally dealers only keep the best stock (and charge accordingly for them).
:shades:
Mackabee
"Dear Andrea:
Thank you for taking the time to submit your employment application for the Sales Consultant position at Carmax. We're had a chance to carefully compare it with the requirements of the position.
We Appreciate you sharing your background with us. Although your qualifications are impressive, we decided to continue our search.
Again, thank you for your interest in Carmax. We wish you success in your job search.
Sincerely,
(Signed Carmax Management)
Carmax Management Team"
Oh it gets better!!!....
My reply-
"Dear Carmax Management,
Thank you for viewing my application as a part time sales consultant. I will apply once again in six months to continue my ongoing process becoming a Carmax Associate. I personally feel this future opportunity will give me the chance of giving back the same wonderful service I have received as a current customer. Also at the same time; I will share my passion with cars to other current and future customers while building strong “Customer and Business” relationships.
I will continue our personal “Customer and Business” relationship on a good level by bringing my personal future business and service needs.
Thank you again,
Andrea"
Well it's six months, I applied twice: One position at Kenosha, WI for Part time Parts offering them my afternoons. Second position at Milwaukee, WI for Full Time Inventory Associate. I received a tip from a Sales Manager to warn the manager about my ongoing process of employment and I might turn it up a little bit more by stating I have Learning Disability... lets see if their "Commitment for Diversity" comes into play then! I may throw it in when asked this question: "What is your biggest regret so far in your life?" My reply: "Accepting my acceptance letter at (My university); since I dropped out due to my high school improperly prep me for the college level courses and having learning disability took major role in that factor. I wouldn't make the multi-thousand dollar mistake"
I just want to see how far they will go until they hire me LOL If they happen to offer me something more than what I'm predicting (11.00 bucks hour), I may take it.
They insisted though "We are not like other dealers, we don't offer you $4k when your car is worth $8k"
So reluctantly I drove my car up to carmax and the first thing they show me after taking my keys for inspection is a slide that says they consider "wholesale aka Trade In values when making their offers"
Bottom line:
My car: 2006 Honda Civic Ex Coupe with Navigation
My car's Private Party Bluebook: $16,800
My car's Trade-In Bluebook: $14,725
Carmax's Offer: $14,500
Don't expect any different.
One last note though, if you are having trouble selling your car and don't plan to buy one you could trade in on, then it is handy that Carmax will buy your car even though you don't buy one of theirs. Just expect to pay for that.